Program Approaches for Girls in Gangs

Abstract

Although research over the past 20 years has specified with considerable certainty the extent and seriousness of female involvement in gangs, few gang prevention and intervention programs have been designed with girls in mind. As such, the extant research on this topic makes clear the need for both female-specific and gender-neutral programming to effectively address the needs of gang girls. This article considers various aspects of female gang involvement, keeping in mind the implications for gang prevention and control initiatives. These include the prevalence of female gang members, gender-linked risk and protective factors for gang joining, psychosocial experiences of gang-involved girls, the level and seriousness of female gang crime involvement, and the importance of gender composition in gangs. The article then reviews prevention and intervention strategies that appear most promising for girls in gangs within the framework of female-specific and gender-neutral approaches. The article concludes with policy implications and recommendations for future research in this area.

“Harm as Harm”

“…Therefore, the construct of PT may be relevant to girls as well as boys; moreover, it is possible that girls are even more vulnerable to its effects given that girls and women are at greater risk than boys and men for developing posttraumatic stress symptoms following violence exposure in general (Tolan & Foa, 2006). Vulnerability to trauma exposure is exacerbated by prior interpersonal victimization (Pimlott-Kubiak & Cortina, 2003), and girls are more likely than their male peers to enter gangs with a history of childhood victimization, particularly in the form of sexual abuse (Miller & Decker, 2001;Moore & Hagedorn, 2001;Petersen & Howell, 2013). girls also are more likely than boys to experience ongoing sexual victimization within gangs, whether in the form of being "sexed in" as an initiation rite or condition of remaining in the group (Miller, 1998), being trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation (Dorais & Corriveau, 2009), or experiencing intimate partner violence within the gang (Ulloa, Dyson, & wynes, 2012).…”

Caregiver Type and Gang Involvement: A Comparison of Female and Male Gang Members

“…This type of model specifically focuses on dynamics in the home related to family structure, income, and parenting. By taking gender into consideration, gang prevention and/or intervention could potentially be much more effective (Petersen and Howell 2013). Understanding that taking gender into consideration, lacking both parents, or even a single parent, potentially impacts youths' likelihood of gang involvement is essential for effective approaches to treatment.…”

I Know God’s Got a Day 4 Me

“…For instance, female delinquency is associated with the composition of the gang. Girls tend to have a higher frequency of criminal involvement (e.g., personal and property offending) in gangs comprised of primarily males, compared to gangs comprised of both males and females and gangs comprised of primarily females (Petersen & Howell, 2013). Gakirah's membership and possible leadership in a primarily male gang may have influenced her gang-related activities including whom the gang targeted and their intentions for carrying out violent acts.…”

“…Research has tended to focus on the experiences of male gang members, leading researchers to call for the inclusion of females in gang research to understand the gendered experience of gang membership in social systems that have traditionally been patriarchal (Petersen & Howell, 2013). Gendered experience means that gender matters and can shape the experiences of gang-involved youth.…”

“…Female gang members have traditionally been characterized as peripheral to male gang members as sexual and romantic interests (Petersen & Howell, 2013). They have also been described as less likely to take part in confrontations that involve shootings and be intended targets of gang retaliation or other violent attacks, compared to male gang members (Miller & Decker, 2001).…”