Loretta Trickett

ion was a problem for all officers but for beat managers and PCSOs it often affected their relationships with people on their own patch in terms of community policing if they were abstracted to other beat areas and/or to cover for response officers. The aforementioned PCSO goes on to elaborate about how damaging abstraction could be in cases like Pilkington involving hate crimes, incidents and anti-social behaviour:

ion was a problem for all officers but for beat managers and PCSOs it often affected their relationships with people on their own patch in terms of community policing if they were abstracted to other beat areas and/or to cover for response officers. The aforementioned PCSO goes on to elaborate about how damaging abstraction could be in cases like Pilkington involving hate crimes, incidents and anti-social behaviour:

This article draws on the contentious concept of the fear of crime and in particular focuses on two factors which, it is argued, have been afforded insufficient consideration in the „fear of crime‟ debate, those of gender and age, and uses them to examine a form of „fear‟ that has also been neglected; that of „altruistic‟ fear. Based on data from a qualitative study with men and boys the article argues that the concept of a gendered selfhood is fundamental to understanding how men worry about other people. The traditional conceptualisation of altruistic fears is thereby contested and suggestions are made for a new conceptualisation of fears which involve others.

This chapter addresses the issue of sexual violence experienced by ‘gang associated’ girls and young women. Research conducted in the UK suggests that gang-related sexual violence is distinctive with its own set of characteristics and motivations. Whilst not disputing that ‘gang members’ sexually abuse girls and young women, it is argued here that the sexual violence experienced by associated females is not reducible to the ‘gang’ and that a more fruitful approach to understanding the violence enacted against them involves an exploration of the gendered dynamic of youthful social interactions more broadly.

The sexual abuse of young women by gang members in the UK is a subject of concern. The Coalition Government has outlined its commitment to ending gang violence and as part of this overall enterprise has pledged several million pounds to supporting initiatives aimed at young women at risk of sexual violence by male gang members. These initiatives were developed in response to reports that the sexual exploitation of young women in the UK had become ‘normalised’ within the gang context. This article examines possible reasons for the ‘normalisation’ of such abuse. Based on extracts from interviews with male gang members living in Birmingham, England, the author argues that understanding the version of masculinity enacted by the young men was crucial to explaining their attitudes towards young women. Indeed, it is only by encouraging a redefinition of masculinity based on providing young men with the tools and incentives to negotiate masculinity differently that we may see them rejecting...