NCJ Number
179109
Journal
The Annals Volume: 564 Dated: July 1999 Pages: 185-202
Editor(s)
Ira M. Schwartz
Date Published
July 1999
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article addresses some of the critical issues in understanding female delinquency and in creating girl-centered responses to the problems of young women.
Abstract
Despite the fact that girls account for one in four arrests of juveniles, discussions of delinquency and juvenile justice generally ignore young women and their problems. The particular problems of girls, such as sexual abuse, have long been ignored by a system that purports to seek "the best interests of the child." Instead, girls' survival strategies, such as running away from home, have been criminalized. Contemporary Congressional efforts to reform juvenile justice, focused almost exclusively on boys' violence, are likely to produce changes that will compound girls' problems in a system that ignores their unique situations. The article examines girls' troubles and girls' crimes, the family court and the female delinquent, deinstitutionalization, and programming for girls. Notes, references