Gangs in African, Asian, and Australian Settings

Higginson, Angela; Benier, Kathryn

doi:10.1002/9781118726822.ch29

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…If legitimate or traditional models of masculinity are seen as out‐of‐reach, youth gangs can foster “pride, brotherhood, solidarity, challenge, and success” through illegitimate means such as violence, crime, and substance abuse (Aumair & Warren 1994: 6). Youth gangs may provide a sense of masculine identity in a socially disorganized world where legitimate avenues to masculinity are not available for marginalized young men (Higginson & Benier, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…George Tita and his colleagues argue that these places develop an appearance of visible disorder as non‐gang activity in the neighborhood is abandoned (Tita, Cohen, & Engberg, 2005). On the other hand, it can be argued that youth gangs provide a social and economic alternative in the presence of youth displacement, discrimination, and extreme social and economic inequality (Higginson & Benier, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Preventive Interventions to Reduce Youth Involvement in Gangs and Gang Crime in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries: A Systematic Review

Higginson¹,

Benier²,

Shenderovich³

et al. 2015

Campbell Systematic Reviews

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This Campbell systematic review examines why the implementation of preventive interventions to reduce youth involvement in gangs and gang crime may fail or succeed low and middle‐income countries. The review summarises findings from four studies conducted in Latin America and the Caribbean. These include findings from field observations and interviews with 63 former gang members in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, 940 respondents in three Jamaican communities, 24 participants in Nicaragua and 25 participants in Peru. It is not possible to make any conclusions regarding the effectiveness of preventive interventions. Four factors may be important for intervention design and implementation: Having a range of programme components that appeal to youth such as arts and sports. Active engagement of youths and gang leaders in forming and implementing the programme. Ensuring continuity of social ties outside the gang which are fragile and may not be preserved after short‐term interventions. Ongoing violence and gang involvement limits successful implementation so needs to be addressed. Plain Language Summary BackgroundYouth gang membership and the crime that it generates is a serious problem in low‐and middle‐income countries, involving many thousands of young people and resulting in billions of dollars of crime, loss of life, and social disruption. This review assessed the evidence on preventive interventions that focus on increasing social capacity to reduce gang membership or rehabilitate gang members outside of the criminal justice system. ApproachWe conducted an extensive search of the published and unpublished academic literature, as well as government and non‐government organization reports to identify studies assessing the effects of preventive youth gang interventions in low‐and middle‐income countries. We also included studies assessing the reasons for success or failure of such interventions and conducted a thematic synthesis of overarching themes identified across the studies. ResultsWe did not identify any studies assessing the effect of preventive gang interventions in LMICs using an experimental or quasi‐experimental design. Four studies evaluating the reasons for implementation success or failure were included. The limited number of studies included in the review suggests that the findings identified here should provide a direction for future research, rather than any substantive or generalizable claim to best practice. Specifically, the synthesis of reasons for implementation success or failure identified five factors that may be important for intervention design and implementation. Preventive gang interventions may be more likely to be successfully implemented when they include: a range of program components that appeal to youth, active engagement of youth, where their agency is embraced and leadership is offered, programs that offer continuity of social ties outside of the gang, and a focus on demobilization and reconciliation. ImplicationsThe lack of evidence prevents us from making any conclusion...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%