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UK government funding to help women in gangs

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Liz Stimson
WVoN co-editor

The UK government has announced plans to invest £400,000 into making help available to girls and women caught in gang-related rape and abuse.

Gang culture is a recognised problem in the UK.

Figures from Scotland Yard suggest that London gang members are responsible for 50 per cent of all shootings and 40 per cent of commercial robberies in the capital.

The media has increased its focus on gangs since the August riots that shook London and other major UK cities.

In the initial wake of the riots, police ascribed much of the violence to gangs.

However the violent experiences of girls and women in gangs have often gone unreported and unnoticed.

Often drawn in under the belief that it will provide protection, women have been raped, coerced into holding weapons and drugs for their boyfriends and threatened to provide alibis.

Girls in gangs are seen as second class citizens, to be used and abused by male gang members, commented Detective Allen Davis of the Metropolitan Police.

Home Secretary Theresa May described how girls in gangs would “find themselves being used as weapons – raping a rival gang leader’s girlfriend [would be a way] to get back at that gang”.

Detective Davis added: “Ultimately girls are disposable, it’s the boys that gain status and respect by… committing crime and hurting people. Girls get status by who they have sex with and it makes them very vulnerable.”

Historically, services have struggled to identify and respond to the impact of gang violence on girls and women.

As a result female gang members have been abused, and have committed crimes, under the radar.

However the recent government funding pledge marks a positive change in social policy towards finally realising and addressing the experiences of gang-affected women.

Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone described girls’ involvement in gangs, and the abuse they suffer as a result, as a “hidden issue”.

The problem cannot, however, be tackled by the police alone. Doctors, social workers and teachers must get involved too if women are to receive better help.

The Home Office said their plan to recruit 13 “Young People’s Advocates” will help provide support to young victims of sexual violence or exploitation, or to those at risk of becoming victims.

Working in areas most affected by gangs, the advocates will be able to provide expert, specialised and sensitive support.

“They will form a network across the country to share information and best practice to make inroads into such an horrific issue” said Ms Featherstone.

Acknowledging women’s experiences in gangs, together with the realisation that better support must be made available, will hopefully help to expose the once hidden lives of women in gangs and finally provide the support and care they need.

  1. Any links to get more detail available ?

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