Introduction
The juvenile system demonstrates the unequal position of boys and girls who commit crimes. The differences between the nature of the crimes and their reasons are noticeable, but the courts do not always recognize them, reinforcing inequality. Lack of attention to the nature of the crime results in pronounced injustice and a mismatch between punishment and guilt. Juvenile courts continue to demonstrate cruelty against girls when they enter the judicial system.
Girls at the Court
Respect for juveniles’ rights to any support during investigations and preventive detention should be an unqualified rule. However, the practice has shown that rights have not been respected for a long time, and even now, juveniles have a high chance of not getting enough support. Girls have a high chance of being judged based on double standards and bias by the court (Chesney-Lind & Shelden, 2014d). In addition, the court tends to punish them harshly for status offenses, some of which do not require long-term detention.
Girls enter the system the same way as boys: after committing an offense and contacting the police. Gender bias in official and unofficial police statistics is evident (Chesney-Lind & Shelden, 2014d). It manifests in harsher treatment because police officers believe they can thus prevent subsequent offenses (Lydia, 2020).
In addition, girls and women are more likely to be detained even if they are suspected. There is a 91.7% chance that a girl will be detained after assaulting a parent, while boys are only 75% likely to be detained (Chesney-Lind & Shelden, 2014d, p. 224). Police officers are more violent and attentive to girls, expressing strong gender-based discredit.
Girls in Institution
A significant problem with juvenile courts now is the bias against crime among girls. Girls have repeatedly been found to be prone to status offenses that have more to do with morality and morals than with breaking the law (Chesney-Lind & Shelden, 2014c). In addition, girls are inherently more likely to commit crimes such as petty robbery or discipline violations, and the juvenile court imposes harsher sentences for them. Courts also do not consider how to meet girls’ needs and requirements when incarcerating them in a correctional facility.
Girls are subject to different judgments when they are incarcerated and are unable to escape the violence of others if it is a mixed-incarceration facility. Rehabilitation programs largely fail to provide girls with emotional and psychological support, and they experience problems with guilt (Chesney-Lind & Shelden, 2014c). The victimization profile among girls is relatively high, yet the juvenile system has not yet attempted to address girls’ trauma (Modrowski et al., 2021). Private facilities and mental health clinics could substitute for incarceration, but the juvenile court chooses harsher punishment and even incarceration with adults (Chesney-Lind & Shelden, 2014c). This practice again leads to the problem of girls not feeling protected, even where they should theoretically be helped.
The Nature of Girl Crime
In analyzing the status of girls in the justice system, research needs to be done on the views of these adolescents about the reasons for their detention. In particular, this should involve considering the conditions that contributed to the detention (Lydia, 2020). These conditions primarily include the low income and low social status in which the girls exist (Javdani, 2019). They do not have access to many everyday things that other adolescents have, so this inequality can push them to commit a crime.
Secondly, girls’ stance on their social role needs to be considered. They talk about having conservative views on family and marriage. However, the lack of a healthy example leads them to be unable to cope with violence from boys and choose to commit the crime themselves (Chesney-Lind & Shelden, 2014b). It leads one to believe that the system of patriarchal attitudes itself is responsible for committing crimes. Finally, girls’ mental imperfections and low self-esteem that develop in unhealthy environments and schools lead to crime, becoming an inadequate way to cope with stress.
Rehabilitation for Girls
Among the challenging issues of juvenile practice is the possibility of creating rehabilitative programs for juvenile girls. The difficulty in establishing a program stems from the fact that society does not have the same knowledge about girls’ social pressures and mental and physical health as it does about boys (Chesney-Lind & Shelden, 2014a). A culture of gender development excludes girls from its agenda, so women’s offenses increase as girls age when they no longer have deterrents and conditions.
Rehabilitation programs currently do not aim to provide an alternative to incarceration (Chesney-Lind & Shelden, 2014a). Girls do not receive the minimum necessary to create conditions for behavioral correction and reentry into society after a crime (Gamal, 2018). They also do not have access to equal and fair judgment of their identities. Likely, gender-specific programs can push the juvenile system into changes where girls can be successfully rehabilitated.
Conclusion
Thus, the juvenile system, in reality, remains cruel to girls. This is evident in detention conditions, contact with the police, and the sentencing process. The courts are incredibly harsh on girls, and their punishments are usually harsher than on boys for minor offenses. When girls are incarcerated, their needs are not fully met, and their levels of guilt increase in the face of stress. As a consequence, rehabilitation programs are ineffective and should probably be gender-separated.
References
Chesney-Lind, M., & Shelden, R. G. (2014a). In their own words. Voices of youths at Risk. In Girls, delinquency, and juvenile system. John Wiley & Sons, pp. 273-285.
Chesney-Lind, M., & Shelden, R. G. (2014b). Programs for girls in trouble. In Girls, delinquency, and juvenile system. John Wiley & Sons, pp. 286-323.
Chesney-Lind, M., & Shelden, R. G. (2014c). The contemporary juvenile justice system and girls, Part II: Girls in institutions. In Girls, delinquency, and juvenile system. John Wiley & Sons, pp. 243-272.
Chesney-Lind, M., & Shelden, R. G. (2014c). The contemporary juvenile justice system and girls, Part I: Police and juvenile court processing. In Girls, delinquency, and juvenile system. John Wiley & Sons, pp. 251-242.
Gamal, F. (2018). Good girls: Gender-specific interventions in juvenile court. Columbia Journal of Gender and Law, 35(2), 228-263. Web.
Javdani S. (2019). Critical issues for youth involved in the juvenile justice system: Innovations in prevention, intervention, and policy. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 47(2), 67–75. Web.
Lydia, V. P. (2020). The gendered context of system experience and its impact on girls in the juvenile justice system. PhD dissertation, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. Web.
Modrowski, C. A., Rizzo, C. J., Collibee, C., Houck, C. D., & Schneider, K. (2021). Victimization profiles in girls involved in the juvenile justice system: A latent class analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 111. Web.