NCJ Number
137531
Date Published
1992
Length
268 pages
Annotation
This analysis of female juvenile delinquency focuses on its nature and causes, details the experiences of female status offenders and delinquents in the juvenile justice system, and present data indicating the inappropriateness of assuming that male and female delinquents and status offenders have the same needs in the juvenile justice system.
Abstract
The discussion explores the similarities and differences between male and female delinquency and reviews studies indicating that a majority of young females who go to runaway shelters or juvenile detention facilities have been sexually abused. It also surveys existing delinquency theories developed to explain male delinquency and presents the results of field observational studies of the experience of females in the juvenile justice system. Research findings are presented that show that females undergo a childhood and adolescence that is strongly affected by their gender and that discussions of their problems and experiences with the juvenile justice system must consider gender in all its dimensions. The juvenile justice system's historical and current handling of females is detailed, and programs are described that are successfully providing alternatives to incarceration while addressing the special problems that females encounter. Tables, name and subject indexes, and more than 500 references (Author summary modified)