In 2015, nearly 30 percent of juveniles arrested are girls or young women and their share of arrests, detainment, and court cases steadily increased over the past two decades. Unfortunately their stories remain unchanged. Often girls of color and girls living in poverty, they are victims of violence, including physical and sexual abuse. They are typically nonviolent and pose little or no risk to public safety. And their involvement with the juvenile justice system usually does more harm than good. Find out more about the issues concerning girls and the juvenile justice system and what your state, tribe, or local community, in cooperation with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), can do to improve our responses to girls and young women in—or at risk of entering—the system.
