Girls Incorporated: Project Bold

A new and alarming trend that has been occurring in American society is the increase of violence committed by young women. The documentary Girlhood offers an insight on the emotional, psychological, and social reasoning behind the girl’s actions. Girlhood focuses on the life of two young juveniles, Shanae Owens and Megan Jensen both incarcerated for violent crimes. Shanae and Megan both experienced similar circumstances that yielded different outcomes. They were followed for a period of about three years which allowed viewers to really see what kind of role the justice system, family and peers have on the success of an at risk juvenile.

In Between Good and Ghetto Nikki Jones reflects the vulnerabilities experienced by inner-city African American girls and how they manage threats of personal violence. She finds that many youth feel a sense of distrust toward law enforcement and the judicial system and thus seek alternative approaches to resolve conflict. Girls expressed that based on their perceptions from neighborhood observations of police interactions, the criminal justice system was ineffectual, apathetic, and potentially racist. This often led girls to negotiate their conflict with violence whether it be in their neighborhoods, or on the school grounds. This challenges mainstream notions of feminity which suggests that girls do not engage in physical altercations leading to disciplinary infractions by school

One of the ways in which BUILD works to combat violence in communities focuses on prevention. Attempting to intervene after one has already adopted a violent lifestyle proves little use. Therefore, BUILD engages children in structured programs such as providing assistance in school work, service learning projects, recreational activities, and workshops that teach valuable life-skills to ensure that at-risk children have the skills and support to lead productive lives and resist the temptations of gangs, drugs, and

Since 1970, there has been an increasing and alarming rise 138 percent of violent crimes committed by women. Still, while the equivalent percentage compared to male violence is small 15 percent to 85 percent the fact that the numbers have elevated so drastically points to something changing in society.

Many women are experiencing violence against them, whether it be physical, mental, or verbal. According to Kirk, Terry, Lokuge, and Watterson, “Violence against women (VAW) is a major issue worldwide, with an estimated 35% of women, or roughly 1 in 3, experiencing either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime” (p. 2). There have been many groups that have been created to combat violence against women. The group I will be focusing on is White Ribbon group. The White Ribbon are the defenders of women.

In Greenville County, of particular concern, is the incidence of domestic violence. Domestic violence is at an all time high in South Carolina, with the incidence of homicide by domestic partner twice that of the national average (Safe Horizon, 2015). Greenville County‘s domestic violence crimes are highest in the state with over four thousand victims in 2014 alone (The Rule of Thumb: A Five Year Overview of Domestic Violence in South Carolina, 2014). While there is not currently an objective that specifically addresses domestic violence, Healthy People 2020 recognizes that there needs to be a better understanding of this trend. Efforts to prevent domestic violence may focus on changing social norms about the acceptance of violence and education on bullying, dating violence, and sexual violence among youth, as well as learning effective conflict resolutions and coping skills. Healthy People 2020 also recognizes that beyond the immediate health consequences, domestic violence may also have a significant impact on a person’s well-being by contributing to premature death, disability, poor mental health, high medical costs, and loss of productivity

Moreover, in this study Voisin, Bird, Hardestry, & Shiu noticed that community violence exposure among urban youth has caused them psychological distress, anxiety, depression, aggression, low academic functioning, and delinquency (Voisin, Bird, Hardestry, & Shiu, 2011). The researchers used a grounded theory approach that helped them understand how African American youth live in a high-violence Chicago neighborhood (Voisin, Bird, Hardestry, & Shiu, 2011). The methodology used by these researchers included 16 boys and 16 girls which are equal to 32 participants (Voisin, Bird, Hardestry, & Shiu, 2011). They found out that participants were exposed to community violence by either hearing about it, witnessing it, or as direct victim (Voisin, Bird,

The Coalition for Juvenile Justice states that “70% of girls in the juvenile justice system have been exposed to trauma”(Kuhn). These traumas consist of high levels of rape, post traumatic stress, witness of murder and serious injury (Kuhn). Overall, girls have higher rates of mental disorders (80% compared to 67%) and are more likely to internalize their behaviors. Paula Schafer argues that the most prominent issue for girls is not their violence or aggression, but rather untreated trauma (Schaefer). To further this issue, many of the rehabilitation programs are created for boys, with very little attention paid to girls. It is possible that these programs can actually negatively impact the girls involved by triggering the stress from traumatic experiences (Kuhn). The abuse that girls experience create even more problems throughout the course of their interactions with authority such as police and correctional officers. These girls develop survival skills to cope with the abuse they have endured. Going into survival mode means putting up walls and becoming aggressive and defensive (Schaefer). The juvenile justice website mentions that many girls run away from home because of the trauma they are experiencing from their family. This observation alone helps criminologists understand why there are so many girls entering the system

Violence affects a healthy family’s relationship, state of mind and well-being, in other words, it’s normal functions. Because of violence, children are forced to endure and cope with mental, physical and emotional trauma leading to a display of impacts on health, development, and wellbeing. The effects build up over time and can impact on every aspect of their life.  How many children and innocent lives must suffer from something unnecessary? Imagine walking into a home late at night to find a child hiding in a corner, with a bloody face and cuts all around their body saying they were self-inflicted or making up other silly excuses like falling down the stairs out of extreme fear. Up to 75% of all acts of domestic violence occurs between the ages 18-24. No child should ever see domestic violence as normal because the moment that happens a future perpetrator has been born. We need to take a stand and refuse to let domestic violence become something we ignore.

It’s a common misconception that women, young and old, fight with words rather than with violence. Examples in the media such as the movie Mean Girls come to mind, but it’s important to keep in mind that not all women have the same life experiences and background. Most media depicting young women occur in a white-washed setting; Mean Girls is set in Evanston, Illinois, a wealthy suburb outside of Chicago. While the characters defend their reputation, gain respect, and retaliate those who did them wrong through “symbolic violence” (page 65) such as rumors and verbal backstabbing, the young women who, in theory, live right next to them in inner-city Chicago face a gendered “code of the street” (page 63) riddled with physical violence.

In the present scenario, PEACE will use findings from the government data collection project (Secondary data collection technique) to inform the development of family and domestic violence strategic planning, and to benchmark the impact of initiatives to violence and trauma in Portland. This will also include data by conducting comprehensive surveys across the community, and studying police reports on the related cases (Primary data collection technique) to know the reasons and impact of violence. This data will be used by a

Studies indicate that girls as young as 6 and 7 can struggle with body image. By middle school 40-70 percent of girls are dissatisfied with two or more parts of their body (The Issues). The NYC Girls Project is a multi-agency educational and advertising initiative aimed at promoting self esteem and positive body image by focusing on admirable character traits rather than physical attributes. Colorful signs can be found in various locations throughout New York City. The background of each one features young girls between the ages of 7-12 of all sizes and ethnicity. The catch phrase, “I’m a Girl” in bold yellow text is followed by “I’m beautiful the way I am” emphasized by the use of capital letters. By strategically using

The chapter on violence against women reminded me of chapter 3 and the arguments concerning why men commit more crime than women. Chapter 3 briefly mentioned how we raise boys to be assertive and dominant while we raise girls to be the opposite. In order to break the cycle and curb violence against women, we have to start at home with parents. Many of us are guilty of following and passing down the same gender rules/roles that have been the norm for years, but it’s those same rules/roles that teach young boys that it’s acceptable to be forceful towards girls and that it’s acceptable to be aggressive to get what you want. Meanwhile, we teach girls that they have to be careful of their actions, fearful of situations, and cautious of the men around

Teen Violence is a big dilemma in today’s society. Violent behaviors usually start from family and peers, as well as teens observing it at there neighborhoods or communities. These behaviors are reinforced by what youth see on television, on the Internet, in video games, movies, music videos, and what they hear in their music. When children are disciplined with severe corporal punishment or verbal abuse, or when they are physically or sexually abused, or when they witness such behavior in their home, it is not surprising that they behave violently toward others. Teen Violence has had such an impact in our youth today that it leads many destructive things and that’s why we have so much violence today.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, “On average, 20 people per minute are victims of physical violence by an intimate partner in the United States.” As one can see all types of abuse occurs among each group of a society. Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse range over different levels of severity all being serious matters. Women can have a difficult time overcoming their abusive partners because of the severity the abuser can have on women’s emotional state. Although women can be batterers too, most of the time in a relationship the male is the predominate force of battering. There have been signs shown that males that batter have grown up in families that battering was accepted; therefore, they do not know how to treat their wives any differently (Wilson 18). This issue needs to be addressed through political change. Since the 1970s progress has been seen, but there is still much more to be accomplished in making women feel safe in their own