Although incidents are more visible and publicized, crime rates are actually down.
Although girl violence is more visible today, panic over an uprising of angry young women would be misguided, many say.
“To be honest, I see a decline in the fighting,” says Pearl Ershery of Mulrennan Middle School in Valrico, who has been a guidance counselor in Hillsborough County for 15 years.
Crime rates for girls have dropped each year for the past 13 years, reaching their lowest levels since 1973, according to a 2006 report by the U.S. Department of Justice. Murder by girls is at its lowest level since 1963.
Kimberly Harrington of Plant City is
serving 14 years for manslaughter.
She says she was defending her
friends against two aggressive men.
However, experts say the increase is linked to a concurrent crackdown on domestic violence. Boys fight peers, but girls usually strike out at others living in their homes. Some state statutes require an arrest in cases of family violence.
