“He
wanted me to sell drugs. I’m like, ‘no I can’t
do it, you know, I want to be a doctor when I grow up, and
I don’t want to get in any trouble.’” ChanTrell,
Age 16.
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In the
small park, there are swing sets, a small stream, and dozens
of families with small children playing. It is the park where
Roger Raney’s 18-year-old daughter allegedly took part
in a gang murder.
He still wonders why. “I’ve wracked my brain trying
to figure out why but I have no clue, honestly,” Raney
says.
But there were clues. When his daughter was 13, he noticed
gang-related graffiti and tattoos. “In her room, papers,
notebook, just all over really.”
But he thought it was just posing, just a joke. Now Roger
and thousands of other parents realize it’s no joke at
all. The idea of girls being gang members is no longer far-fetched.
According to the US Department of Justice, between 9 and 22-percent
of the nearly 1-million active gang members in the United
States are female. And new recruits are being sought every
day.
Sixteen-year-old ChanTrell was approached. “He wanted
me to sell drugs. I’m like, ‘no I can’t do
it. I want to be a doctor when I grow up, and I don’t
want to get in any trouble.’”
“It’s not just what most people would consider the
poor sections or less affluent sections. They’re everywhere,”
says psychologist and gang expert Dr. Stephen Mathis.
Experts say girls join gangs for the same reason boys often
do. “It’s all about acceptance,” says youth
counselor Irving Carswell, “You know, ‘I want to
be a part of’… and we have to take alternative measures…as
parents and say ‘you don’t have to be a part of
that.’”
And if your child is lonely, just moved to a new school, or
a new town, explain how gangs really work.
“A kid often trades loneliness and isolation or whatever
the kid’s feeling inside for an initial attraction for
unconditional acceptance when in fact the conditions are very,
very conditional,” says Mathis.
Conditions like selling drugs, even committing murder.
“Parents and teens need to somehow keep a bond,”
Roger Raney says, “and not have a distance come between
them, because it’s hard to repair it once it goes away.”
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By Sally
Atwood
CWK Network
Men and
boys have long been the focus of research on gangs and delinquent
behavior. However, girls are becoming increasingly involved
in gangs. A 1998 survey of gangs conducted by the U.S. National
Institute of Justice shows the extent of gang involvement
by girls. The study found that 10% to 12% of gang members
in small cities and rural settings are girls. The Chicago
Crime Commission (CCC) estimates there are between 16,000
and 20,000 female gang members in Chicago alone. In addition,
the CCC points out that the role of girls in gangs is changing.
They are no longer accessories, but participants in violent
acts.
Why are girls drawn to gangs? A report by the Office of Juvenile
Justice Delinquency Prevention says that girls seem to be
attracted to gangs out of a desire for safety or power, and
a sense of belonging.
Studies show that girls in gangs share many adverse socio-economic
factors such as:
- A history
of sexual abuse
- Domestic
violence
- Family
dysfunction
- Poverty
- Academic
failure
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