Authorities don’t know how many girls are in Chicago’s violent street gangs, but there’s a clue in a study that tracked students at six of the city’s public schools.

It found that 8 percent of female students reported they were in a gang at some point between sixth and tenth grades, compared with 13 percent of boys.

Cristina, 17, is one of those girls.

“For me, I would see the respect that the guys would get in the ’hood, so I was thinking to myself that I want to have that same respect,” she said. “I want to be one of them. I want to be known out here.”

Recently, law enforcement and community groups in the city have begun to turn their attention to the ways females participate in gang life. The Chicago Crime Commission, an organization of civic leaders that advocates for public safety initiatives, will now devote an entire section of its forthcoming The Gang Book to roles of female gang members, said commission lawyer Andrew Henning. The section will specifically focus on how female gang members acquire illegal guns and what roles they play in a city that has seen more than 2,500 people shot so far this year.

The few people who do work directly with females in gangs said the roles are often misunderstood as little more than supportive to male gang members. But research suggests girls often take on central and violent roles — including assaults, drive-by shootings, and disciplining newer gang members. WBEZ sat down with Cristina to hear first hand what life is like for a girl in a Chicago gang.

Cristina agreed to be interviewed on the condition WBEZ not reveal her gang affiliation, and we are not using her full name because she is a minor.