The Korean Crime Victimization Survey(KCVS), conducted every other year by the Korea Institute for Criminology and Justice, is administered to persons aged 14 or older from a nationally representative sample of households in Korea. However, since all respondents including children and adolescents are interviewed with same questionnaire, there is a limitation to identifying the specific type or cause of victimization with the characteristics of children and adolescents per se fully considered. In order to create safe environments for children and adolescents, it is important to investigate the exact frequency, characteristics, and consequences of criminal victimization, discover its risk factors, and provide supports to recover with children and adolescents who have been victimized.

The KCVS 2021 is a follow-up research of the crime victimization survey of children and adolescents conducted in 2018. Therefore, the population, a sample design, and interview questionnaires of the KCVS 2018 were maintained in the KCVS 2021. However, some survey questionnaires have been revised in consideration of the changed social environment. For example, we attempted to indirectly examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 through crime trend comparison with the previous survey(KCVS 2018). In addition, we conducted multi level analysis to find out the causes of crime victimization experienced by children and adolescents in an ecological perspective examining multiple factors such as individuals, schools, families, and neighbors. Major analyses added to the KCVS 2021 from the 2018 one were the examination of online crime victimization and the psychological impact of children and adolescents experienced from crime victimization. Online crime victimization analysis was deemed to reflect the social changes in patterns of victimization, and the exploration of psychological impact of children and adolescents were assumed to provide information about sufferings and strains of youth victims and ways to overcome them. 

The study was divided into four parts: a survey of school students, a survey of out-of-school youths, a cognitive interview of teenagers who experienced victimization, and a focus group interview of school counselors specializing in crime victimization. A total of 10,383 students participated in the school students survey, including 3,542 elementary school students, 3,509 middle school students, and 3,332 high school students. A total of 446 adolescents participated in the out-of-school youth survey who attended the out-of-school youth support center, alternative schools, or were under probation. Five teenagers and eight counseling experts participated in the interview. The survey was conducted for about three months from June to September 2022. 

In 2021, the rate of victimization of children and adolescents who experienced property crimes, violent crimes, and sex crimes was 26.7%. Among age group, elementary school students(age 11-13) experienced the highest rate of victimization, followed by middle school students(age 14-16) and high school students(age 17-18). By types of crime, the victimization rate of property crimes were the highest, followed by violent crimes and sex crimes. Even considering some confounding factors including redesign of survey, the victimization rate seems to have increased in 2021 compared to 2017. The victimization rate of domestic abuse experienced by children was 5.4%, and school bullying victimization rate was 12.9%. Analyzing the types of victimization that occurred online, the rate of sex crime victimization was higher than either the rate of property crime or that of violent crime. Children and adolescents were more likely to be victims of sex crime online compared to offline. In particular, it was found that middle and high school students experienced more sexual violence online. 

In 2021, the fear of crime increased compared to 2017. The type of victimization where students reported the greatest fear of crime were property crime and school bullying. 

Analyzing the effect of victimization on the mental health of children and adolescents, female adolescents were more likely to experience negative psychological trauma compared to male adolescents. In addition, it was found that out-of-school adolescents reported more mental health problems compared to adolescents attending school. Among age groups, the problem of externalization was found to be more serious in middle school student group(age 14-16) and internalization was found to be more serious in high school. 

In the cognitive interview, the adolescent victims reported psychological neglect and domestic abuse in dysfunctional families. As a result, the attachment to parents, school adaptation and peer relationships became unstable so that many problems occurred in schools. 

Victims were found to experience increased internal symptoms (depression, anxiety, guilt, etc), increased external (hostile, aggressive) problematic behaviors, rejection of external intervention, desperation, and suicidal thoughts after being victimized. Experts stressed the need for cooperation between related agencies. In addition, they mentioned the need to manage the psychological crisis faced by the victim through all-around counselings and to support adolescents outside of school. 

In conclusion, we suggested 1) effective public policy to manage risk factors of adolescents who are vulnerable to crime, 2) strengthening the efficacy and human rights awareness in the school community, 3) supporting psychological trauma recovery after child and adolescents victimization, and 4) strengthening the capacity of victim advocates specializing in crime victimization.