Why: The excitement of gang activity, which often involves violence, danger, and outward expressions of cultural biases, coupled with the acceptance given by fellow gang members, provide the social support and community involvement that are often lacking in the lives of young male gang members. In the past, a female's role in a male gang was primarily as a: Girlfriend Drug-trafficker Go-between. What: many male gangs allow females to join their ranks, but others are exclusively female.
These all-female gangs formed in reaction to the sexism and gender inequality found in male-dominated gangs. Frustrated by the absence of equal rights and dissatisfied with risking their lives without voice or influence, girls form their own groups.
How: initiation into a gang: some initiations rites are the same as for male gangs, such as shoplifting, robbery, or beatings. Other requirements may involve sexual acts. Quitting the gang: similar to the rules of a male gang, a ritual must be endured to leave. Why: while males join gangs for the excitement and acceptance of the gang, girls are induced by gang membership as a way to:.
Cure loneliness and secure warmth and affection. Satisfy the need to belong to a group, fulfilled in part by the dress codes and traditions imposed by gang membership as a sign of solidarity. To express anger and frustration encountered daily in a life fuelled with poverty and joblessness and devoid of hope.
Excitement and thrill. Looking for a surrogate family. Young people join gangs to receive the attention, affirmation, and protection they may feel they are lacking at home. Breakdown of traditional family units. Many youngsters do not have a positive adult role model.
Many see domestic violence and alcohol and other drug use in the home. Gangs are groups of children, adolescents and young adults who share a common identity and are involved in wrongful or delinquent activities. Most gang members tend to be adolescents or young adults, however, recent trends indicate that children are being recruited into gangs at a much earlier age, some when they are in elementary school.
Traditionally, gang activity has been confined to cities but gangs are no longer just in large cities, they also exist in smaller towns and rural areas. Gangs can include people of every gender, race, culture and socioeconomic group.
Some children and adolescents are motivated to join a gang for a sense of connection or to define a new sense of who they are. Others are motivated by peer pressure, a need to protect themselves and their family, because a family member also is in a gang, or to make money. One of the worst effects of gang membership is the exposure to violence. Gang members may be pressured to commit a crime to become part of the gang.
Consequences of gang membership may include exposure to drugs and alcohol, age-inappropriate sexual behavior, difficulty finding a job because of lack of education and work skills, removal from ones family, imprisonment and even death. There are many signs that parents and guardians can use to tell if a child may be involved in gang activity. While research into edgework is growing , it has been slow to feed into practical interventions. The young people in my study valued a range of experiences derived from gang membership — from the sense of anonymity, to the excitement of risk taking and the social status they cultivated among their peers.
Any efforts to prevent young people from joining gangs must address these experiences, rather than ignore them. One idea that emerged from my research, is to focus on the possible life-changing consequences of being injured through violence or being caught.
During my interviews, several participants spoke of the shame, embarrassment and guilt they felt when confronted by police officers about gang-related, antisocial acts on the streets. This was particularly evident among younger participants, especially when their parents and siblings were informed. The VRU has worked with partners in the NHS, education and social work to inform young people of the damaging consequences of joining gangs — and offer them alternatives.
0コメント