violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

7Gang membership may be drawn exclusivelyfrom among school students, exclusively fromamong non-school-goers, or from both. Howevertheir membership is drawn, gangs operatingin and around schools can expose studentsand teachers to criminal activity and extremeviolence. Research shows that, in many societies,physical and verbal aggression, includingfighting, is considered a healthy and normalway for boys to prove their manhood and thatexplains, in part, why boys are more inclinedto join gangs than girls and why boys’ gangsenter into aggressive competition with othergangs. 131 However, there are also gangs madeup of girls and, like gangs of boys, they mayalso engage in violence. 132Although gangs of boys on the streets arealmost universally associated – in the public’smind – with violence, crime, and other forms ofantisocial behaviour, it should be rememberedthat children – mostly but not exclusively boys– join gangs for a variety of reasons. In somecases, lack of nurturing and emotional supportat home may prompt young teenagers to seekgang membership; in others, gang affiliationis the only means of achieving economic sufficiencyor feeling safe. In the USA, an ethnographicstudy of immigrant school childrenfrom Mexico and Central America found thatthey joined gangs to find a positive culturalidentity as Latinos when they felt thwarted bynegative stereotypes. 133In addition to adolescent street-based youthgangs, concerns were raised during the Studyprocess about children’s involvement in organisedarmed groups acting outside defined warzones. These include organised crime organisations(including those in the drug trade),ethnic or religious militias, vigilante groups,and paramilitary organisations.A recent study that investigated such groupsin 10 countries (Colombia, El Salvador, Ecuador,Honduras, Jamaica, Nigeria, NorthernIreland, the Philippines, South Africa, andthe USA) found that the average age at whichboys tended to join such groups was 13, withthe exception of Nigeria, where the averagewas 15–16. 134 Alarmingly, however, the ageof gang members appears to be decreasing. 135The study found that children working forarmed groups were directly involved in acts ofviolence, including the murder of fellow groupmembers and non-involved parties. 136Many Governments have tried using repressivelaw enforcement tactics to deal with childreninvolved in organised armed violence (seebox). However, available evidence suggeststhat a focus solely on repression will tend tobe ineffective for several reasons: it does notdeal with the root causes of the problem; thejuvenile justice and penal systems in mostcountries affected by this problem are inadequateand worsen the problem; and armedgroups tend to become more organised andincreasingly violent when faced only withrepressive tactics. 137 Continued pressure frominternational child protection agencies mustbe focused on the eradication of any such legislationthat would place certain minors underharsher legal regimes than others.305Violence against children in the community