The juvenile justice system serves girls ineffectively, according to Improving the Justice System for Girls: Lessons for the State.
Statistics draw disturbing correlations between tragic home lives and juvenile incarceration for girls. The report said 88 percent of 1,000 girls it studied who were detained in California, had serious mental or health problems.
Based on a report from the California Youth Authority, Ventura School, “74 percent (of female wards) reported being hurt or in danger of being hurt, 76 percent reported witnessing someone being severely injured or killed, and 60 percent reported being raped or in danger of being raped.”
Many female wards also have health needs related to pregnancy and childbirth. Twenty-nine percent of the girls in the study had been pregnant at least once, and 16 percent had been pregnant while incarcerated.
Though arrest rates have been falling in recent years, statistics showed that between 1997 and 2009, when the rate of incarceration for boys declined 24 percent, the rate for girls remained about the same.
Researchers say they believe the justice system consistently misses the mark with girls because the juvenile system has failed to implement reforms that address the needs particular to girl offenders.
Despite the growing body of research that calls for gender-responsive reforms, researchers say they believe there are few statewide efforts to reform the juvenile justice system for girls. A 1998 report released by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) put forward the following guidelines for gender-responsive reform efforts:
• Programs should be all female whenever possible;
• Girls should be treated in the least restrictive environment, whenever possible;
• Programs should be close to girls’ homes in order to maintain family relationships;
• Programs should be consistent with female development and stress the role of relationships between staff members and girls; and
• Programs should address the needs of parenting and pregnant teens.
