Preventing Youth Violence

Rethinking the Role of Gender and Schools

V. Sundaram

• Publisher: Palgrave Pivot
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN:
  9781137365682
• eBook ISBN:
  9781137365699
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Education Theory & Practice
• Index: Social Sciences

Young people explain, excuse and justify violence in a range of situations and view violence prevention as a difficult, if not impossible, endeavour. But how do young people form these views, and how can this knowledge be used by schools to reduce youth violence? This book explores these questions in a study with British teenagers.

1

The Case for Youth-Informed Violence Prevention

Abstract: This chapter offers an argument for thinking about youth violence prevention from the perspectives of young people themselves. It suggests that young people’s understandings of violence must be sought and used in developing targeted violence prevention initiatives. The chapter reviews existing literature to illustrate the prevalence of violence among young people, as a basis from which to consider the necessity of targeted prevention work.

Sundaram, Vanita. Preventing Youth Violence: Rethinking the Role of Gender in Schools. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. DOI: 10.1057/9781137365699.0006.

Introduction

This chapter contextualises the focus of the book in several ways. Firstly, it provides an argument for thinking about youth violence prevention from the perspective of young people themselves. The chapter reminds us that violence among young people is widespread and that violence prevention aimed specifically at youth should be a priority. In presenting the case for focusing on youth perspectives on violence prevention, the chapter will first provide a brief overview of research on youth violence. The specific emphasis will be on interpersonal violence within and outside of intimate relationships. Then, an argument will be made for using youth voice in violence prevention work, drawing on international and national child rights frameworks. The chapter will then go on to explore the predominant models for youth violence prevention, arguing that these may be restricted in their reach and potential for engaging youth.

Young people and violence

There is a pressing need to re-focus our attention onto violence among young people. Violence has historically been used by young people as individuals and in groups to assert social power or dominance in relation to others. This includes school bullying, intimate partner violence and gang violence. Violence among young people constitutes an enduring social concern in many societies (World Health Organisation, 2002; 2010), and existing research indicates that violence among young people is widespread. A significant portion of the literature about youth violence has focused on dating violence by young men towards women and girls, and has explored risk factors associated with perpetration and victimisation (Ackard et al., 2012; Barter et al., 2009; Burton et al., 1998; Ely, 2004; Foshee et al., 2013; Martin del Campo et al., 2012; Howard et al., 2013; McCarry, 2010; Noonan and Charles, 2009; Palmetto et al., 2013; Stader, 2011; Temple et al., 2013; Vagi et al., 2013; Wekerle and Tanaka, 2010). There also exists a wide body of evidence on violence among young men (DeKeseredy and Schwartz, 2005; Messerschmidt, 2005; Mills, 2001; Newburn and Stanko, 1995; Wilson and Daly, 1985) and much of the literature has focused on specific populations or has foregrounded particular characteristics of the sample. For example, studies have been done on violence among working-class men, alcohol or drug abusers, young offenders or homeless young men (Gorman-Smith et al., 2004; Maschi and Bradley, 2008; Vitacco et al., 2010; Willis, 1977). The theoretical literature which seeks to analyse why young men engage in violence has concentrated more specifically on the role of gender in producing, encouraging and sustaining violent behaviour (Connell and Messerschmidt, 2005; Hamlall and Morrell, 2012; Hearn, 2007, 2012; Messerschmidt, 2000; Mullaney, 2007; Totten, 2003). Increasingly, studies have been conducted to investigate the prevalence of violence by, and between, young women (Foshee et al., 2010; Herman and Silverstein, 2012; Martin del Campo et al., 2012; Osler, 2006; Osler and Vincent, 2003). Attitudes which are supportive of violence may already be well-established in adolescence and primary prevention among children and young people has been shown to succeed (Flood, 2007). Violence prevention aimed specifically at young people should therefore be a priority for governments, professionals working with young people and researchers alike.

Recognising youth voice in violence prevention

There have been calls for the views of young people to be more widely sought out and represented in violence prevention work aimed specifically at youth. Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (1989) gives children and young people the right to be protected from violence and calls on governments to ensure that children and young people are not neglected, mistreated or subjected to abuse. The UNCRC notes that children and young people should be informed about and participate in achieving their rights – including their right to be protected from violence. Further it states that children who are capable of forming their own views should be given the right to express those views freely in matters affecting them (Article 12). The Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) for the UK is guided by the UNCRC in its pledge to seek out, take seriously, and act upon the views of young people in relation to issues which concern them. The mission of the OCC similarly states that the perspectives of young people should shape decisions that are made about their lives, and that research should therefore involve young people and children to ensure that their voices are heard (OCC, 2013).

The British Educational Research Association (BERA) has called for more educational research to be conducted on young people’s experiences of violence and their views on violence, in order for child-led violence prevention initiatives to be developed (Brown & Winterton, 2010). The strength of consultation with young people to inform policy and practice has been noted in numerous recent studies (Fielding and Bragg, 2003; Flutter, 2006; Rose & Shevlin, 2004). Young people themselves state that it is important that they be encouraged to express their own opinions on sensitive and contentious issues, rather than simply being told how to behave and that their actions are ‘wrong’ (Burton et al., 1998). The latter point may be particularly relevant in relation to violence prevention, which has typically employed a directive approach to instruct young people on ‘what not to do’.

Youth voice in existing violence prevention work

An increasing number of youth violence prevention campaigns have been developed at the national, regional, local authority, and school level in the UK. The vast majority have been based on an adult-led understanding of violence and mechanisms for preventing (and typically for responding to) violence. Typical models for violence prevention tend to teach young people ‘what violence is’ and seek to dissuade them from engaging with it (Banos Smith, 2011). School-based programmes focus on discipline and control to prevent perpetration, teaching about risk reduction strategies to avoid victimisation, mechanisms for disclosing abuse, and resources and skills to support victims (Greytak, 2003).

Young people’s own understandings of violence are rarely acknowledged and used as the basis for school-based violence prevention work with youth. Prevention campaigns frequently use official definitions of violence as a starting point (Home Office, 2010; Welsh Assembly Government, 2010) and adopt a prescriptive stance in terms of dictating behaviour to young people (Banos Smith, 2011) (exceptions to these will be discussed in Chapter 2). This may lead to time-limited gain in terms of attitudinal changes, resistance from young people to messages being promoted, and a restricted understanding of young people’s views on violence and factors underlying their involvement in or acceptance of violence (Barter et al., 2009; Fredland et al., 2005; Hester and Westmarland, 2005; McCarry, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010; Stanley et al., 2011). Research which seeks to uncover and change young people’s attitudes towards violence has commonly tended to use predetermined characterisations of violence for participants to comment on or respond to (Burton et al., 1998; Fox et al., 2013b; Simonson and Subich, 1999; Smith et al., 2005; Sommer et al., 2013; Ulloa et al., 2008; Yick, 2000). These studies have undoubtedly made a significant contribution to our knowledge about young people’s relationships to violence. However, the use of pre-defined descriptions of violence may lead to a partial understanding of (factors shaping) their views, as well as an incomplete picture of their experiences of violence. It is argued here that violence prevention campaigns which do not incorporate youth perspectives on violence may struggle to engage young people at best, may lead to negative changes in attitudes and behaviours at worst, and may not reduce violence among young people. The following chapter will discuss existing violence prevention campaigns in the UK, focussing specifically on issues which might be important to engage young people with.

2

Re-Establishing the Link between Gender and Violence

Abstract: This chapter argues that youth violence prevention must fundamentally acknowledge the link between gender and violence. The chapter re-visits the well-established link between gender and violence with reference to seminal and recent research in the field. This research is used to remind the reader that gender can be seen not only as reflected in and through acts of violence, but as preceding and producing violence. A more specific understanding of the ways in which gender influences young people’s views on violence is crucial to developing violence prevention.

Sundaram, Vanita. Preventing Youth Violence: Rethinking the Role of Gender in Schools. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. DOI: 10.1057/9781137365699.0007.

Introduction

This chapter aims to establish a focus on gender-based violence, by re-asserting the link between gender and violence with reference to seminal and recent research in the field. This chapter argues that in terms of violence prevention, the link between gender and violence should be re-examined and expanded. The analysis will suggest that gender education must be the primary component of anti-violence education. The treatment of gender as one of many (equally) contributing factors to violence maintains a reactive, rather than preventative approach to violence prevention. The link should be expanded such that we consider not only how gender might produce violence, but how it organises young people’s views on what actually constitutes violence, why violence might be used, when it should not be used, and views on violence prevention. It is vital that we understand the ways in which gender mediates and structures these beliefs about violence in order to challenge the underlying norms which influence attitudes towards violence. It is argued that focusing solely on changing attitudes towards violence through punitive or disciplinarian approaches will be unlikely to be effective. We need to acknowledge and understand how young people relate to, give meaning to and interpret violence in order to be able to challenge and destabilise these perceptions.

Re-asserting the link between gender and violence

The World Health Organisation (2002) has recognised that violence exists in multiple forms (as discussed in the Introduction). Violence can be defined as collective, self-directed or interpersonal and can occur in multiple, overlapping forms across the lifecourse. The particular focus of this book is on interpersonal violence. Interpersonal violence itself encompasses multiple types of violences, which may be co-occurring or used interchangeably within the same contexts or relationships (Kelly, 1988). This includes physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, financial violence or cyber-abuse. Analyses of interpersonal violence reveal that men are primary perpetrators of violence (Chaplin, 2011; Office for National Statistics, 2012; 2013) and that this is the case across all forms of violence. A number of competing explanations for this gender bias have been advanced, including those which draw on biology, poverty and socialisation (Gurian, 2002; Watson, 2007). The theorisation of men’s use of interpersonal violence has been greatly extended and enriched by feminist scholarship. A wide body of feminist scholarship has established a link between men’s violences and gender expectations, norms, stereotypes and roles (Burton et al., 1998; Connell, 2001, 2002, 2005; Flood, 2001, 2010; Hearn, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2007; Kimmel et al., 2005; McCarry, 2007, 2009, 2010; Morgan, 1987; Stoudt, 2006; Totten, 2003). Violence has been argued to reflect and sustain particular versions of masculinity, through material acts of violence, as well as discursive and visual representations of violence (Hearn, 1998). Stanko (2002, p.33) has argued that popular images of violence rest upon unquestioned assumptions about and understandings of gender and of masculinity, in particular. The link between masculinity and violence thus becomes naturalised to such an extent that men’s use of violence may be viewed as inevitable, normal or even justifiable (by virtue of their very nature). Indeed, one way in which violence may become legitimated is through a process of normalisation which is so effective that the violence itself ‘disappears’ (Morgan, 1987, pp.180–183). With no intention to diminish the fact that many women live in perpetual fear of violence from men as an ‘ordinary’ aspect of their daily lives (Dobash and Dobash, 1992; Hamner and Saunders, 1984; Kelly, 1988; Stanko, 1990), it is noteworthy that less attention has been given to men’s fear of violent crime despite their consistent position as the primary perpetrators and victims of serious interpersonal violence (Stanko, 2002). It might be argued that this absence in the literature serves to reinforce a construction of violence as a routine aspect of men’s experiences, thus amplifying the link between masculinity and violence.

What is meant by gender?

While gender is conceived of as central to explaining men’s use of violence, it cannot be defined singularly in relation to violence. Masculinity in itself is certainly not viewed as static and universally manifested in all male bodies; indeed, constructions of masculinity are sufficiently variable to warrant pluralising the term to masculinities (Connell, 2005; Hearn, 2007; Morgan, 1987). Hegemonic masculinity is a key concept in understanding the gender basis of violence. It has been well-theorised as culturally and socially dominant and/or valued enactments of masculinity (Connell, 2005). These understandings of masculinity include the valorisation of aggression, demonstrations of physical strength, and expressions of physical, sexual and social dominance (Kaufman 2001; Kenway and Fitzclarence, 1997). However, it is vital to note that the present study does not see understandings of masculinity (or, indeed, of violence) as uniform in different contexts. It must also be recognised that there are contradictions between what is socially and culturally valued and what individual men do. Men can thus ‘adopt hegemonic masculinity when it is desirable; but the same men can distance themselves strategically from hegemonic masculinity at other moments’ (Connell and Messerschmidt, 2005, p.841). Here, it is useful to draw on Hearn’s (2004;2012) conceptualisation of the ‘hegemony of men’ which acknowledges the distinction between the power of men as a social category and the power of men as individual agents. Hearn notes that not all men are violent, of course, but that complicity in men’s use of violence is widespread. Many men (and women) reject violence against women and girls, but may engage in other practices which subordinate women and create or contribute to contexts which are conductive to violence. This can span engagement with the sex industry, viewing domestic violence as a ‘private matter’ or justifying the use of partner violence. With regard to exploring teenagers’ attitudes towards violence, it is accepted that the narratives of young people regarding gender and violence may not necessarily be reflected in their subjective practices. Nonetheless, it is important to understand how and when complicit cultures develop, the factors underlying these, and how discourse can reflect or even produce contexts that are conducive to violence.

It is known that understandings of natural, appropriate and expected gender behaviour shape young people’s use of violence, their acceptance of violence, their attitudes towards violence (Barter et al., 2009; LaCasse and Mendelson, 2007; McCarry, 2010; Messerschmidt, 2012; Próspero, 2006a, 2006b; Sears et al., 2006) and, therefore, their engagement with violence prevention campaigns and non-violence education. It is argued here that in order to change attitudes towards violence and eventually to reduce and eliminate youth violence, the factors underlying these ideas must be openly addressed. Existing evidence strongly suggests that this should entail an explicit focus on gender as an antecedent to anti-violence work.

Existing UK violence prevention campaigns

There has been a renewed focus on violence prevention among young people, particularly on VAWG following the coalition government’s launch of a dedicated Action Plan in 2013 (Home Office, 2013). Existing campaigns can be broadly divided into those that are concerned with general awareness-raising about violence, including avenues for prevention, support and disclosure, and those which aim to change attitudes particularly through education. In the UK context, youth violence has most frequently been conceptualised as a child protection or child safeguarding issue and the focus of teaching resources and awareness-raising is therefore on respect for oneself, self-esteem raising, being safe and techniques for rejecting violence. Recent governmental publications on the role of education in preventing teenage violence suggest that violence prevention among young people continues to be viewed primarily in terms of awareness-raising about personal safety and rights, rather than as a gender-based issue which requires teaching to promote attitudinal change (DCSF, 2010a, 2010b; DfE, 2012).

In past campaigns, the response to violence has historically been conceptualised in secondary or tertiary terms. The emphasis has thus been o...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Introduction
• 1  The Case for Youth-Informed Violence Prevention
• 2  Re-Establishing the Link between Gender and Violence
• 3  Capturing Youth Perspectives on Violence: Approaches and Techniques
• 4  What Is Violence? Characterisations and Understandings of Violence
• 5  Asserting Gender through Narratives about Violence
• 6  What Is the Role of Schools in Violence Prevention?
• 7  Examining the Role of (Gender in) Schools in Preventing Youth Violence
• References
• Index