Girl's Delinquency and Services for Girls, an Overview: Statement by Meda Chesney-Lind Before the House Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Human Resources on Girls' Services and Juvenile Justice on March 16, 1992

• NCJ Number: 137051
• Author(s): M Chesney-Lind
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 7 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Legislative Hearing/Committee Report
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This analysis of female juvenile delinquency notes that delinquent females are similar to male delinquents in many respects and also experience problems, especially child sexual abuse, that are directly linked to their gender.

Abstract

Many discussions of juvenile delinquency focus on male delinquents, although about one-fourth of those arrested for juvenile offenses are female. Recent research reveals that both male and female juvenile delinquents are young, poor, and often members of minority groups. However, females' offenses tend to be less serious than those committed by males and are more often juvenile status offenses. Running away and other delinquency may be related to experiencing physical and sexual abuse at home. However, historically the juvenile justice system has tended to detain female runaways rather than taking their problems seriously. Programs to meet the unique needs of female delinquents are inadequate in most states, leaving them with few alternatives other than crime. Attention to their situation is long overdue and will make a major contribution to solving female delinquency. Footnotes