Protocol for a Systematic Review: Preventive Interventions to Reduce Youth Involvement in Gangs and Gang Crime in Low‐and Middle‐Income Countries: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Since it is primarily a male phenomenon, female gang members suffer more intensively from gender discrimination and the inequalities inherent in the dominant culture.” An example of a primary prevention program is the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) program, a school-based curriculum run by law enforcement officers that uses elements of cognitive-behavioural training, social skills development and conflict resolution to improve young people's resistance to gang membership ( Esbensen & Osgood, 1999). [...]examples of secondary prevention programs supported by USAID that provide skills training for at-risk youth include: the Educatodos program in Honduras, which provides basic education for at-risk youth; the Civil Rights and Values for Youth program in Honduras, that focuses on participatory citizenship and problem solving skills for at-risk youth; and the Community Empowerment and Transformation project (COMET) in Jamaica, that provides micro-entrepreneurship opportunities for at-risk youth (USAID, 2010b). In South Africa, examples of secondary prevention interventions include the Usiko program, funded by NGOs, businesses and communities, which uses ‘rites of passage’ programs for young offenders and at-risk youth, and the Chrysalis Academy, funded by the West Cape Department of Community Safety, an intensive program that provides training and support for a five-year period with the aim of transforming at-risk youth into community leaders ( Ward & Cooper, 2012).