When G. I. Joe meets Barbie: Youth Violence in the twenty-first
century
Sibylle Artz, Ph. D. Director and Associate Professor, School of
Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria |
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| Sibylle Artz presented her
findings from research and studies into violence in female young people.
She has found culture is more predictive of violence than gender and
illustrated this showing a chart listing murders per one hundred
thousand persons by nation. America leads with 11.2 for white males,
then a stunning 85 for black males while all other nations were 5 and
under.
In her studies on female violence Sibylle Artz
sketched out the exquisite dance which results between the sexes in our
times when females use violence to establish power and authority within
their social groups. It appeared a core cluster of around ten percent of
all who commit violent acts are young women and that they collaborate
with their boyfriends in the pastime. The young women resort to violence
to for a number of reasons: attractiveness as in being thin and popular
with males, in response to violence they have endured, being viewed as
'sluts' within their peer groups and in competition for male attention
being among them. To observers, including the young males involved this
violence appears 'silly', to be over 'stupid' things as our gender
stereotyping masks the female need for power. A growing number of cases
of murder and assault among young people point up the need to address
the issue. |
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Dr. Artz has found these
differences demand a wider range of approaches to address youth
violence. Males do respond to directive approaches such as posters or
video advertisements. Woman require a more one to one approach as
relationship and social forces determine their behavior. The most
effective means is to have parental involvement in addressing these
issues.
The address ended with a complex he does, she does
style elaboration upon the dance between the sexes being played out.
Bringing the sexes together to share their perceptions and develop their
relationships would undermine the stress upon the superficial elements
of looks and power that contribute to youth violence.
At the banquet, Sibylle Artz and Jim Anglin
announced and invited all to the next International Child and Youth Care
Conference to be held in Victoria in 2003.
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Published by Garth Goodwin with the assistance of the Child and Youth Care
Workers Association of Manitoba and the Council of Canadian Child and Youth Care
Associations, Together 2000 and with the essential support of Chip Bonsutto,
President, Ohio Association for Child and Youth Care Professionals. June 6
through June 10, 2000.