Girls and violence: a review of the literature.

Violence and its prevention are key issues in community health nursing. Significant concern and controversy surrounds the current involvement of girls as witnesses, offenders, and victims of violence. This article provides a review of the literature about girls and violence, including the girls' roles as offenders, victims, and witnesses, predictors of violence, consequences associated with violence, and potential ideas for violence prevention. This information paves the way for a subsequent manuscript presenting a review of the literature about girls' perceptions of violence and its prevention and the results of a focus group study designed to determine girls' thoughts about community violence and prevention.