There is a myth that youth violence has a face: Black and male.

This shapes who gets stopped by police, who gets excluded from school, and who is automatically labelled as dangerous.

In this episode, Richie Brave sits down with rapper KOJ and researcher and lecturer Dr Becky Clarke to understand how that image is conjured through history, policy and the media.

By stripping violence of stereotypes, we stop asking “what’s wrong with young people?” and instead consider their lived reality.

Links

The Justice Project: Sites of Resistance, Manchester Metropolitan University

Becky Clarke and Patrick Williams, ‘Dangerous associations: Joint enterprise, gangs and racism’, London: Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, January 2016

Episode credits

‘Ami’s Story’ (voiced by an actor) from The Audio Content Fund’s series 'Equal Britain?'

The statements made by guests on this podcast do not necessarily represent the views of the Runnymede Trust.

Living with violence is the reality for many young people, but who is the victim, and who is the perpetrator?

Presented by Richie Brave and brought to you by the Runnymede Trust, this series encourages us to flip the narrative to question who gets forgotten, and how we can really keep young people safe.

The statements made by guests on this podcast do not necessarily represent the views of the Runnymede Trust.