ABSTRACT
The crimes include offences against the person and harassment, both by young people and adults. This chapter includes the results on sexual importuning of both boys and girls by adult men. It looks at three specific offences which are clearly defined in the criminal law - namely, theft from the person, assault and threatening behaviour. The chapter examines those types of behaviour which may be experienced as frightening and extremely unpleasant but may nonetheless fall outside the strict terms of the criminal law. It includes in the questionnaire a series of questions falling under the general heading of 'harassment'. In relation to young people, however, it seems that adult responses to juvenile victimisation frequently lead young people to conceal the extent of their own victimisation. Similar problems with under-reporting and the tendency to 'blame the victim' have been well documented in research on women as victims of crime, particularly in relation to sexual offences.
