Mushkush on LJ

[Cross-posted from The Mushkush Miscellany]

I know, I know: polls are a clumsy method of judging public opinion, and so much depends on the wording, but I'm still going to bite this one. According to Barnados, 54% of British adults reckoned children are behaving like "animals" (only 42% in Scotland, we win again) who "infest" the streets, and that children are responsible for "up to half of all crime" (actually only 12%, and according to victim support, fewer that 1.5% of criminals are y00f). Worst of all, almost half of folk disagree/em> with the statement that children who get into trouble are often misunderstood and in need of professional help.

This follows on last months UN report that the Committee on the Rights of the Child is "concerned at the general climate of intolerance and negative public attitudes towards children, especially adolescents, which appears to exist in the UK, including in the media, and may be often the underlying cause of further infringements of their rights".