Upswing in Occurrences of Female Violence

While looking for articles on violence against women, a Teaching Woman found this article by Carey Roberts, a columnist on the website RenewAmerica.com. In it, he addresses the ever more increasing problem of bullying and aggression from girls. Girls' LEAP does not endorse all of his views, but he raises some interesting points.

He focuses his argument on the April 14 Tea Party rally in Wisconsin, at which, he states, Sarah Palin "...exclaimed the University of Wisconsin women's hockey team should tell 'GOP leaders they need to learn how to fight like a girl!'" He goes on to say that teachers have noted that "...the last thing students need is an exhortation to violence. Schoolyard bouts of fisticuffs are becoming more widespread among girls."

Roberts cites certain statistics to support his case: "A 2010 Department of Justice report, Delinquency Cases in Juvenile Court, ...documents a doubling of female juvenile offenders since 1985. Looking specifically at assaults and other offenses against persons, the female scofflaw rate soared by a sizzling 233%."

In terms of dating violence, Roberts provides results of a CDC survey that show that in 2003, male and female high school students were equally as likely to purposefully harmed their partner. He claims that in 2007, however, the results of the repeated survey show that females had become 25% more likely to instigate dating violence.

From these statistics, Roberts goes on to say, "Alas! Despite these worrisome trends, our society often makes light of female aggression, portraying it as proof of long-awaited female empowerment, and turning it into an atta-girl applause line at a political rally... Left unchecked, the problem of female lawlessness invariably escalates."

This article leaves us with several questions for you. Do you believe Roberts is correct in his assertion that women and girls are becoming more and more violent? If yes, why do you think this might be?  Is he correct that this behavior is condoned, or seen as "empowerment?"  Have you ever witnessed or engaged in such violence? And, most importantly, what can we do to prevent violence, both male and female?

The Girls' LEAP curriculum stresses the importance of being both non victim and non violent and strives to provide girls with the tools to be both. For more information about the impact of violence against and among girls in Boston, take a look at our "Voices on Violence" report, which includes statistics and anecdotes about girls experiences, and highlights the impact that Girls' LEAP is making.