General Article Girls in gangs: how they are recruited, exploited and trapped

Topic Selected: Youth Violence Book Volume: 430

Girls in gangs: how they are recruited, exploited and trapped

Tirion Havard, London South Bank University

There has long been a misconception that gangs are made up of boys and young men, typically from ethnic minority groups and disadvantaged backgrounds. But the reality is very different.

Girls and young women from all demographics are targeted by gang members, and used to transport drugs and weapons from urban areas to rural locations and coastal towns.

Research in London’s Waltham Forest...

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