NCJ Number
187122
Date Published
2001
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Despite the fact that girls account for one in four arrests of young people in the United States each year, the young women who find themselves in the juvenile justice system are almost completely invisible.
Abstract
The stereotype of the juvenile delinquent is so indisputably male that the general public, experts in criminology, and practitioners working with delinquent youth rarely if ever consider girls and their problems. This invisibility has worked against young women in several distinct ways. Despite the fact that a considerable number of girls are arrested, theories of juvenile delinquency either explicitly or implicitly avoid them. Moreover, the academic neglect of girls has left undocumented the serious problems, particularly sexual and physical abuse, that sometimes propel girls into delinquent behavior. The lack of solid information on girls also facilitates the periodic "discovery" and "demonization" of female delinquency. In addition, silence at academic and policy levels has meant those who work with girls have had virtually no guidance on how to shape programs and develop resources to respond to the problems girls experience. Trends in the arrest of female juvenile delinquents are reviewed, psychological perspectives on the involvement of girls in aggression and violence are presented, and the impact of victimization as children on later delinquency is examined. Finally, the authors look at research on links between abuse and victimization and female juvenile delinquency, the participation of girls in juvenile gangs, and ways of meeting the needs of girls. 117 references, 4 endnotes, and 3 tables