How the Justice System Responds to Juvenile Victims

Abstract

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is committed to
improving the justice system’s response to crimes against children. OJJDP recognizes
that children are at increased risk for crime victimization. Not only are children the victims
of many of the same crimes that victimize adults, they are subject to other crimes,
like child abuse and neglect, that are specific to childhood. The impact of these crimes
on young victims can be devastating, and the violent or sexual victimization of children
can often lead to an intergenerational cycle of violence and abuse. The purpose of
OJJDP’s Crimes Against Children Series is to improve and expand the nation’s efforts
to better serve child victims by presenting the latest information about child victimization,
including analyses of crime victimization statistics, studies of child victims and their special
needs, and descriptions of programs and approaches that address these needs.