News and opinion

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a growing concern in the UK, and children and young people are often at the centre of these harms – both as victims and perpetrators. While anyone can experience gendered violence, it overwhelmingly affects girls and young women. Tragic stories such as the recent case in Fordingbridge where two boys were charged with rape highlight the urgent need…

New data on diversionary outcomes with youth justice service (YJS) involvement has been published by the Youth Justice Board – the first time this specific data has been made available. It’s a welcome step, and one YEF called for in our Arrested Children System Guidance back in 2023.  The figures show younger children (aged 10–14) were far more likely to receive a diversionary outcome…

YEF recently published four evaluations on Trauma-Informed Practice (TIP) – the first robustly-designed randomised controlled trials on TIP and children’s outcomes that we are aware of.

Listen to young people affected by knife crime on early intervention, safe spaces, and trusted adults. How their priorities are now government policy.

What do you picture when you hear the word ‘extremism’? Clear ideologies, organised groups, anti-democratic chants? Perhaps it’s something similar to the upsetting sight I witnessed in Hyde Park recently: Nazi swastikas, and the words ‘Britishness is Whiteness’, proudly displayed on protest placards.  Long-standing forms of extremism clearly persist and must remain a central focus of national security. But a report by the Home Affairs Committee, published last month, paints a more varied picture. It…

As a young person in 2026, I think awareness alone is no longer enough. This Mental Health Awareness Week we need action.