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Sugar and spice and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of, or so the nursery rhyme goes. Statistics from the FBI's
Uniform Crime Report, however, tell a different story.
It's anything but sweet.
The number of girls aged 10-17 arrested for aggravated assault has doubled during the past 20 years, while those arrested for weapons possession rose a whopping 125 percent between 1983 and 2003. More recent statistics, covering 1996-2005, show the number of juvenile females arrested for drug abuse violations increased 14.4 percent.
The portrait of violent girls is more complicated than the numbers show, according to Katie Luther, adjunct professor at Vanguard
University in Costa Mesa, California.
Luther, who is completing a doctorate in sociology with a specialization in criminology at the University of California-Riverside, points to several changes in police arresting policies to account for the increased numbers.
"Girls have been aggressive for a while," Luther says. "It's just they are now getting processed more often."
For instance, a mutually combative situation between parents and children used to result in an order of anger management for the child. Now the child will be arrested along with the parents. In addition, the zero-tolerance policy in schools can give children police records for getting into fights with peers.
Saint Louis University professor Martha Shockey-Eckles concurs that the legal system is more open to taking action against women; therefore the numbers are up. "It's a combination of both: more crime, plus the legal system that takes it more seriously," she says.
Shockey-Eckles says aggression among girls is reflective of the rise in violence among the adult female population. Girls mimic the behavior modeled for them. Since the women's movement of the 1960s, females have increasingly been modeling historically male behavior - including acts of violence and aggression.
Other dynamics taking place within the home play a significant part in the equation.
The primary factor, according to Kathryn Seifert, founder and chief executive officer of Eastern Shore Psychological Services in Salisbury, Maryland, is exposure to domestic violence as a small child. Add to that what is seen in the media, Seifert says, and it's a recipe for aggression.
"We have female heroes in movies, TV shows and video games who can be quite violent," says Seifert, author of "How Children Become Violent: Keeping Your Kids out of Gangs, Terrorist Organizations, and Cults."
"An abused child would see that and conclude showing power is a way to never be in a vulnerable position again. Those raised in stable
homes can see violence in the media and not be very affected by it.
But a vulnerable child grabs onto it like it's going to protect them."
According to Dr. Herbert Mandell, medical director of KidsPeace Children's Hospital in Orefield, Pennsylvania, what isn't taking place in a girl's childhood is just as predictive of youth violence as what is happening. In a word, it's about supervision.
"There has been an erosion of the kind of neighborhood values that used to exist," Mandell says. "There was a high level of supervision from concerned neighbors who were willing to look out for each others' kids."
Such neighborhood cohesiveness has disintegrated because of an increasingly mobile and disconnected population, Mandell says.
"People often have no idea who they're living near," he says. "Kids become more accessible targets, which begets greater challenges with self-esteem and controlling impulses. If you're already vulnerable and don't have a safe harbor, if you feel you're the only protection you have, you are more likely to lash out against others."
Besides the financial burden of having more girls in prison, Shockey-Eckles refers to the social cost of girl violence as well.
"These young women are going to be the mothers of our next generation of kids," she says. "If we don't care enough to do something to help these young women now, we not only lose them, but the next generation as well."
Shockey-Eckles suggests that schools, families, police and the courts need to collaborate for any change to take place.
Olga Vigil, leadership development coordinator for the Assemblies of God national Girls Ministries, believes congregations can play a major role in both prevention and intervention regarding girl violence.
"It could be as simple as offering the use of the church's facilities, resources or manpower to help facilitate community programs that already exist, or as intricate as starting a parenting program coupled with an after-school program for the girls," Vigil says.
Another key for churches is recognizing when a girl's needs extend beyond the scope of care that someone on the pastoral staff can
provide. In these cases, Vigil says, it's best to refer the child and her family to professional Christian counselors.
Vigil places primary responsibility on the shoulders of parents. "Our children will learn to handle life's difficult situations by watching how we as parents deal with these situations at home or in public," she says.
"We teach our children basic everyday life functions; how to tie their shoes, ride their bikes, and cross the street," Vigil adds.
"Conflict is part of life, too. We as Christian parents have the responsibility to teach them how to handle conflict in a healthy,
productive way."
Jocelyn Green, Today's Pentecostal Evangel -- Used by permission of Assemblies of God www.ag.org
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