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Intro
Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice
Research About Girls in the System
Organizations Working with Girls in the System
Intro
In the year 2000, a quarter of the state’s misdemeanor and 17% of its felony arrests were young women.
Last year almost 50,000 girls came into contact with the juvenile justice system.
Despite this fact, there is an embarrassing lack of research about girls and criminal behavior as well as girl-specific justice programs.
Gender stereotypes dictate the way the system treats girls: Boys are expected to be aggressive and violent and society expects to be protected from them. Girls are expected to be passive and well-behaved and society doesn’t expect to need protection from them.
Accordingly, there are very few facilities or programs that are designed exclusively for girls. Many girls are still housed in co-ed facilities where they are treated with programs that were developed according to research about boys, (or sometimes about women).
Girls have specific needs and require specific programming; like classes for pregnant or parenting teens; treatment for physical, emotional or sexual victimization; and vocational training that is aligned with their interests and includes nontraditional career options
In addition, girls need programs that place them in the least restrictive care setting possible.
A large proportion of females enter the system for nonviolent offenses. For example, according to OJJDP, girls were involved in 41% of the status offenses and only 23% of the delinquency cases that got taken to trial in 1996. If all new programming happens in juvenile halls or state prisons, more and more girls will be unnecessarily booked, due to a lack of good alternatives.
Gender-Specific Programming
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has been identifying programs around the country that are working successfully with girls. The OJJDP defines Gender-Specific Services as those that:
- Are designed to meet the unique needs of female offenders
- Value the female perspective
- Celebrate and honor the female experience
- Respect and take into account female development
- Empower girls and young women to reach their full human potential; and
- Work to change established attitudes that prevent or discourage girls from recognizing their potential
To learn about some successful Gender-Specific Programs:
[http://www.jrsa.org/jjec/programs/gender/index.html]
More Data at a Glance about Girls in the System
1997 Female Custody Rates by Race, OJJDP
[http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/html/qa335.html]
California Juvenile Arrest Data, 1991-2000, Department of Justice
[http://justice.hdcdojnet.state.ca.us/cjsc_stats/prof00/00/3C.htm]
OJJDP fact sheet
[http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles/fs-9884.pdf] (PDF)
Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice
Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice is divided into two parts. Part I: Delinquency Among Girls, covers material describing the typical female delinquent, what she has done to bring herself into contact with the juvenile justice system, how her violations compare to those committed by boys, and what causes her to get into trouble. [Part I: Delinquency Among Girls] (PDF)
Part II: The Double Standard of Juvenile Justice covers the subject of girls and the juvenile justice system. [Part II: The Double Standard of Juvenile Justice] (PDF)
Research About Girls in the System
Key Studies on Girls and the Juvenile Justice System , Building Blocks for Youth
[http://www.buildingblocksforyouth.org/issues/girls/studies.html]
Justice By Gender: The Lack of Appropriate Prevention, Diversion and Treatment Alternatives for Girls in the Justice System. A report issued by the American Bar Association and the National Bar Association.
[http://www.abanet.org/crimjust/juvjus/justicebygender.pdf] (PDF)
The Girls Study Group on Juvenile Female Delinquency
[http://girlsstudygroup.rti.org]
Female Offenders in the Juvenile Justice System , 1996 OJJDP
[http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles/femof.pdf] (PDF)
Gender-Specific Initiatives , Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center Online
[http://www.jrsa.org/jjec/programs/gender/index.html]
Out of Sight, Out of Mind: The Plight of Adolescent Girls in the San Francisco Juvenile Justice System , The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice.
Final Report. Out of Sight Out of Mind: Task Force on Girls and the Juvenile Justice System, Commission on the Status of Women, City and County of San Francisco
[http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/cosw/osfinal.htm]
Organizations Working with Girls in the System
Solutions is a gender specific comprehensive expressive arts program for girls inside the San Francisco Youth Guidance Center (YGC) and in the community. Solutions focuses on developing the girls’ sense of self and exploring how they get involved in the juvenile justice system.
The Center for Young Women’s Development is a community-based, peer run, non-profit organization in San Francisco that promotes self sufficiency, community safety, and youth advocacy by providing employment, leadership and training to young women and girls (ages 14-18) that have lived on the streets, and/or are involved in the juvenile justice and foster care systems.
[http://www.cywd.org/index.html]
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