Females in the Juvenile Justice System

Essay by selkimomm March 2005

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After visiting several websites in regards to the treatment of females in the justice system led me to the conclusion that the real problem isn't what happens inside the system so much as what happens as a result of being the system. In other words the real injustice happens after the women serve their sentences and are released into a world that will forever portray them as criminals or lowlifes. I think that is where the real problem is and it affects the men as well, but the discussion is in regards to women. After doing some researching, reading through what seemed thousands of documents and findings I decided to focus on one particular subject in one particular state. I decided to focus on what I thought was more abusive outside the system than in the system. I also chose to focus on this abuse in the state of Florida.

Throughout the world programs are in place to rehabilitate males or females who found themselves in the criminal system. There has been hundreds of research projects with even more public discussion of what to do with criminals. Although women can and are arrested for lesser crimes than men it is the men that take up much of the space in prisons. However the men seem to have more access to help inside and outside the prison system than women do. Research shows that men are more likely to commit crimes because of peer pressure while growing up, lack of social skills, or even some biological imbalance that causes them to commit crimes. However, research suggests that girls involved in the juvenile justice system have experienced chaotic and abusive home lives.

According to recent studies by the Office of Juvenile Justice, most offenses committed by females are status offenses such as...