Gansta Girls -
The Story of
Female Gang Members
The subject of gangs is one that is commonly associated with the
male gender because the violent acts committed by many gangs are typically viewed by society as "masculine" acts. Those females who are gang members are thought to be violating gender roles.
It was not until the 1980's that reseachers began to take the issue of female gangs more seriously. Researchers began to realize that females played a significant role in the gang world and were not "just pale imitations of male gangs."
According to law enforcement, the term gang is defined as:
a group of three or more people who share
a common identity (usually through a gang name),
adopt and use certain signs, symbols and/or
colors, and who individually or collectively
"engage in criminal activity".
The phrase "engage in criminal activity" is key to the definition and differentiates fraternities and other groups from gangs.
Female Gang Members
According to researchers, female gang involvement has been on the up- rise in recent years. In 1996 the National Youth Gang Survey stated,
"females account for 11% of gang members."
Female gangs may be autonomous, allied with a male gang or part of an intergrated gang including both male and female members. Like most males, females are likely to be initiated into a gang by being "beatin' in" or "crimed in".
According to the
Office of Juvenille Justice and Deliquency Prevention
(OJJDP), determining the number of female gang members is difficult but the numbers are known to be significant. Researchers claim it is difficult to obtain data because gang members are so highly susipicious of those who attempt to question them and their lifesytle. As a result of this, a majority of the data used is attained from law enforcement agencies, which also have their own limitations.
According to OJJDP, females can account for as much as one-third of the gang population in some cities and be completely absent in others. Usually, female gangs members are more common in small cities and rural areas.
Reasons for Being in a Gang
According to the
National Alliance of Gang Investigators Association
, "females between the ages of 12 and 18 who have low self-esteem, come
from dysfunctional families, and have a history of victimization are
most likely to join gangs for protection. These females are more likely than males to be unemployed and to have been the victims of physical and sexual abuse." However, females rarely talk about the sexual and/or physical abuse they encounter at home or in the gang.
Reasons for joining a gang are often personal and complicated but generally are the same for both males and females. According to research, most people join because of friendship and self-affirmation. Recent research even suggests that some join gangs because of economic and family pressures.
OJJDP states that in some cases, but not all, those who turn to gangs come from economically deprived neighborhoods and live with single parents. Those who turn to gangs, frequently feel as though they have no sense of belonging, they are not loved or do not have a home life and the gang "family" promises to give them all these things that they want and need. Some join the gang because of peer pressure, excitement, money, drugs, fear threats and intimidation.
Also, those who are raised in the "gang culture" (i.e. family members have been involoved in gangs for years, or friends and boyfriends are gang members) are most likely to join a gang because it is an accepted way of life.
Getting Out of the Gang Life
Getting out of the gang life is often times difficult and dangerous. Sometimes gangs require a member to participate in a "jumping out" ritual which may include severe beating beating which can lead to severe injury and, in some cases, even death.
Female gang members, however, are more likely to drop out of gangs earlier than male members due to pregnancy.
For more information on Gangs visit these web pages.
Gang Prevention Services
Interagency Force on Gangs and Youth Violence
Gangs or Us
Click
here to view the annotated bibliography for this page.