Netflix’s new limited series Adolescence tells the increasingly all-too-familiar story of male youth violence in the UK. The series follows a family as they come to terms with the devastating crime their 13-year-old son Jamie has committed – murdering his female classmate, Katie.

The series aims to explore not the often-dramatised, ‘Did he do it?’, but rather, ‘Why?’ What drives a young boy to take the life of a young girl?

Ultimately, Adolescence doesn’t give us one answer. Instead, it emphasises just how multifaceted the growing issue of gender-based youth violence is.

A recent government survey found that nearly half of all under-18s have witnessed violence in the past year. Stephen Graham himself said the inspiration for the series came from the rising number of male-to-female violent crimes he saw in the news.

Whilst I am not a parent, I am a youth leader in my church and we must acknowledge that our young people have an incredibly hard world to navigate. The influences on them aren’t just those that are visible, but those that are hidden, like the bedroom door closed on their private devices.

The truth is, it is not just one factor that results in violence like Jamie’s. However, there is a suggested clear link between an increase in gender-based violence and social media, for Gen Z and Alpha whose lives largely exist online, and this is a worrying trend.

The emotional finale of Adolescence culminates with Jamie’s father in his son’s bedroom, mourning for the innocent child he has lost. The series’ conclusion reminds us that young people are just that – young.

In Matthew 25:31–46, Jesus calls us to protect the innocent and vulnerable, and it’s easy to forget that this includes under-18s. Jesus’ ministry was largely amongst those that society easily overlooks, so he treated them with respect and love, emphasising their inherent value and importance (Matthew 18:1–10). Following the example of Jesus, it is our job to protect and care for the young, both girls and boys.

Whether you’re a parent, a grandparent, on the youth team, or just have a chat with the teenagers in your church on a Sunday – we can use every interaction with young people to love and care for them. And if it is your place, to spend time and have conversations with them – in whatever capacity is right – to better understand them, and to steer them in the direction that leads to their flourishing.

Darby Vincent
Darby is Digital Lead at LICC serves on the youth team at Reading Family Church during her spare time.