Mission Australia, December 2016
Each year Mission Australia encourages young Australians aged 15-19 to ‘speak up’ about the issues that really concern them through their annual Youth Survey, the largest of its kind. In 2016 they had close to 22,000 respondents.
Since its inception 15 years ago, the Youth Survey has become a critical piece of research and is used to inform the agendas of governments, policy makers and community organisations. The results can also be reported for specific locations or schools where there are enough respondents.
The Youth Survey 2016 showed that for the record number of 21,846 15 to 19 year olds who took part, alcohol and drugs and equity and discrimination were the top two issues facing Australia today, with mental health entering the top three for the first time in its 15 year history.
- In the survey, young people continued to nominate coping with stress, school or study problems and body image as their top three issues of personal concern
- 1 in 4 young people experienced unfair treatment or discrimination in the past year } due to gender, race/cultural background , or age.
- 1 in 2 young people witnessed someone being unfairly treated or discriminated against due to race/cultural background, sexuality, and physical health or ability.
- Of the four in ten Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people who reported experiencing discrimination, MORE THAN HALF reported discrimination on the basis of race or cultural background.
There is a chapter in the report looking specifically at South Australian results in detail.