NCJ Number
215293
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 68 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2006 Pages: 51-53
Date Published
July 2006
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article presents findings from two censuses on gender differences in service provision in juvenile justice residential facilities in the context of health care.
Abstract
Results indicate that there are no patent gender inequities in the provision of health care within juvenile justice residential facilities (JJRFs). However, it does not rule out the possibility that there are inequities in terms of the quality of the actual implementation of the service. Results highlight that mixed-sex facilities underserve their residents compared to same-sex facilities. Overall the results suggest that health care professionals are systematically missing opportunities to serve mixed-sex facilities. Research indicates that young women have gender-specific developmental and psychological needs that may go unattended due to institutional gender bias. Historically, young women’s health needs were discounted or dismissed because they had not achieved critical mass. There simply were not enough young female offenders in corrections to warrant female health services. Whether gender equity has been embraced by correctional institutions or imposed upon them is not clear. However, to search for evidence of gender inequity requires scientific measures. Using data primarily from the 2004 Juvenile Residential Facilities Census (JRFC), bivariate analyses were conducted on the issue of gender differences in service provision in JJRFs in the context of health care. Tables, endnotes