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In Search of Identity. Edition No. 1
VDM Publishing House, Aug 2008, Pages: 388
In recent years, Latin America has seen a rise in
violence and crime, which has been largely attributed
to youth gangs. Yet harsh anti-gang legislation and
other repressive measures have failed to stop this
trend. Social programmes for youth involved in gangs
have had only limited effects, partly because many of
them lack a sound problem analysis. This book aims to
contribute to a better understanding of the youth
gang phenomenon in Peru and Latin America, in
general. It provides an ethnographic study of youth
gangs, the so-called manchas, in Ayacucho, a region
in the Peruvian Andes. The study adopts an
interdisciplinary and participatory approach and
rejects the widespread view of youth gangs as
inherently violent and criminal groups. Instead, it
is argued that young people join manchas to achieve a
positive social identity and enhance their social
status. Moreover, the violence committed by manchas
is a response to experiences of domestic,
institutional, structural and symbolic violence. The
book will be of particular interest to students and
scholars of Latin American studies, anthropology and
sociology, but will be equally useful to
practitioners working with youth at risk.
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