Two children die in stabbings each month, study finds

Two children die in stabbings each month, study finds3 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJasmine Ketibuah-FoleyWest of EnglandGetty ImagesThe average age of victims is 14 years old, a new study has revealedTwo school-aged children die each month from knife injuries in England, with most fatalities resulting from a single stab wound, according to the first national analysis of its kind.The University of Bristol led two studies on how and why 145 children died in stabbings between 2019-2024, and found the average age of victims was 14 years old.Environmental inequalities also meant children of Black or Black British ethnicity were about 13 times more likely to die from a knife-related injury, the study concluded.Dr Jade Levell, from the research team, said preventing these tragedies requires "urgent, family-centred action" as researchers called for rapid changes.More from BristolSurgeon's mesh surgery cost £20m in compensationDriver guilty of causing Take That fan's deathTwo 'cultural icons' to be in city on same weekendThe studies were the first to analyse data from the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) together with hospital, social care and police data.Researchers said the majority of under 17-year-olds who died in knife attacks were exposed to multiple difficult childhood experiences and were well-known to support workers.Jade LevellLevell called for better strategies to prevent future child knife-crime deathsLevell said: "Our analysis shows that many of these children experienced multiple forms of violence across home, school, and community before their early deaths."Providing at-risk children with access to specialist, child-focused support, particularly around domestic violence and abuse, could help shape better strategies to prevent future child knife-crime deaths."Dr Tom Roberts, another member of the research team, said ministers need to adjust how they assess risk thresholds for children to acces...