Article written by Janelle Hawes and Jerry Flores for Juvenile Justice. Excerpt below:

Overall, the girls in this study had to negotiate constant mistreatment across various institutions and by multiple people with little help or relief. Furthermore, 14 of the girls discussed experiences of abuse as a precursor for their first contact with the criminal justice system and eventual incarceration, providing a unique opportunity to hear how abuse often lead to criminal justice involvement in the girls’ own words.

 

Focusing on first criminal justice system contact, we find that often involvement in the criminal justice system was connected to the girls fighting back against abuse, generally inflicted by their parents or guardians.

 

[…]

 

Even when girls reported their experiences to institutional actors they were often ignored, returned to abusive homes or punished further.

Read the full article here.