U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

"It´s Wrong, But You Get Used To It" Sexual Violence and Exploitation in Gangs: Young People's Report

NCJ Number
246892
Date Published
February 2014
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This report highlights the problem of sexual violence and exploitation in gangs in the United Kingdom.
Abstract
This report by researchers from the University of Bedfordshire in the United Kingdom highlights what has been found out about sexual violence and exploitation in gangs. Key findings in the report include the following: there is a lot of sexual violence and exploitation happening not just in gangs, but between other groups of young people as well; there are a lot of different types of sexual violence and exploitation; it is mostly young women who experience sexual violence and exploitation, but young men can be victims as well; the amount of sexual violence that a young woman is at risk of can vary depending on her role or status in the gang; young women are often wrongly blamed for the harm they experience; many young people think that sexual violence and exploitation is just a normal part of life and incidents of sexual violence and exploitation are rarely reported. The report provides information on what young people can do to fight the problem of sexual violence and exploitation, information on organizations that can provide help to victims and their families, and a set of recommendations for dealing with the problem.