Girls from deprived areas more likely to be assaulted

LONDON - Teenage girls living in the most deprived areas are five times more likely to be assaulted than their affluent male and female peers, a British study has found.

Young men are twice more likely to be a victim of assault as young women, but the link between deprivation and assault is far stronger for their female peers, the study shows.

Violence is the third leading cause of death among the 15-19 age group and the 14th leading cause of death among the 10-14 age group worldwide.

In 2007, around 66,000 children and teenagers in England and Wales were treated for injuries sustained during violent assault, reports the Emergency Medicine Journal.

The researchers base their findings on emergency care records between October 2005 and September 2006 for the seven hospitals serving the three cities of Cardiff, Swansea, and Newport in Britain, according to a eurekalert statement.

During the 12 months of the study, almost 1,500 children and teenagers up to the age of 17 were treated for assault injuries.

Rates of assault for boys and young men were similar in both cities and towns - 14.2 out of 1,000 of the population in cities and 13.1 out of 1,000 in towns.

Those living in the most deprived areas - identified by postcode - were between 2 (towns) and 2.6 (cities) times as likely to be a victim of violence as those living in the most affluent areas.

But the disparity between girls living in the most deprived areas and those living in the most affluent was significantly wider than it was for boys.

Girls in the most deprived city areas were more than five times as likely to be assaulted as their peers living in the most affluent areas. Those living in the most deprived areas of towns were almost three times as likely to be assaulted.