Intersections: Gender and Sexuality

Messy, Butch, and Queer: LGBTQ Youth and the School-to-Prison Pipeline

  • This study includes quantitative but lacks qualitative data.
  • The study documents experiences of LGBTQ youth and adult advocates regarding school discipline, perceived reasons for LGBTQ discipline disparities, and pathways through the school-to-prison pipeline (p. 60).
  • This information is important to understand disparities and improve outcomes.

School Discipline and Heteronormativity

  • LGBTQ youth are twice as likely as heterosexual peers to be detained for non-violent offenses like running away, prostitution, and truancy (Garnette, Irvine, Reyes, & Wilber, 2011).
  • LGBTQ students who try to protect themselves against homophobic bullying may be punished and excluded from school (e.g., Eng, 2012; Golgowki, 2014).
  • Teachers seldom intervene when students are bullied based on sexual orientation (Peters, 2003).
  • Students bullied due to actual or perceived sexual orientation are more likely to bring a weapon to school and skip school (MDESE, 2006; Russell, Sinclair, Poteat, & Koenig, 2012) (p. 59).
  • LGBTQ youth may be blamed, ignored, or punished for behaviors that should elicit support.

The “Problem” Youth Who Constitute the Pipeline Population

  • A gay, gender non-conforming young man in New Orleans was labeled “messy” and punished by teachers for being around girls.
  • A youth from Arizona started dressing like a boy to avoid bullying but was constantly watched by the administration.

Youth Are Punished for Public Displays of Affection (PDA) and Self-Expression

  • Queer youth are often punished for expressing affection, while heterosexual displays are ignored.
  • An adult from California noted that queer youth get in trouble for expressing affection, while heteronormative displays are overlooked.
  • A principal outed two girls for holding hands and threatened to suspend them.

Youth Who Protect Themselves Are Punished

  • Youth who fight back against bullying are often punished instead of supported. One youth stated that they retaliate or preemptively strike due to constant provocation.

Nex Benedict

  • Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old non-binary/trans student in Owasso, OK, of Choctaw - Two Spirit heritage, was assaulted by 3 girls on 2/7 and died the next day.
  • The assault occurred after prolonged bullying because of Benedict's and a transgender friend's way of dressing.

Schools Fail to Protect Youth

  • Between February 16 and February 21, 349 crisis contacts were received, highlighting the impact of the Owasso incident on the community.
  • 69% of contacts cited the tragic event in Owasso as a primary reason for their distress.
  • 85% reported experiencing bullying.
  • 79% expressed a fear of physical assault.
  • Eight contacts disclosed self-harming behaviors and were referred for immediate mental health services, but two faced barriers due to the inability to obtain parental consent.
  • 32 identified as students from Owasso High School, and 14 were parents of students attending the school.
  • Parents are worried about protecting their children at school and report that bullying reports have gone unaddressed.

Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction

  • Ryan Walters does not recognize the existence of transgender or nonbinary people.
  • Walters defends his anti-LGBTQ+ stances, framing it as a “civil war” against undermining Judeo-Christian values.

The Trevor Project’s Crisis Line Volume Continues to Increase Following Inauguration Day

  • The Trevor Project reported significant increases in crisis line volume related to the 2025 Presidential Inauguration.
  • There was a record-breaking 700% increase on November 6, 2024, the day after the 2024 elections.
  • On January 21, 2025, there was a 46% increase compared to typical daily rates.
  • The CEO of The Trevor Project emphasized that young people’s lives are at risk and immediate action is needed to support LGBTQ+ youth.

LGBTQ+ Youth & the Juvenile Justice System

  • 20% of youth in juvenile detention facilities identify as LGBTQ+, despite only making up 7-9% of the U.S. population.
  • 28% of LGBTQ students drop out of school due to bullying and harassment.
  • Approximately 300,000 LGBTQ+ youth are arrested each year in the U.S.
  • 85% of LGBTQ and gender non-conforming youth in U.S. juvenile detention facilities are BIPOC.
  • 39% of homeless LGBTQ youth report being involved in the juvenile justice system at some level in the U.S.
  • LGBTQ+ youth in the United States are disproportionately represented in the juvenile justice system.

Population Statistics Comparison

  • General Population: LGBTQI 8%, Non-LGBTI 92%
  • Homeless: LGBTQI 40%, Non-LGBTI 60%
  • Foster Care: LGBTQI 20%, Non-LGBTI 80%
  • Involved in Prison System: LGBTQI 19%, Non-LGBTI 81%

Remapping Pipelines and Pathways: Listening to Queer and Transgender Youth of Color’s Trajectories Through Girls’ Juvenile Justice Facilities by Sarah Mountz

  • Social workers need a critical lens attentive to experiences of multiply marginalized youth within interlocking state systems.
  • There is a growing demand to end youth imprisonment.
  • Richie’s (2005) call for a “queer antiprison politic” considers race, sexuality, gender, and their intersection, focusing on the lived experiences of African American lesbians in the juvenile justice system.

National Data on LGBTQ Youth in Detention Facilities

  • In 2012, the first federally funded survey of youth in U.S. detention facilities to include a measure for sexual orientation produced data on disparities for LGBTQ youth.
  • 12% of incarcerated youth identified as LGB, including 39% of girls.
  • LGB youth were twice as likely as heterosexual youth to indicate prior histories of detention lasting longer than a year (Beck et al., 2013).
  • Including trans and gender nonconforming youth (TGNC), 20% of youth in detention were LGB and/or TGNC and 85% were youth of color.

Invisibility and Hypervisibility of Queer and Trans Youth of Color

  • Queer and trans youth of color face tensions of invisibility and hypervisibility in the juvenile justice system.
  • Gender and sexual identities are often considered inconsequential, yet they are also considered special populations.
  • Queer and trans youth are vulnerable populations, and research is lacking in this area.

Thematic Findings of the Study

  • The role of family rejection and acceptance in systems involvement.
  • Schools as sites of discipline and pushout, and child welfare as a funneling system.
  • Streets, systems, and families as sites of sexual violence and trauma.
  • Participants’ narratives described experiences of being funneled into various systems, then ping-ponged between, and systematically abused within them.

Critical Role of Social Workers

  • Social workers must examine the root causes of violence and abuse and acknowledge the ways in which an ethic of violence is built into the structures of many systems.
  • They should work in alliance with queer and transgender youth activist groups.

Transforming Justice for LGBTQ Youth in Wayne County Video

The Experience of LGBTQ Youth in Juvenile Justice Facilities

  • Little Oversight of Facilities
  • Inappropriate Placement
  • Abuse by Other Youth
  • Inadequate Health Care
  • Lack of Supportive Services
  • Challenges with Family Visitation
  • Inappropriate Community Supervision

Illinois' Incarcerated Girls and LGBTQ Youth

  • Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) Admissions Data: National data indicates that LGBTQ youth are overrepresented in the justice system (comprising 4–8% of the overall youth population, but 13% of detained youth).

Trends in Youth Incarceration in Illinois

  • Although there is an overall decline in the number of youth being incarcerated there is an increase in the percentage of girls.

Geographic Distributions of Youth in Illinois Detention

  • Girls from downstate are over 2X as likely to be in IDJJ as girls from the Chicago area.

Demographic Trends in Illinois Incarcerated Youth

  • More girls were white than were boys in the population but a majority of those incarcerated were Black
  • A higher percentage of boys (31.4%) than girls (13.3%) have diagnosed special education needs.
  • Unofficial staff estimates indicate up to 70% of the girls may be LBQ and studies estimate 40% to 60% of girls in juvenile facilities nationwide identify as LBQ.
  • There isn’t accurate data on boys, boys do not self-identify when incarcerated.

Factors Contributing to Incarceration

  • Budget cuts to services impacted counties outside on Cook county
  • Mental Health and Trauma
  • Housing and Family Instability
  • School In the facility
  • Lack of Family Contact and Participation
  • Lack of LGBTQ Youth Support

Conclusion: Impact of Community Program Cuts in Illinois

  • Data, research, and observations about the incarceration of girls and LGBTQ youth in Illinois provide further proof of the devastating impact of cutting community programs, played out in the lives of some of the state’s most vulnerable young people.

Out of Sight: LGBTQ Youth and Adults in Texas' Justice Systems

  • LGBTQ youth and adults experience worse outcomes and are overrepresented in every part of the justice system.
  • About 4% of Americans identify as LGBTQ.
  • 8% of individuals in state and federal prisons and 7% of individuals in city and county jails identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB).
  • Only 0.6% of Americans identify as transgender, yet 16% of transgender and gender nonconforming (GNC) respondents to a 2015 national survey reported that they had spent time in jail or prison.
  • As of July 2018, 4,499 people in Texas prisons identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex

Factors Contributing to Disproportionate Representation

  • Family Rejection and Estrangement
  • Homeless, Unsheltered, and Displaced LGBTQ Youth
  • Foster Care System Involvement
  • Mental Health Conditions and Substance Use
  • Unsafe Schools and the School-to-Prison Pipeline

From Home to Jail: A Trauma-Informed Pathway for LGBTQ Youth

  • Jessica, a 16-year-old, comes out as transgender to her parents, who reject her and force her to leave home.
  • She is placed in a foster home where she is abused and runs away.
  • At school, Jessica is bullied and prohibited from using the girls' restroom, leading her to skip school.
  • She participates in survival economies on the street and uses drugs and alcohol to cope with trauma, depression, and PTSD.
  • Jessica is arrested on burglary and theft charges and lies about her gender due to lack of ID.
  • She is denied bail based on her history of skipping school and running away.
  • The judge and prosecution use the incorrect name and pronouns during her trial, and she receives an unnecessarily long jail sentence.
  • Against her demands, she is placed in a boys' facility where she is abused by staff and other youth.