Citation

Jarman N. Child Care Pract. 2005; 11(3): 341-356.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13575270500151896

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The issue of young people's involvement in forms of violence and anti-social behaviour is one that is generating increasing concern across Northern Ireland. Young people are frequently regarded as one of the primary sources of social disorder and are often blamed for provoking fear and a sense of insecurity among elder members of the community. However, in much of the recent writing and in most of the policy responses to problems of anti-social behaviour, there is an inappropriate use of the term “young people”, which effectively functions as a gloss for “young males”. Young women are implicitly included in the concept of “young people as problem” but are effectively excluded from policy considerations, which largely focus on dealing with young men. This paper draws upon research into young people's attitudes to and experiences of violence and disorder in Northern Ireland, but focuses specifically on the views of young women and explores their experiences and knowledge of violence and disorder. The paper considers how far young women's concerns are being acknowledged and questions how far the needs of young women can be accommodated or the risks some of them pose are being addressed by subsuming them within the broader category of “young people”.