A need to belong: what leads girls to join gangs? Lorraine Khan Associate Director, Children and young People

Key messages Girls in gangs are much more vulnerable than other young women who get into trouble vulnerable in many different ways vulnerable throughout their lives

Data and literature review 8029 Young people screened across 37 sites 80 young women identified with gang associations Tracking 28 risk factors and health difficulties Comprehensive review of the literature Between August 2011 and November 2012 E.g Parental mental illness and substance misuse Maltreatment Neglect Family conflict and family violence Sexual abuse Childhood conduct problems Self harm history Mental and physical health problems Experience of bullying School underperformance and exclusion Aged 11 -18

Girls in gangs: multiple vulnerabilities Table 2: breakdown of average number of vulnerabilities per capita General youth justice entrant Female entrants Boys with gang associations Girls with gang associations 2.9 3.7 7.0 9.5 Girls in gangs have higher numbers of multiple vulnerabilities

Family based risk factors Girls in gangs are… 5 times more likely to have parent in prison 3 times more likely to have parent with mental health/substance misuse problems Nearly 4 times more likely to have sibling involved in anti-social behaviour More than 3 times more likely to experience neglect and family conflict 2.5 times more likely to have experienced domestic violence So what risks are we talking about?

Relationships Girls in gangs - 4.5 times more likely to experience poor relationships

4 times more likely to be bullied Victimisation Girls in gangs are… 4 times more likely to be bullied 3 times more likely to be physically abused 3 times more likely to have been sexually abused and to have sexual health problems

Mental health and well being 40% had signs of early starting behavioural difficulties Most common and damaging childhood mental health problem Rarely picked up/life course tracking/flag for multiple poor outcomes/

What behaviour? Over 4 times more likely to have run away 28% had been excluded and non attendance and under performance was higher compared to other girls 62% involved in aggression/violent acts Nearly 3 times more likely to be using drugs/alcohol Over 5 times more likely to be involved in risky sexual activity

Mental health and well being A third had patterns of self-harm or suicide risks A quarter had a diagnosable mental health difficulty A third had experienced bereavement A third had sleeping/eating problems Trauma identified as key risk in literature Economica

Safeguarding and other health needs Twice as likely to be on a child protection plan Twice as likely to be in foster care As likely as other female entrants to have current or previous LAC status Twice as likely to be homeless

Other issues 5 x more likely than other girls to have a developmental difficulty 4 x more likely to have dentistry needs 3 x more likely to have eyesight problem

Need a two pronged strategy Prevention is better than cure But when girls join gangs - need safe and gender-specific exit pathways What can we do about it? Multiple opportunities to create safety nets to pick up these girls needs Builds assets

Prevention priorities All sector commitment - making every contact count Reduce maltreatment/neglect and build resilience Intervene early at the first signs of poor child mental health – early behaviour is important Evidence-based outreach approaches Support children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing in schools

Girls enter gangs for different reasons… So they need different routes out which… make use of and help build positive attachments support self-esteem, aspiration and empowerment create safe female spaces and safe exit pathways address histories of victimisation and trauma Finally…..easy to engage with Outreach youth, gender specific services, health work and voluntary sector programmes are critical rent reasons…

Challenges in the system Austerity measures are affecting early intervention and prevention… e.g. schools

And yet… Without prevention, these girls… drift into high costs services carry forward legacies of disadvantage and victimisation Impact on community well-being

Summary Girls in gangs are: They need: highly vulnerable and costly whole-system, preventative, and life-course approaches to: help them flourish reduce accumulation of risk gender-specific, evidence -based and safe exit routes should they end up in gangs

Thank you lorraine.khan@centreformentalhealth.org.uk