"Talking Sweet and Moving Quiet": Trauma and Resiliency in Gang Involved Girls in Belize

Background: Currently, the research exploring gangs in Belize is growing, with one exception; current research excludes gang-involved girls and women. Besides a previous pilot study conducted by this author, there is no known research on gangs in Belize that includes girls and women. Given the extent to which gang violence and activity is increasing within Belize, it is crucial to understand the entire gang-involved population in order to combat this growing social issue.

Purpose: The overarching purpose of this dissertation research was to investigate 1) early childhood traumatic experiences that act as push factors to gang joining for girls in Belize and 2) the impact of gender in terms of gang experiences. The girls’ subjective understanding of what factors influenced their eventual gang joining was of particular interest to the researcher. Other topics related to gang-involved girls that are investigated include their experiences of trauma and how gendered gang roles and sexual behavior impacted their gang experiences. This study begins to fill this gap by exploring the experiences of trauma, gang involvement, and resiliency in girls in Belize.

Methods: Through in-depth narrative interviews, the participants explored the many factors leading to their gang involvement and gendered experiences in the gang. Further, trauma and its effects were explored through this narrative framework. Partnering with the Community Rehabilitation Department (CRD), 11 participants (13-18 years old) engaged in three trauma-informed narrative interviews following the life course timeline. The first interview explored early childhood experiences, including family dynamics, community violence, and maltreatment. The second interview examined gang involvement and introduced the participants to a creative project, inviting them to express their experiences through visual artwork. The creative projects produced visual narrative data through artwork and verbal processing of the creative project (photo-elicitation). In the third and final interview, the participants discussed their completed creative art projects, exploring meanings, symbols, and stories behind the images they created.

Results: Including the voices of gang-involved girls in the research is essential for understanding gangs in Belize. Significant aspects of the experiences of gang-involved girls in Belize were uncovered in this dissertation. The major findings included the fact that 1) childhood trauma experiences act as push factors for later gang-joining (the most significant traumatic experiences included a.) witnessing traumatic experiences in the home, b) community violence, and c) sexual abuse); 2) sexual behavior and respect are interconnected in the gang; 3) existing cultural views of gender impact gang involvement in girls in Belize.

Conclusions: Uncovering the factors associated with gang-joining, gendered experiences in the gang, and cultural understandings of gender are essential to discerning the needs and obstacles faced by gang-involved girls in Belize. This study contributes first-hand information from this population and is essential in strengthening the country's knowledge base regarding this social issue and the scientific knowledge base regarding girls involved with gangs. The voices in this research highlight the strength and resilience of gang-involved girls in Belize; with this first-hand knowledge, we begin to shine a light on the experiences of this previously unknown population.