His, hers and theirs: comparative narratives from young people who use violence

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to explore narratives of violence in the lives of young men and young women in Australia. Through partnering with young people to understand and make meaning of their stories, the authors highlight similarities and differences in gendered experiences of violence, and the implications of these for cross-disciplinary practice.Design/methodology/approachThis article presents the synthesis of narrative data from two separate studies that worked with justice-involved young men and young women, who had both experienced and used violence. Study 1 used a thematic analysis of practitioner narratives and qualitative data from in-session narratives. Study 2 used a thematic analysis of interview data using grounded approach and peer review to promote trustworthiness and inter-rater reliability.FindingsInsights on the experiences of young people who use violence are notably absent in most forms of violence discourse, practice and research. Findings demonstrate that understandings of youth violence are linked to identity, but also situated within contexts of trauma, place, gender, relationality and community. This conceptualisation of violence is particularly important to understandings of young female violence.Originality/valueThrough collaborative approaches of co-design and co-production, the paper outlines that a stronger understanding of the experiences of young men and young women (often an over-looked cohort) in the justice system can help improve the trauma-informed and gender responsiveness of interventions across practice settings. The authors highlight that exploring gendered differences in narratives of youth violence is necessary and seeking lived experiences of youth justice young people is instructive to academia, policy and practice.