Girls, Gender, and Juvenile Delinquency

Flashcards about girls, gender, and juvenile delinquency

What did the development of the term juvenile delinquent reflect?

The idea that youth were "malleable" and could be shaped into law-abiding citizens.

What is parens patriae?

A doctrine that was a key factor in the development of the juvenile court.

What was the New York House of Refuge (1825)?

An early attempt to separate children from adults, where children were committed for long periods.

How was there discrimination in reform institutions?

Children of the poor were mainly targeted, and Black girls were often sent to adult institutions to be trained in domestic service.

What was the child-saving movement in the Progressive Era?

Led to the development of the first juvenile court in Chicago in 1899.

What three youth populations did the first juvenile court in Chicago preside over?

Children who committed adult criminal offenses, children who committed status offenses, and children abused or neglected by their parents.

What was the age-of-consent campaign?

Developed to protect young girls from predatory men.

How were policies based on white ideals in the juvenile justice system?

The reformers developed their policies based on white, middle-class ideals of purity and modesty.

How was there an emphasis on sexual purity in juvenile reformatories?

Juvenile reformatories shifted focus away from sexual desire and trained young girls for marriage.

What did the exclusive focus by moral reformers on the sexual exploitation of white women lead to?

Focused on the sexual exploitation of white, working-class women, implying only their virtues needed to be saved.

What was the intent of Black girl clubs like the Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls?

To create an environment focused on leadership, education, and responsibility for young Black girls.

What are reformatories for moral offenses?

Offenses that allowed for net widening to occur, placing more offenders under the supervision of juvenile courts.

How was the control of girls’ sexuality extended in juvenile courts?

Forced gynecological exams to determine sexual activity and STIs, with girls more likely to be sent to detention and serve longer sentences.

How were victims of sexual assault blamed?

Girls were labeled as delinquent for having sex.

How did nonmarital sexual experience result in double victimization of females?

Even rape, resulted in girls being treated as offenders.

Why are girls considered in need of juvenile court services?

Levels of sexual activity engaged in are used as grounds for identifying them as out of control and in need of juvenile court services.

What proportion of delinquency cases do girls represent?

Girls make up 29% of total arrests of individuals under 18.

How does race impact formal charges in juvenile delinquency cases?

African American girls are three times more likely to be formally charged than white girls.

How are LGBTQ youth overrepresented in juvenile justice facilities?

39.4% of all girls in juvenile justice facilities identify as LGBTQ+, compared to 3.2% of boys.

What are the impacts of formal processing on girls' delinquency

Prosecutors 'up charging' and a decrease in tolerance for girls who 'act out'.

What are the gender differences in detention?

Girls are subjected to longer periods of supervision, which appears to increase delinquency due to excessive and aggressive monitoring techniques.

What are the juvenile girl cases like?

Girls accounted for 28% of overall juvenile caseload in 2005 and 2014.

How is the "violent girl" portrayed in the media?

Media reports have alluded to the rise of the violent juvenile offender.

What is the role of family-based violence in "violent girl" cases?

Female juvenile cases have an overrepresentation of incidents of family-based violence.

How does the court enforce parental authority in "violent girl" cases?

Many parents believe that the juvenile justice system will give the child access to resources like therapy.

How has the response to school-based violence changed?

They are now dealt with by local police agencies due to zero-tolerance policies.

What is the history of violence for girls who engage in violence?

Girls that engage in violence often have a history of violence in their own lives.

What are status offenses?

Noncriminal behaviors such as running away, immorality, truancy, and indecent conduct that allowed youth to come under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.

What is the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 1974?

Provides funding for state and local governments to help decrease the number of juvenile delinquents and to help provide community and rehabilitative programs to offenders.

How do race and gender impact adjudication?

Many status offenses result from social, structural, and interpersonal traumas but are used to justify juvenile court supervision.

What is 'bootstrapping' in the context of juvenile justice?

Modern-day practice of institutionalizing girls for status offenses.

What are the risk factors for female delinquency?

Family, abuse, peers, school, substance abuse, mental health, and polyvictimization.

What role do status offenses play as minor acts in delinquency?

Acts that were once treated as status offenses are now processed as minor acts of delinquency.

How does substance abuse pose several risks?

Early experimentation and use; parental use of drugs and alcohol, histories of victimization, poor school and family attachments, numerous social opportunities for use, poor self-concept, difficulties in coping with life events, involvement with other problem behaviors.

How is substance abuse a gendered experience?

Girls use substances at higher rates and for longer than boys as a means of escaping violence.

What is the mental health of girls?

Girls are more likely to engage in self-injurious behaviors, and 45% of girls in detention indicated they had attempted suicide at some point.

How does polyvictimization vary by gender?

Boys are more likely to be exposed to violence in the community, while girls are more likely to experience physical and emotional trauma at home, sexual abuse by family members and peers, and interpersonal trauma.

What are the strategies for meeting the unique needs of delinquent girls?

Gender-specific programming, consideration of history of victimization, and equipping juvenile justice facilities are crucial.