NCJ Number
180872
Journal
Thru the Lens Dated: 1999 Pages: 5-8
Date Published
1999
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Although little research has been conducted to understand the connection between girls' victimization and their perpetration of violence, studies have begun to show that there may be a link between early victimization and arrests for violence later in life.
Abstract
A significant number of women and girls in prisons and juvenile facilities are survivors of physical or sexual abuse that often began early in their lives and continued into adulthood. Both boys and girls witness violence at home, on the street, and in the media, but girls experience it differently, largely because they are more likely to be victims of sexual violence and also because they are less likely to have been socialized to fight back. The impact on their physical and emotional health has barely been addressed. In 1993 the Center for Women Policy Studies conducted a survey of 198 young women enrolled in self-defense classes in nine Washington area private high schools. The survey was designed to find out how young women perceive violence in the community and how it affects their lives. The responses from the young women substantiated findings from anecdotal data and the limited research available that young women are profoundly affected by violence in their lives. In 1994 the Center conducted five focus groups with 42 girls ages 11 to 17 in the Washington metropolitan area. In every focus group girls reported that someone close to them had been a victim of violence. In 1995 the Center conducted a reader survey about violence in two magazines read by teens and young adult women. There were nearly 500 responses. The majority had witnessed physical violence and emotional violence, and more than one-third had seen sexual violence. Although most of the respondents did not report being physically or sexually abused, those who had been abused were more likely to view violence as an acceptable alternative in certain situations.