Progress on tackling youth violence in Scotland is slowing as young people struggle to access “safe spaces”, according to a new report.
The study, by researchers at the Universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, and the Open University, examined the past, present and future of violence reduction in Scotland and found that while incidences of serious violence had dramatically decreased over the last two decades, the reduction has slowed in recent years following Covid-19 lockdowns and cuts to local services.
Once seen as the most violent country in the developed world, with Glasgow labelled Europe’s “murder capital”, Scotland reduced violence rates by almost a third and murders by more than 50% between 2006-07 and 2014-15, with its pioneering public health approach and Scottish Violence Reduction Unit recognised internationally. But, say researchers, rates have increased again in recent years with a lack of youth spaces and services partly to blame.
“There are new issues thrown up by lockdowns, austerity measures and the cost of living crisis,” said Professor Alistair Fraser, co-author of the report. “The main issue we found was the impact of Covid-19 – a lot of youth services were closed and never reopened.
“We need meaningful and sustained investment in grassroots organisations and the creation of community-based safe spaces. That means long-term funding without strings attached and supporting services where they are, rather than trying to make them fit with a model dreamed up elsewhere.”
One such space is the G20 youth project in north Glasgow’s deprived Wyndford estate, where young people access support such as therapy and advocacy, and work-based activities including cookery, hairdressing and car valeting.
On a Friday lunchtime, the space buzzes with activity as attenders, supported by professional mentors, serve food from their community cafe. Others practice beauty skills, catch up with friends, and discuss fundraising ideas with staff.
Emily Cutts, who runs G20, founded the project in 2018 in response to antisocial behaviour and criminality in the community, which continues to grapple with violence: in recent months, a local shop was held up at knifepoint and a person suffered an overdose on a neighbouring street.
“There were territorial conflicts – young people not wanting to walk a certain way or go to certain places – and knives in particular were an issue,” Cutts said. “Violence and drug use were very normalised.
“What they needed was a safe space – when young people are bored and there’s no support, they’re going to get into bother. They’re safe and busy here, they’re not out doing something else, and people in the community see them in a better way.”
Shantelle Conaghan, 19, grew up on the estate and has been coming to G20 since childhood.
“The young ones look up to the older ones, so we try and teach them what’s wrong and what’s right,” she said as she washed hair in G20’s salon space, the faint noise of karaoke next door leaking through the wall.
“This area has a lot of bad behaviour and people think they can just go out and cause a scene with the police – so we’re trying to show them how to go about the streets. Without this space there would be a lot more problems.”
G20’s premises sit on a previously vacant spot where the estate’s young people have traditionally congregated, sometimes drinking or fighting; only recently has the estate’s ground been resurfaced to remove a bumpy covering designed to deter loitering.
“They were doing it well before we hung about here, for generations on generations. It’s a lot better having this,” said Conaghan, gesturing at the space.
Jimmy Paul, head of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU), told the Observer that while Scotland had seen dramatic reductions in violence, there was still work to do.
“The SVRU continues to use a public health approach to violence reduction; we want to understand the drivers of violence and work to prevent it happening in the first place,” he said.
“But we are facing serious challenges – Scotland is not alone in that. The impact of the pandemic, the cost of living crisis, rising levels of poverty and new technologies all pose substantial challenges. We can’t ever be complacent about violence and we must constantly adapt.”
For Cutts, the ambition is for a G20 that ultimately brings all services under one roof, from legal and housing advice to activities and training opportunities to help young people into work.
“This community has its challenges and its young people have their histories, but we’re all about second chances,” she said. “We just want them making good choices and having something to hope for.”
