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Effect of gender role on family
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Many years of research have gone into studying why youth turns to gang involvement. A sector of this population has only recently been a focus of any study at all and that is the female. From the authors De La Rue, Espelage research they estimate that female gang membership is anywhere from 10 to 35% of the total gang population (De La Rue, Espelage 2014 pg. 1). There are many pieces that drive females to join the gang lifestyle. There are three major causes that drive females to gang involvement; family influences, relationship drives, and prior victimization. Being born into the gang life proves that nature verses nurture and the family has an impact on what an individual will become. Many things run in families from illnesses, addictions, business and passions. Some amazing things are shared by families, but unfortunately many bad traits are shared from family member to family member. In the article "Family and Abuse Characteristics of Gang-Involved, Pressured-To-Join, and Non–Gang-Involved Girls" by De La Rue, Espelage: “…found that girls who had brothers, cousins, or other family members who were involved with gangs were more likely to join a gang” (qtd. in De La Rue, Espelage 2014 pg.3). This is because families give females their view of the world and odds are that they will end up in one way or another like the people who raised them. A quote from the same article by the authors De La Rue, Espelage shows that : “Overall, female adolescent delinquency and antisocial behaviors are predicted by a cumulative risk model that includes family dysfunction, maltreatment history … and a history of physical and/or sexual abuse (qtd. in De La Rue, Espelage 2014 pg. 2). The effects of family members has a lifelong effect on what ... ... middle of paper ... ...American Urban Community." Journal of Contingencies & Crisis Management 17.4 (2009): 274-284. Business Source Complete. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Florian-Lacy, Dorothy, Joseph L. Jefferson, and Jacqueline Fleming. "The Relationship of Gang Membership to Self-Esteem, Family Relations, and Learning Disabilities." TCA Journal 30.1 (2002): 4-16. ProQuest. 26 Mar. 2014. Gover, Angela, Wesley Jennings, and Richard Tewksbury. "Adolescent Male and Female Gang Members’ Experiences with Violent Victimization, Dating Violence, And Sexual Assault." American Journal of Criminal Justice 34.1/2 (2009): 103-115. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Lauderdale, Michael, and Michelle Burman. "Contemporary Patterns of Female Gangs in Correctional Settings." Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment 19.3 (2009): 258-280. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Hanser and Gomila (2015) states, “For many younger juveniles, adult gang members serve as role models whose behavior is to be emulated as soon as possible to become full-pledge gang-bangers because of the prestige, respect, and sense of belonging that the gang-banger role provides them” (341). Other reasons why female juveniles join gangs was due to lack of family support and various types of violence in their lives. Hanser and Gomila (2015) noted “The involvement of juvenile females in sexual activities, substance abuse, and violence was clearly related to membership in gangs” (p. 348). Sexual abuse was among the primary reasons why female juveniles join gangs. Female juveniles living in urban ghettos are more likely to be sexually abused, and they join gangs as a way of coping and to escape the realities of poverty. Female juveniles will experience more hardships as compared to make juveniles, before they are fully received as full pledge gang members. As previously stated, sexual abuse was among the primary reasons why female juveniles join gangs; however, sexual abuse does not end there because it continues to occur throughout their gang life (Hanser & Gomila,
Dismissed by the police as mere adjuncts to or gofers for male gangs, girl gang members are in fact often as emotionally closed off and dangerous as their male counterparts. Carrying razor blades in their mouths and guns in their jackets for defense, they initiate drive-by shootings, carry out car-jackings, stomp outsiders who stumble onto or dare to enter the neighborhood, viciously retaliate against other gangs and ferociously guard their home turf.
Gangs have been in existence since the beginning of the Roman Empire. There were speeches made by Roman orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero, which references groups of men who constantly fought and disrupted Roman politics (Curry, 2013). The history of street gangs in the United States begins with their emergence on the East Coast around 1783, as the American Revolution ended. Though many believe the best available evidence suggests that the more serious street gangs likely did not emerge until the early part of the nineteenth century (Sante, 1991). Although our country has had their share of feared gangs like in the 1980’s with the turf war between the Bloods and Crips, back in the 17th and 18th century the Mohocks of Georgian, England were one of the most feared gangs. What draws juveniles to the gang lifestyle? Many people will say that most gang members are children from impoverished communities, single family homes where there was no father present, or maybe there is a more psychological/sociological answer? By appearance and presence most gangs cause fear, crime, and disillusionment in the communities they occupy. Throughout history joining a gang has been perceived as a life without any reward, yet by joining this lifestyle many juveniles are able to gain the needed stability and security in their lives.
The root of gang violence all begins at home and then spreads. A troubled teen may be lacking the love and attention from their parent whether it is because they work too much, or simply do not care. Then, the teen will result attending school and will begin to find that comfort in places that they can feel stability. According to Ramsey, Rust, and Sobel “girls tend to become involved in gangs for prosocial reasons […] [such as] robbery, […] shoplifting, and prostitution [while] male gang members tend to be involved in activities such as drug dealing and fighting.” Most people involved in gang activities can feed off a person’s vulnerability and use that to convince a person that it is ok to commit crimes. Finally, that teen will remain in that life style and probably involve others or can get out, but surely be affected by the past for the rest of their lives.
Theories on Gangs and Gang Violence The emergence of gangs in the United States was first fueled by immigration and poverty stricken families who settled in urban areas. With few having the money-making skills to accomplish the goals set by society such as money or a better way of life or able to adjust to their new urban life, these lower class citizens began to band together forming what many viewed as "gangs" in certain areas. Although there was no definite meaning of the term "gang" back then, one recent definition that has been agreed upon by more than 100 American and European researchers attempted to define it: "A street gang is any durable, street-oriented youth group whose involvement in illegal activity is part of its group identity (Klein & Maxson). In the beginning, cities and police departments refused to accept the fact that there was even a gang problem or acknowledged that there were even gangs present in their communities; however, it did not take long before their views on the subject matter began to change.
Many people recognize that gangs have been around for what seems like forever. What they don't realize is that the numbers are increasing to amazing proportions, there were 28,000 youth gangs with 780,200 members in the United States (in 2000) and 20% to 46% of those members are female (Evans). And what is even more shocking is, in Chicago alone there are 16,000 to 20,000 female gang members (Eghigian). These girls start out as ?groupies?, become members, and sometimes even leaders of all-girl gangs because of troubles in the home, a need for money, for the social scene, or just because it is all they know.
Social Class Most of the gang members that have been reported come from the lower social economical class. When these kids are out in the streets they have nothing better to do so they begin to commit delinquent behavior. Since these economically challenged kids have no money to go anywhere, they tend to hang around their neighborhood. These kinds of groups encourage each other to commit criminal activity. They feel that if one does it, all of them can do it too.
...getting sexually transmitted diseases and infections, are at risk of getting beaten by the leader or other groups members, as well as being arrested. http://www.kidshelpphone.ca/Teens/InfoBooth/Violence-and-Abuse/Gangs/Girls-in-Gangs.aspx. Males in gangs are commonly abused, neglected, discriminated against, and suffer from racism at one point in their lives. The majority of youth gang members, 24% are African American. http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/gngs-cnd/index-eng.aspx. Some male gang members of members of a minority or have recently immigrated to the country or certain area of the country. They often lack another male figure that they can look up to and have as a positive role model and associate themselves with other delinquent peers. The feel that they are unrecognized by others and think that they do not fit in with the majority of people.
Female youths join street gangs on the basis of gender conflict, lack of family support and
Gangs and gang activity are extremely detrimental to our social order. “Gangs are groups of people—mostly young males—who band together for protection and a sense of belonging. Gangs are often associated with violence and crime. In fact, the United States Department of Justice officially defines a youth gang as a group of young people involved in criminal activity.” (Gangs, 2003). According to www.fbi.gov, some 33,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs with about 1.4 million members are criminally active in the U.S. today (FBI, 2010). This should be the motive for greater action from our society to halt the rise of gang related offenses in America
While the young people with a good family unit often feel protected, hence they desire not to link with gangs. Young people could be easily forced by the others to be members of the mob. Children and adolescents mostly face constant pressure to fit a peer group. The youth may lack the holdup they require to keep away from the power to join the rabble.
Gangs have been in existence since the beginning of time. These kind of groups, or gangs, usually participate in several criminal and illegal activities that negatively affect society. These activities include theft, robbery, extortion, rape, and many types of vandalism. Gangs have increasingly became a problem society has often had to deal with. People wonder where and how it all started. It is in fact evident that gangs can change a person’s life in a negative way. Many fall into these bad steps by peer pressure or even movies. Being influenced by what the media projects, accepting peer pressure, and how a person is raised in the wrong household are all examples of how one is led into a gang. These groups have had many negative effects on society for many years. The impacts that gang membership lead to affect society are what people should be aware of.
The break down of neighborhood relation and social institutions create a higher likely hood that young people will affiliate with deviant peers and get involved in gangs. When there is lack of social controls within a neighborhood the opportunity to commit deviance increases and the exposure to deviant groups such as street gangs increase. Which causes an increase in the chances of young people joining street gangs. If social controls are strong remain strong within a neighborhood and/or community the chances of young people committing crime and joining gangs decreases. Many young people join street gangs due to weak family relationships and poor social control.
A gang can be defined as a group of people who unite to serve a common purpose and engage in violent or otherwise criminal behavior. (http://www.ci.torrance.ca.us) The types of crimes committed by gang members differ between gangs, but the crimes generally associated with gangs include vandalism, robbery, drug-trafficking, assault, arson, and murder. There are many reasons why teenagers may join gangs. The root causes of violent gang formation are poverty, stressed families, unemployment, under-employment, under-education, racism, and the breakdown of sociocultural institutions. (http://www.instanet.com) Many people join gangs for protection from violent people in other gangs. (http://www.public.iastate.edu) Other people join gangs for the sense of family that comes along with it. The youth gang satisfies a void - the child's desire to feel secure. It provides the child with a sense of identity, belonging, power, and protection. The gang provides a protective barrier against the outside world. (http://www.highways.com)
Despite efforts to prevent gang activity, it is evident that gangs still exist within the SIS community. The reasons for gang involvement are complex and can include factors such as social status, peer pressure, and a desire to fit in. For instance, individuals who struggle to conform to social norms may be more vulnerable to bullying and exclusion.