Young people in cities affected by violence are rarely asked what security means to them. This policy brief draws on participatory research conducted with 545
young people aged 16 to 29 in Comuna 1 (Popular) and 2 (Santa Cruz) in Medellín, Colombia, and Mitchells Plain in Cape Town, South Africa, engaging them not as
a population at risk, but as experts on their own realities. Through workshops, interviews, a youth-led survey, and creative communication initiatives, the research
identified the compounding forces driving young people’s vulnerability to violence and criminal groups: economic precarity, mental health harms, invalidation,
and institutional distrust, and how young people would make their communities safer.
It presents recommendations for local governments and civil society on how to reduce violence and strengthen security by addressing its drivers, moving beyond punitive control or one-off interventions in young people’s lives, and toward creating the conditions that reduce their vulnerability in the first place: dignity, opportunity, and a credible future. Recommendations include expanding economic pathways, prioritising youth mental health, strengthening youth participation,
extending protection to families and communities, and rebuilding trust between young people and institutions.