CRFC poll results

1998 Illinois Youth Summit
"Protecting Our Youth From Violence"
Survey Results Highlights

Violence in Relationships

Eighty-four percent of students surveyed believe that local school districts should adopt a curriculum to help prevent relationship violence among young people.

The two most important factors students identified as contributing to relationship violence among young people were "acceptance of violence as a way to solve problems" and "drug or alcohol abuse."

The two most important factors contributing to violence-free teen relationships were an "awareness of, and ability to cope with emotions such as anger, disappointment, and rejection" and a "strong sense of self-respect/self-esteem."

The three activities students stressed for inclusion in a curriculum to reduce relationship violence were:

"classroom discussion about relationship violence involving students of both genders"
"conflict resolution and communication skills training"
"discussion of gender and social expectations that contribute to relationship violence"

Violence in Schools

Seventy-five percent of students surveyed believe that Illinois should require schools to monitor the behavior of students identified as "serious habitual offenders (SHO's)" and share information about them, including reports of crimes committed by SHOs on school grounds, with criminal justice agencies.

Asked when law enforcement agencies should share information about SHOs with schools, 47% of students surveyed said always, 47% said sometimes, and 6% said never. Asked when schools should share information with local law enforcement, 46% said always, 46% said sometimes, and 8% said never.

Violence in Communities: Hate Crimes

Eighty percent of students surveyed believe that Congress should enact a uniform definition of hate crimes and mandate that states report all such crimes. However, only 43% believe that reporting more crimes as "hate crimes" would help reduce and deter hate crime.

Students were asked when a crime should be reported as a hate crime. They selected all applicable choices. A crime should be reported as a hate crime when:

A crime is motivated solely by hate or prejudice. (81%)
A crime is motivated primarily by hate or prejudice, it should be reported as a hate crime. (75%)
A crime is connected to prejudice, but there are alternative primary motivations for the crime, it should be reported as a hate crime. (45%)
A crime against a person or group because of characteristics such as gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, or religion is motivated primarily by a desire for attention or "thrills," it should be reported as a hate crime. (60%)

Results taken from a pre-program survey of 845 Illinois high school students in April, 1998. This survey was conducted as part of the 1998 Illinois Youth Summit, a program of the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago.

Last updated: January 2, 2002

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