Gendering delinquent networks: a gendered analysis of violent crimes and the structure of boys' and girls' co-offending networks

Using network analysis and employing a gender theoretical perspective as the primary analytical tool, this study examines violent offences committed by young people. Although crime, and violent offending in particular, is strongly associated with men and masculinity, the use of a gendered perspective has, until recently, been something of a rarity in the context of criminological research into violence. The current study focuses on similarities and differences in the structure of girls' and boys' violent offending in Stockholm, Sweden. Apart from differences in levels of offending, the patterns of suspected violent offending found among girls and boys are very similar. The violent offences of both sexes appear primarily to constitute a means of creating hierarchies in relation to others of the same sex, hence according to the present study, violent crimes committed by girls cannot generally be interpreted as a form of opposition against male dominance. Instead they seem to be a way of subordinating other girls, just as the boys subordinate other boys. Nevertheless, girls' subordination of other girls can in part be seen as a consequence of male dominance. Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd