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Gaynor Wingham looks at recent research in Scotland that offers fresh insight into the violent behaviour of some teenage girls.

Girls' violence is frequently depicted in the media as a new and growing phenomenon. Girls who are violent are "unfeminine" or "unnatural". A study by the University of Glasgow explores violent behaviour in girls and tries to understand its meaning and function in girls' lives. The study challenges some of the traditional thinking about violence, which has been derived primarily from research on boys and young men. Among the authors' motives for carrying out the research project was that no systematic study had previously been conducted on girls and violence.

The research focused on girls aged from 13 to 16 in a range of localities across Scotland, mixing inner-city, town and rural areas. It used self-report questionnaires, small group discussions and individual interviews.

It found that 98.5 per cent of the girls had witnessed first-hand some form of physical violence, usually a fight, and 70 per cent had witnessed five or more such incidents. Nearly two-thirds knew someone who had been physically hurt or injured by violence, with 41 per cent experiencing violence themselves.

It also found that 10 per cent of the girls described themselves as being violent and 10 per cent reported having committed seven or more types of physically violent acts, such as punching, kicking or hitting with an object. It was this group who were more likely to:

- Self-report other forms of delinquent behaviour.

- Demonstrate high tolerance towards physical violence in a range of social contexts.

- Occupy relatively autonomous social worlds.

- Mistrust adults.

- Have lower educational aspirations.

What relevance could this research have to workers in the field, people who are working day to day with young women?

It certainly seems to indicate that as a starting point it is important to acknowledge young women's potential for violence and its impact. It is not just a male issue, it is part of growing up as a girl as well.

The research showed that girls drew clear distinctions between interpersonal physical violence and sexual assault and other behaviour, which fell short of physical contact. However, they saw verbally abusive behaviour as more hurtful and damaging than physical violence.

Girls frequently described themselves as "growing out" of using physical violence and to a lesser extent verbal abuse. This could be seen as positive, but as girls' violence is viewed as so "unnatural", the "violent period" may still result in extreme action against them. It may be important to highlight this finding when considering what action to recommend following a violent episode.

Girls commonly described their friendships with other girls as the most important thing in their lives. However, as well as being sources of comfort, friendships are also the site of conflict. Falling out with friends is seen as devastating for many girls and this can involve various forms of intimidation and violence. It may be important to explore in direct work with girls the nature and effect of their friendships and how these evolve and break down.

The study certainly indicates that violence, either experienced or witnessed, is part of many girls' lives. As it is an original study it has no comparative data with previous studies, so it is not possible to conclude whether this is a growing or changing phenomenon, but it does give some insight to what violence means to many girls today.

- Michele Burman and Kay Tisdall, A View From the Girls: Exploring Violence and Violent Behaviour, University of Glasgow. More details at website www.regard.ac.uk or phone 0117 928 7194.

Gaynor Wingham is director of the Professional Independents Consultancy.