Girl Rage: Good Girls Gone Bad
More and more girls are expressing their anger through violence.
GLOUCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS
Last summer, a 15-year-old girl nicknamed "Nana" kidnapped and brutally attacked another young girl with a floor tile knife. The crime sent shock waves through scenic Gloucester — an otherwise quiet, seaside community located 40 miles north of Boston.
Long-time juvenile parole agent and Local 1368 Pres. Mark Mulcahy was assigned to Nana’s case.
In viewing graphic photos of the robbery victim’s face, he blurted out "Mother of God, what kind of monster would do something like this to another human being? She could have bled to death!
"In all my 20 years of working with juvenile delinquents, I had not seen anything like this," says Mulcahy, who also serves as vice president of Council 93.
Nana’s story is not unique. In fact, such violence among teenage girls is on the increase — not just in America’s cities, but in suburbs and rural areas as well.
Mulcahy says that girl rage, the inability of some young women to control their violent outbursts, is an issue that crosses all racial and ethnic lines. "And girls are getting on a par with boys when it comes to not being able to control their feelings of anger and rage. I call it equal opportunity delinquency."
RISING WAVE. Criminal violence by girls is rising faster than among males, according to a report by the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The latest data show that between 1988 and 1992, the number of females under age 18 arrested for all violent crimes increased 63 percent, while the number of males increased 45 percent.
Mulcahy points out that the spike in violent crimes among young females often results from growing up in dysfunctional, single-parent families. "It’s not such an easy life for a child who does not understand why that primary caretaker — mom or dad — breaks promise after promise to love and provide for them," he says.
Often violence by one generation breeds more violence in the next. "There may be girls who grow up in crack houses, who are beaten, raped and abused ... or in families where the grandmother is having to raise her grandchildren because her daughter is on drugs, in jail or depressed."
In the Gloucester case, for example, Nana grew up in a home where the father was absent and the mother — currently in a Pennsylvania state prison on a narcotics conviction — was addicted to drugs. "Nana was following in her mother’s footsteps," says Mulcahy. "Emotionally abused as well, Nana was in a lot of pain and wanted to spread it around."
TREATMENT OPTIONS. Dr. Annette Naber, a clinical psychologist at the Rose School in Washington, D.C., has treated dozens of adolescents who are emotionally disturbed, learning disabled or from dysfunctional families. She, too, has seen a rise in girl rage over the last seven years, even among girls 6 to 12 years old.
Naber, a member of Local 3758 (Council 20), reports that the female population at Rose School — a day-treatment program that provides a full spectrum of clinical and educational services — has risen from 20 percent to 33 percent. All of the children at the school are referred by the D.C. public school system.
"We’re receiving more and more referrals of girls as young as six and eight who have been kicking and hitting teachers and students, throwing chairs and other types of aggressive behavior," she says.
Naber maintains that these children "become bullies because they don’t want their peers to know how bad they feel about themselves. They are letting out their anger for all the abuse they have suffered every time they turn on someone else."
The Rose School tries to reverse this process by promoting self-confidence and by teaching effective ways to detect and express frustration. "We show them how to make positive self-statements like ‘I’m smart’ and ‘I’m okay’ to counter cruel remarks made by others," she explains. "This way they can gain some control over their emotions."
THREAT TO WORKERS. Maryland State Department of Juvenile Justice Counselor Matt Riley is also seeking new ways to combat girl rage. "Even after they are arrested or placed in a residential facility, these girls continue to act out," Riley says.
Girl rage has become a health and safety issue for Riley and his colleagues. As a steward with Local 2203 (Council 92), Riley is concerned with protecting members against violence in the workplace — and against false charges of physical and sexual abuse.
"Practically every month throughout the state a male juvenile officer has to defend himself against these charges," Riley explains.
The Maryland juvenile justice system as a whole is also examining new ways to control and help these girls. The state has found that the "boot-camp" approach that has been successful with boys only makes girls more combative and violent, Riley explains. The Maryland Women’s Task Force is trying to increase the number of female caseworkers and to develop educational environments appropriate for the growing population of violent girls.
As states come to terms with girl rage, psychologist Naber counsels patience and understanding. After working with dozens of troubled girls, she believes that "behind all that anger there is a little girl yearning for someone she can love, someone who can love her unconditionally, and someone who can validate that she is a worthy human being."
By Venida RaMar Marshall
Confronting Girl Rage
The rise in violence among girls means that workers cannot let down their guard.
Always play it safe when dealing with your clients. Here are a few guidelines to help you deal with a potentially violent situation.
Avoid dangerous situations. Do not allow yourself to be put in situations that jeopardize your health and safety: Your job should not cost your life or health.
Buddy up. Do not allow yourself to be alone and unsupervised with a client either at the office or in the field. If you must be alone with a client, make sure that another staff member can reach you if you are in trouble.
Create a safe workplace by providing adequate escape routes, monitoring devices, alarms and metal detectors. Make sure that there is a working alarm mechanism and/or escape route wherever you meet your client. Something as simple as rearranging furniture can improve your safety.
Do not rely on personal protective devices alone.
Explain where you are going and when you plan to return to a colleague, if you must visit a client away from the office.
