NCJ Number
222635
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 24 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2008 Pages: 148-162
Date Published
May 2008
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the challenges that result from the evolution of academic, policy, and governmental expertise on violence against women.
Abstract
The findings suggest that the young African-American women in the research faced widespread gendered violence that was a systematic and overlapping feature of neighborhoods, communities, and schools. Although the young women employed a variety of strategies to insulate themselves from such violence, they did so in a context in which ideologies about gender worked against them at every turn. Moreover, they had limited support and few avenues, institutional or otherwise, for remedying the systematic nature of the gendered dangers present in their daily lives. With regard to neighborhood risks, public spaces in disadvantaged communities were male dominated, and consequently, many facets of neighborhoods risks were structured by gender. Public acts of violence against women were widespread, with many youths recanting incidents they had witnessed. Girls expressed serious concerns about their sexualization with community contexts. Although they complained about sexual harassment by their male peers, they were especially wary of adult men and male offenders congregated in public spaces in their neighborhoods, and also believed that women's risks were heightened by the presence of the drug trade. Many girls said they often avoided public spaces in their neighborhoods, opting to stay at or close to home when possible. Girls rarely viewed the police as providing protection to neighborhood residents and were often disappointed in instances in which the police were called to intercede. Nearly one in three young women had experienced multiple sexual victimization; young women faced the greatest risk of victimization at the hands of people they knew. Implications for policy and practice include: improving neighborhoods, increasing institutional accountability, stabilizing community agencies and facilitating relationships with caring adults, and changing gender ideologies and challenging gender inequality. Notes, references