NCJ Number
187471
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 63 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2001 Pages: 38-40,42,44,45
Editor(s)
Susan L. Clayton
Date Published
February 2001
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article looks at the programming needs of delinquent girls requiring different and innovative strategies.
Abstract
Girls involved in the juvenile justice system have been seen as invisible in terms of programming compared to young men and their capacity for aggression and violence has historically been ignored, trivialized or denied. This article discusses the delinquency problem and how young women are largely forgotten when programs for delinquents are designed yet, girls account for one out of four arrests of young people. Some evidence suggests that girls are becoming more seriously delinquent. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), between 1987 and 1996, the number of delinquency cases involving girls increased by 76 percent compared to a 42 percent increase in males. Those who study aggression in young children and young adults note that girls’ aggression is usually within the home and likely to be less often reported to authorities. Programs must be scrutinized to assure that they are culturally specific as well as gender specific. Programs need to provide transition and aftercare services that support young women in maintaining the progress they have made. Girls’ programs also need to create separate time and space for girls, separate from boys, so that issues related to sexism will not be overshadowed by boys’ more disruptive behavior. Prevention programs for girls need to begin at earlier ages. Programs should work to empower girls and advocate for change that will benefit them, building on their innate strengths, skills, and creativity which develops their voices and their abilities to assert themselves. Programs should identify and challenge barriers that girls, especially those at-risk, face in our society. References