Criminologist Malisa Neptune-Figaro said some of the factors which result in women participating in gangs include lack of economic stability, social and cultural dynamics, and geographical locations. She said while some women feel they don’t have a choice in the matter, others participated fully in gang activities.
Neptune-Figaro made the statement as part of the webinar Confronting Violence: Women’s Perspectives on Peace and Security in Trinidad and Tobago, hosted by the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action TT (CAFRATT) on Saturday. She was accompanied by Women's Institute for Alternative Development (WINAD) fundraising director Christa Sankarsingh-Prevatt and sociologist Adeola Young.
Neptune-Figaro interviewed 11 women from the communities of Reservoir, Trou Macaque and Sogren Trace, Laventille, areas she said are known for high crime rates and gang violence. She said generally women are victimised by gangs and stigmatised and ignored by the police and the justice system.
She said the key community risk factors for women in violence included reprisal killings and community boundary lines creating dependence on/alignment with gangs; victimisation by men from an early age, with mothers teaching them this was expected; poor parental support, including absent fathers, either for themselves or their children; lack of positive mentorship; and financial constraints making them reliant on gang members for support.
“Some of these women, even if they if not want to become involved in gang life, are targeted simply because of where they live. They can’t pass through or go to certain places because members of other gangs will say, what they doing here? They don’t live so-and-so?
“Some women participate, actively or through fear, in activities such as concealment of illicit items, providing information on rival gangs, distracting targets and assisting in negotiations in gang crimes such as robberies, drug sales and concealment and sale of illicit firearms.”
Neptune-Figaro said some initiatives which would help women to move out of crime would include financial stability through employment opportunities, skills training, entrepreneurial training and opportunities; refurbishing facilities such as sporting grounds and community centres and funding for cultural projects and events; safety for the children in the communities, including counselling and support for children expected to return to school the day after they lose family members; counselling and education for women, many of whom see rape as the norm; and education in parenting skills.
Sankarsingh-Prevatt presented on Gender-Based Disinformation: Protecting Women and Girls in the Virtual Environment. She defined disinformation as people deliberately creating and sharing false information to cause harm.
She said types of gender-based disinformation including recording and distributing images of sexual abuse of a woman; taking photos/videos of intimate parts of women's bodies in public spaces without consent and sharing them online; com
