Challenges in Mitigating Youth Violence in Bo City

Abstract

The stability of Sierra Leone after the war is seriously threatened by youth violence. Youth-initiated violence has hindered growth and scared away investors from a nation that needs private sector investment to eliminate unemployment and over-reliance on government for empowerment and opportunities. This study has strengthened the body of research supporting many risk factors for violence young adults commit. The research’s conclusions showed that several structural issues threaten law enforcement and societal stability, including complete mistrust of the judiciary and police, the proliferation of weapons, and crumbling family institutions. This study offers a different standpoint on youth violence and blames the failing social institutions for abating youth-perpetrated violence. In Sierra Leone today, most social institutions have reneged on their responsibilities to perform societal functions. These failures have served as a causative factor for youth violence in post-conflict Sierra Leone and continue to make the country unstable. In this study, the researcher advances the argument on the basis of the findings that young people who engage in violent behaviors are protected mainly by their families, communities, and friends, making law enforcement difficult.