Page "Ephebiphobia" Paragraph 17

Decision-making by government agencies, including public schools, policing and courts, have been found to be driven by the fear of youth.

The fear of adolescents has been said to cause a disjunction between what is said about the value of young people and what is done to them in education and social services, and causes them to be seen, " primarily as threats-to persons, to institutions, to status quo.

" A number of observers have indicated the deliberate perpetuation of mass social ephebiphobia in order to elicit particular public and social responses.

American sociologist Mike Males has identified trends among politicians and policy-makers of stoking the fear of youth among society in order to make headway in political campaigns and build popular support for otherwise " generate media sensation and public fear.

" Similarly, the fear of youth has been identified as the driving factor behind many governmental programs designed to combat so-called " youth violence ," in which the actions of few youth are attributed to the population of youth in general.

In a specific instance, " In Dallas, fear of youth led to accelerated surveillance and policing, particularly in its poorest area, Gaston.

" The fear of adolescents is also said to have caused many governments to lower their age of criminal responsibility and escalate the detention of young people from childhood through adulthood.