Evidence drawn from a variety of sources is used to construct a profile of girls held in adult jails and lockups in the United States. The data indicate that girls are more likely than boys to be held in these facilities for status offenses and minor crimes. Girls are also likely to be younger than their male counterparts and, despite their less serious offenses, they may be held almost as long as boys. The conditions of girls' confinement, and the possible consequences of these situations, are then reviewed. Chief among these problems is isolation that may result in self-destructive behavior and the possibility of sexual assault by male staff.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Andrews, R. Hale
and Andrew H. Cohn. 1974. “Ungovernability: The Unjustifiable Jurisdiction.”Yale Law Journal83:1383-1409.
2.
Arnts, Douglas
. 1986. Detention of Juveniles in Local Jail Facilities. Report prepared by Office of the Attorney General, State of Idaho.
3.
Browne, Angela
and David Finkelhor. 1986. “Impact of Child Sexual Abuse: A Review of the Literature.”Child Abuse and Neglect99:66-77.
4.
Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice
. 1985. Survey of Inmates of Local Jails, 1983 (1st ICPSR ed.). Ann Arbor: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research.
5.
Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice
. 1986. Jail Inmates 1984. Washington, DC: Author.
6.
Canter, Rachelle
. 1982. “Sex Differences in Self-Reported Delinquency.”Criminology20:373-393.
7.
Castro, L. Aniyar
. 1981. “Venezuelan Female Criminality.” In The Incidence of Female Criminality in the Contemporary World, edited by Freda Adler. New York: New York University Press.
8.
Chesney-Lind, Meda
. 1973. “Judicial Enforcement of the Female Sex Role.”Issues in Criminology8:51-70.
9.
Chesney-Lind, Meda
. 1987. “Girls and De-Institutionalization.”Journal of Criminal Justice Abstracts.
10.
Chesney-Lind, Meda
. and Noelie Rodriguez. 1983. “Women Under Lock and Key.”Prison Journal63:47-65.
11.
Children's Defense Fund
. 1976. Children in Adult Jails. Washington, DC: Author.
12.
Commission for Children and Youth
. 1986. 1985 Idaho Juvenile Jail Monitoring Report. Idaho: Office of the Governor.
13.
Community Research Associates
. 1986. Juvenile Jailings in North Dakota: Findings from a Statewide Needs Assessment. Draft report. Illinois: Author.
14.
Community Research Center
. 1983. Juvenile Suicides in Adult Jails: Findings from a National Survey of Juveniles in Secure Detention Facilities. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, No. 92639.
15.
Community Research Center
. 1985. Juveniles in Adult Jails and Lock-ups: It's Your Move. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, No. 98212.
16.
Curtis, Craig
. 1987. “Gender Bias in Discretionary Decision-Making in the Criminal Justice System: An Application of a New Model.” Paper presented at the Western Society of Criminology Meetings, Las Vegas, NV.
17.
Deborah Doe et al. v. Lloyd W. Burwell et al. 1981. Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Support of Motion for Class Certification. Filed in U.S. District Court for Southern District of Ohio. Civil Action No. C-1-81-415.
18.
Department of the Youth Authority
. 1983. The 1982 Jail Report: Minors Detained in California Jails and Lockups in 1982. State of California.
19.
Department of the Youth Authority
. 1984. The 1983 Jail Report: Minors Detained in California Jails and Lockups in 1983. State of California.
20.
Department of the Youth Authority
. 1985. The 1984 Jail Report: Minors Detained in California Jails and Lockups in 1984. State of California.
21.
Department of the Youth Authority
. 1986. The 1985 Jail Report: Minors Detained in California Jails and Lockups in 1985 (Rev. October 1986). State of California.
22.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
. 1985. Uniform Crime Reports, Crime in the U.S. 1984. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
23.
Figueira-McDonough, Josephina
. 1985. “Are Girls Different? Gender Discrepancies Between Delinquent Behavior and Control.”Child Welfare64:273-289.
24.
Frazier, Charles E.
and John C. Cochran. 1986a. “Detention of Juveniles: Its Effects on Subsequent Juvenile Court Processing Decisions.”Youth and Society17:286-305.
25.
Frazier, Charles E.
and John C. Cochran. 1986b. “Official Intervention, Diversion from the Juvenile Justice System, and Dynamics of Human Services Work: Effects of a Reform Goal Based on Labeling Theory.”Crime & Delinquency32:157-176.
26.
Geller, Gloria
. 1981. “Streaming of Males and Females in the Juvenile Justice System.” Paper presented at the Canadian Psychological Association, Toronto, Ontario, June.
27.
Gelsthorpe, Loraine
. 1986. “Towards a Sceptical Look at Sexism.”International Journal of the Sociology of Law14:125-152.
28.
General Accounting Office
. 1978. Removing Status Offenders from Secure Facilities: Federal Leadership and Guidance are Needed. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
29.
Gordon, Linda
. 1986. “Incest and Resistance: Patterns of Father-Daughter Incest, 1880-1930.”Social Problems33:253-267.
30.
Hancock, Linda
. 1981. “The Myth that Females are Treated More Leniently than Males in the Juvenile Justice System.”Australian and New Zealand Journal of Sociology16:4-14.
31.
Johnnie K. et al. v. the County of Curry, New Mexico, et al. 1982. Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Support of Motion for Class Certification. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. No. CIV 81 0914 M.
32.
Ketchem, Orman
. 1978. “Why Jurisdiction over Status Offenders Should be Eliminated from Juvenile Courts.” In Status Offenders and the Juvenile Justice System: An Anthology, edited by Richard Allinson. Hackensack: National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
33.
Krisberg, Barry
and Ira Schwartz. 1983. “Re-Thinking Juvenile Justice.”Crime & Delinquency29:381-397.
34.
Krisberg, BarryIra Schwartz
. Paul Litsky, and James Austin. 1986. “The Watershed of Juvenile Justice Reform.”Crime & Delinquency32:5-38.
35.
Krohn, Marvin D.
, James P. Curry, and Shirley Nelson-Kilger. 1983. “Is Chivalry Dead?”Criminology21:417-439.
36.
Lillian Robbins v. County of Glenn, California, et al. 1985. Amended Civil Rights Complaint for Damages. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. September. No. CIVS-85-0675 RAR.
37.
Mahoney, Anne R.
and Carol Fenster. 1982. “Female Delinquents in a Suburban Court.” In Judge, Lawyer, Victim, Thief, edited by Nicole Rafter and Elizabeth Stanko. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
38.
Mann, Coramae
. 1984. Female Crime and Delinquency. Alabama: University of Alabama Press.
39.
McCormack, Arlene
, Mark-David Janus, and Ann Wolpert Burgess. 1986. “Runaway Youths and Sexual Victimization: Gender Differences in an Adolescent Runaway Population.”Child Abuse and Neglect10:387-395.
40.
National Center for Juvenile Justice
. 1985. Delinquency, 1982. Pittsburgh: National Center for Juvenile Justice.
41.
National Coalition for Jail Reform
. n.d. Women in Jail: Special Problems, Different Needs. Washington, DC: National Coalition for Jail Reform.
42.
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
. 1985. Runaway Children and the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act: What is the Impact?Washington, DC: Juvenile Justice Bulletin.
43.
Phelps, R. J.et al.
1982. Wisconsin Juvenile Female Offender Project. Wisconsin: Youth Policy and Law Center, Wisconsin Council on Juvenile Justice.
44.
Pope, Carl
and William H. Feyerherm. 1982. “Gender Bias in Juvenile Court Dispositions.”Journal of Social Service Review6:1-16.
45.
Rita Horn et al. v. Oldham County, Kentucky, et al. 1983. Motion for Class Certification. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Civil Action No. C-83-0208-LB.
46.
Roche, Susan E.
and David Richart. 1981. A Comparative Study of Young Women and Men in Kentucky Jails: Fourth 1981 Interim Report. Louisville: Kentucky Youth Advocates.
47.
Schlossman, Steven
and Stephanie Wallach. 1987. “The Crime of Precocious Sexuality: Female Juvenile Delinquency in the Progressive Era.”Harvard Educational Review48:65-94.
48.
Schwartz, Ira M.
, Gideon Fishman, RaDene R. Hatfield, Barry A, Krisberg, and Zvi Eisikovits. 1987. “Juvenile Detention: The Hidden Closets Revisited.”Justice Quarterly4:219-235.
49.
Schwartz, Ira
, Linda Harris, and Laurie Levi. 1987. The Jailing of Juveniles in Minnesota. Minnesota: Hubert Humphrey Institute.
50.
Shaw, Nancy Stoller
. 1982. “Female Patients and the Medical Profession in Jails and Prisons: A Case of Quintuple Jeopardy.” In Judge, Lawyer, Victim, Thief, edited by Nicole Hahn Rafter and Elizabeth Stanko. Boston: Northeastern.
51.
Shelden, Randall G.
1981. “Sex Discrimination in the Juvenile Justice System: Memphis, Tennessee, 1900-1917.” In Comparing Female and Male Offenders, edited by Marguerite Q. Warren. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
52.
Silbert, Mimi
and Ayala M. Pines. 1981. “Sexual Child Abuse as a Antecedent to Prostitution.”Child Abuse and Neglect5:407-411.
53.
Smith, Leslie
. 1978. “Sexist Assumptions and Female Delinquency.” In Women, Sexuality and Social Control, edited by Carol Smart and Barry Smart. London: Routledge, Kegan Paul.
54.
Soler, Mark
. 1983. Prepared Statement. Hearing to Inquire into the Continued Detention of Juveniles in Adult Jails and Lock-ups. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate.
55.
Steinhart, David
and Barry Krisberg. 1987. “Children in Jail.”State Legislatures (March):12-16.
56.
Sussman, Alan
. 1977. “Sex-Based Discrimination and the PINS Jurisdiction.” In Beyond Control: Status Offenders in the Juvenile Court, edited by Lee H. Teitelbaum and Aidan R. Gough. Cambridge: Ballinger.
57.
Teilmann, Katherine S.
and Pierre H. Landry, Jr.1981. “Gender Bias in Juvenile Justice.”Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency18:47-80.
58.
“21 States Considered at Risk of Losing OJJDP Formula Grants.”1987. Criminal Justice Newsletter (August 17):4.
59.
U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Education and Labor
. 1980. Juvenile Justice Amendments of 1980. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
60.
U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary
. 1981. Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
61.
U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary
. Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice. 1983. Hearing to Inquire into the Continued Detention of Juveniles in Adult Jails and Lock-Ups. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
62.
U.S. Statutes at Large
. 1981. Ninety-Sixth Congress (2nd Session). Public Law 96-509—December 8, 1980. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
63.
Wooden, Kenneth
. 1976. Weeping in the Playtime of Others. New York: McGraw-Hill.
