In a society where young men perpetuate and are affected by violence due to their affiliation with gangs, it is possible to disregard the growing participation of young women who are also trapped in an unstable and unsafe environment. These females, although they comprise an insignificant percentage of gang members, they encounter increased instances of victim-offender intersection. They regularly encounter dehumanizing and cruel treatments when they associate with the gang members they are trying to please. Hence, understanding the role of females in a gang structure, including the forces that motivate them to join gangs and the risks they face due to gang membership, would aid in offering ideal solutions to help them abandon such lives, allowing them to become productive members of the society.
To aid in addressing and offering solutions to the issues facing gang membership of females, it is essential to comprehend why girls and young females decide to join gangs. Intuitively, they associate with gangs for similar reasons as young males do. These driving forces might comprise shielding from neighborhood violence or other gangs, earn income, established familial or social connections to gangs, and a means of earning respect. On the desire for earning respect, it is particularly crucial for young women who join gangs. Girls growing up in settings where they feel powerless and undervalued, whether at school, home, or neighborhood, have higher chances of seeking means of gaining any semblance of respect and authority, leading them to enter gangs (Moore & Hagedorn, 2001). However, the move is usually ironic since females usually lose almost all power when they affiliate with gangs.
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Various other additional forces drive young women to gang membership that offer them valuable avenues for dealing with the issue. For instance, young females are highly likely than young males to affiliate with gangs since they are searching for an alternate familial structure. The absence of parental monitoring and supervision serves as a major risk factor for females to join gangs. A considerable number of women gang members have family members who are arrested, in prison, or in jail (Moore & Hagedorn, 2001). Also, female gang membership correlates with reduced school attachment and neighborhood disorganization, meaning that most of them usually come from families lacking safety, stability, and commitment, which tarnish their education. Moreover, females affiliated with gangs have probably faced sexual or physical abuse during childhood (Howell & Griffiths, 2019). Unluckily, after they associate with gangs, the young women keep suffering this form of trauma, which almost hinders them from visualizing any escape from such terrifying situations.
Challenges emerge in cultivating an accurate representation regarding the role females play after they eventually join gangs. Admittedly, women comprise a significantly smaller gang membership proportion, although challenges emerge in gathering adequate data on the female gang population. Women gang membership usually plays a crucial role in the criminal acts of such organizations. Females have been increasing in terms of the number of firearms they purchase on behalf of their men colleagues in gangs (Howell & Griffiths, 2019). Also, most of the women in gangs have claimed to be forced, asked, victimized, or volunteered to engage in violent acts while others have dealt drugs or hidden guns (Moore & Hagedorn, 2001). In this sense, women gang members and associates are significantly embedded in the activities of gangs, despite being perceived as second-class citizens in their communities and gang organizations.
Women gang members characterize an entirely underserved and considerable vulnerable population, as well as one that portrays astonishing promise for effective intervention. Female gangs encounter significantly increased abuse rates within their gang organizations and at home. In general, women have increased chances than males to suppress the stress that emanates from trauma, including abuse, which could in most instances result in self-harming behavior. These you g women might also encounter permanent damage to self-worth and self-perception (Howell & Griffiths, 2019). Offering resources and services to young women at risk of affiliating with gangs to hinder their initiation into or aid in their withdrawal from such organizations would offer them instrumental support for the entire female generation encountering this threat to their physical and psychological development.
From an optimistic standpoint, women gang members usually age out of gangs before their males. The most typical reason for females in gangs abandoning their association is pregnancy or parenting. On women associated with gangs, the maternal duty usually occurs in their early life stages. The parenthood motivation indicates that female gang members are likely to depart from gangs earlier as well as avoid associating with them in the future. An additional driving force leading young women to abandon gangs early is incarceration. This is essential, because, overall, women prisoners have reduced rates of recidivism as opposed to their male counterparts (Moore & Hagedorn, 2001). In this sense, when provided with the appropriate resources, females have increased chances of escaping gang life as well as avoid it entirely.
In conclusion, understanding the role of females in a gang structure, including the forces that motivate them to join gangs and the risks they face due to gang membership would aid in offering ideal solutions to help them abandon such lives, allowing them to become productive members of the society. Women gang members encounter unimaginable danger, trauma, and hopelessness while society is not identifying or addressing these issues. It is deserting the entire female population who warrant support and have the potential of improving their lives and those of males with whom they relate. There is no reason to continue ignoring and endangering these women, requiring society to act. It is crucial to mentor these women to deter them from gang membership, helping to build societies of support and trust for the young females.
References
Howell, J. C., & Griffiths, E. (2019). Girls and Gangs. In Gangs in America’s Communities. SAGE Publications India Pvt. Ltd.
Moore, J., & Hagedorn, J. (2001). Female Gangs: A Focus on Research. U.S. Department of Justice.
