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Protect Our Girls From System and Build on Their Strengths [JJIE.org]

 

As the November presidential election draws nearer, it is clear that for the first time in American history a woman will be the presidential candidate for a major political party. And while we have significant work to do to achieve true justice and equity, women overall experience more opportunity than they ever have. For many little girls growing up today, this country is looking more promising. But not all.

Girls who have traditionally been marginalized — girls of color, those who grow up in poverty, with disabilities, in the child welfare system, who are gender nonconforming and those who may fall at any of those intersections — face a greater risk of becoming involved in the juvenile justice system than ever before.

Despite the fact that the juvenile justice population has been cut in half over the last few decades, the number of system-involved girls has consistently risen. The rate of girls’ arrests, referrals to court, adjudications, decisions to place on probation and decisions to send to placement has increased by at least 40 percent, according toGender Injustice. Girls of color, particularly those who are African-American and Native American, continue to be overrepresented in the juvenile justice system.



[For more of this story, written by Maheen Kaleem and Natalie A. Collier, go to http://jjie.org/protect-our-gi...ir-strengths/281176/]

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