Beyond their victimization or participation in aggression, girls are frequently exposed to violence, which affects how they function on a daily basis.
· 35% of girls reported they had witnessed violence over the course of their lifetime (Finkelhor, Turner, Ormrod, Hamby, and Kracke, 2009).
· 40% of Boston girls report that they rarely or never feel safe in many of the places that they frequent regularly (Harvard Youth Violence Prevention Center, 2007).
· Nearly half of adolescent girls fear being sexually harassed during school times (American Association of University Women, 2000).
Feeling unsafe has a deep impact on the emotional and physical well being of an adolescent girl. Girls are also more likely than boys to report psychological consequences after experiencing sexual harassment, including loss of confidence, loss of appetite, and disengagement from schoolwork (American Association of University Women, 2000).
In addition, victimization and aggression are often linked. A 2005 study found that violent victimization is a significant precursor to aggressive behavior in girls and that girls are more likely to act violently if they live in severely violent or impoverished communities (Molnar, Browne, Cerda, and Buka, 2005). Also, frequently when girls fight in school it is the result of a general sense of hopelessness or a lack of acknowledgment of victimization that has already been experienced (Zahn, et. al, 2008). Addressing the unique ways that victimization and fear of victimization affect girls differently from boys is an important corollary to addressing girls’ aggression. However, such girl-specific approaches often face roadblocks in funding and research; the specific needs of girls relative to boys are often neglected (Wheeler, Oliveri, Towery & Mead, 2005).
Girls can be traumatized without being victimized directly. For example, when a girl witnesses violence in her community, such as a shooting, this can negatively impact her emotional well-being. Themes about fear of violence that emerged from the focus groups included the following:
· Community violence affects girls’ daily lives.
· Fear of violence has far-reaching implications for girls’ choices, actions, and ability to succeed.
· Victimization - or fear of victimization - is often linked to aggression.
· Many girls have few or no forums to discuss violence and to explore constructive responses to violence.
Community violence is a reality that affects the daily lives of girls in Greater Boston. Violent acts occurring close to the homes of young girls impacts their feelings of safety. A 13 year-old girl living in Dorchester related,
“Last year there was a drive-by near my house and I was coming from this [afterschool program] and it was like five minutes after I got in my house.
One of the kids got shot in the leg.”
One of the kids got shot in the leg.”
The girl became afraid to go outside or even to go to school at times. Other girls expressed awareness that violence could claim someone close to them at any time. Most knew victims of violence and had lost friends or family to violence. A South Boston youth worker related that a 2008 arson incident had killed two young girls who had been friends with many of the girls in her program. She characterized South Boston as an isolated community in which the young people know each other very well. She explained that as a result of this closeness, recent violent episodes in the neighborhood deeply affected the girls with whom she works. Similarly, a youth worker serving Roxbury and Jamaica Plain youth stated,
“In the past year and a half to two years, it’s been pretty shaky in this neighborhood. There have been shootings.”
Another youth worker estimated that three-quarters of her students are
“dealing with being tense about walking from [school] back home because of what happens from here to there.”
Many youth fear the presence of gangs in their neighborhoods. Girls from certain areas of Boston expressed that gangs make them nervous. A 12 year-old girl from Roxbury described the gang in her neighborhood, saying they often met down the street from her house.
“They killed this guy in my street. They’ve moved on now ‘cause the police come.”
Girls avoid certain areas and sometimes walk far out of the way in order to avoid certain gang-affiliated areas. A youth worker explained how gangs can affect the everyday activities and decisions that youth make.
“For me to get from point A to point B, I might just take the path that makes the most sense because it’s the quickest. Some of our youth won’t do that. They don’t want to be seen in certain areas,”
she explained. Even when gangs are not involved, girls may avoid certain areas. One girl explained that she walks the long way home from school because the fastest route goes by the house of a peer that she has been in a physical fight with in the past. If the peer were to see this girl near her home, a fight would probably happen again.
Girls from various Boston communities said that they frequently feel unsafe in their neighborhoods. At a Dorchester program, some girls said that in addition to feeling unsafe, their parents won’t allow them to be alone in their neighborhoods.
“My parents don’t let me outside at all unless we’re going somewhere,”
said a 13 year-old girl from Dorchester.
said a 13 year-old girl from Dorchester.
Other girls agreed that this was common. These parental concerns are based on experience. One-third of the girls in the focus groups have had two or more family members jumped, assaulted, beaten up, or sexually assaulted. As a result, most of the girls said that they rarely go outside on the weekends for fear of violence. Instead, they usually stay indoors and spend time on the computer, watching TV, doing homework, and sleeping.
There is no question that the fear of violence has harmful effects on girls’ lives. Girls’ LEAP believes that girls need safe forums to explore their experiences of and feelings about these experiences. Dealing with these issues directly helps girls develop more complex models of how to respond besides the extremes of passivity and aggression. It is the belief of Girls’ LEAP that girls who have a more developed sense of multiple options for their responses are able to make better choices.
No comments:
Post a Comment