Abstract
In my ongoing research on understanding adolescent girls’ use of violence, I have long been haunted by a remark made to me by a 14-year-old girl who was trying hard to help me to see the rationale for her use of violence. As she pointed out, “Violence is wrong, and I only hit people I have to.” She was not alone in making this claim. All the girls I have spoken with over the years have told me one by one, “I never hit anyone unless I have to,” and “I only hit people who deserve it.” For them, the use of violence was not desirable, but none-the-less required. In other words, for them, there appeared to be a moral imperative for their actions.
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Artz, S. (2004). Revisiting the Moral Domain. In: Moretti, M.M., Odgers, C.L., Jackson, M.A. (eds) Girls and Aggression. Perspectives in Law & Psychology, vol 19. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8985-7_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8985-7_8
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