NCJ Number: 197573
Title: Girls and Gangs (From Women, Crime, and Criminal Justice: Original Feminist
Readings, P 44-59, 2001, Claire Renzetti and Lynne Goodstein,
eds. -- See NCJ-197570)
Author(s): Rodney K. Brunson; Jody Miller
Date Published: 2001
Page Count: 16
Sponsoring Agency: Roxbury Publishing Co.
Sale Source: Roxbury Publishing Co.
Publisher: http://www.roxbury.net
Type: Issue Overview
Format: Book (Softbound)
Language: English
Country: United States of America
Annotation: This chapter identifies the factors that have led to an increase
in girls' involvement in gangs and profiles girls' gang activity
and the "double standards" imposed on girl gang members.
Abstract: Feminist scholars have made progress in improving knowledge of
female gang involve from young women's perspectives. Recent
evidence suggests that young women are more involved in gangs
than previously believed, and their participation and experiences
in gangs are much more varied than was thought. Recent studies
with juvenile populations estimate that young women compose 20 to
46 percent of gang members; in urban areas, upwards of one-fifth
of girls report having gang affiliations. The family has long
been considered crucial for understanding delinquency and gang
behavior among girls. Family problems, such as weak supervision,
lack of attachment to parents, the gang involvement of other
family members, family violence, and drug and alcohol abuse by
family members have all been suggested as contributors to the
likelihood that girls will join gangs. The authors' research
findings, which compared gang and nongang girls, provide additional
evidence of the relationship between family violence, other
victimization, and gang involvement. Although girl gang members tend to be more involved in antisocial and delinquent activities
than nongang girls and nongang boys, they are not as involved in
serious crimes as often as male gang members. Status hierarchies
in the mixed-gender gangs the authors examined were
male-dominated. Leadership was almost exclusively male, and
status in the gang was related to characteristically masculine
traits. Girls tended to be excluded from gang activities that
would confer status in gang membership. The policy response to
the problem of girl gang membership should take into account the
social, economic, and personal contexts that influence gang
participation and gang crime. Punitive responses are not likely
to be effective in changing behavior. 5 notes, 66 references, and 3 discussion questions
Main Term(s): Female gangs
Index Term(s): Female juvenile delinquents; Juvenile gang behavior patterns; Juvenile/Youth Gangs
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