As gender-motivated killings have risen in El Salvador over the past decade, so has the number of young women and girls joining gangs. Because adolescent boys fit the standard gangster profile, girls can more easily slip by as drug mules, or to pick up bi-weekly extortion payments. They're inconspicuous foot soldiers -- and excellent cannon fodder.
From Pacific Standard:
To become a full-fledged gang member in El Salvador, a young man often has to endure a severe beating, and is sometimes required to kill someone as an initiation rite. Women, however, are often initiated through either a similar beating, or through rape. Some have a choice, but most don't.
"If you were cute, probably you'd be raped,” said 30-year-old Elena Guzman. "Or if the head of the gang said, 'No, this is only for me,' she'd become his girlfriend," and that would be that.
(Above, photos of the missing in El Salvador's gang violence.)
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