NCJ Number
182197
Journal
Berkeley Women's Law Journal Volume: 14 Dated: 1999 Pages: 40-65
Date Published
1999
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This article focuses on the plight of young women in the juvenile justice system and their unique life experiences.
Abstract
The article discusses key topics regarding violence and female juvenile delinquency and explores the epicenter of girls’ violent behavior. It proposes a revamping of the framework traditionally used to study delinquency and suggests that specific topics need additional research in order to better understand the experiences and needs of girls detained in correctional systems for violent offenses. Parts II and III describe recent debates over the number of violent offenses by girls. Part IV focuses on the juvenile justice system’s shift away from penalizing the sexual girl to penalizing the violent girl. Part V discusses how an understanding of the contexts in which girls’ violent acts occur must broaden to include the realities of their lives. The article suggests an extension of traditional definitions of juvenile violence to include the ways in which violence is uniquely experienced and perpetrated by the young women who end up in the juvenile corrections system. Identifying what kinds of behaviors are actually being punished and exploring where real threats to public safety lie will sharpen interpretations of violent acts committed by young women. Notes