In 2015, 425,000 young people aged 10 to 25, or 3.3% of this age bracket, were recorded by the police and gendarmerie as victims of physical violence, sexual violence or theft committed with or without violence. Thefts without violence account for the vast majority (64%) of these attacks against 10-25 year olds, followed by physical violence (21%), theft with violence (11%) and sexual violence (4%). Girls are substantially over-represented among victims of sexual violence: 88% of victims are girls.

Young people are more at risk of violence and violent theft than children and adults. For boys, recorded physical violence peaks at around 14 years old, followed by a slight decline; for girls, after a first peak at 14, physical violence starts to rise again from the age of 18, with the appearance of intimate partner violence. Recorded sexual violence most often affects girls aged between 13 and 15, whilst boys run a higher risk in childhood. Theft is more likely to affect young adults.

Youth is an age of transition regarding victimhood: the proportion of physical and sexual violence, which is greater in childhood, decreases with age to be replaced by theft. Young people are doubly vulnerable to violence that occurs in the family circle and attacks in places where they socialise.