Gender In The Juvenile Justice System

The juvenile justice system is an area of criminal law when a person commits a criminal act, but is not old enough to be held fully responsible for their actions. When one thinks about the juvenile justice system, the first thought is a young boy either behind bars or standing in front of a judge. Very few people would associate the juvenile justice system with girls. It is from this association that I would like to bring an awareness to others. It is a known fact that both boys and girls can go to the juvenile justice system when they commit a crime, but it is not a known fact how both genders are treated while in the system. Within the juvenile justice system, there are clear differences in how girls and boys are treated. These differences

This topic is not something that is widely known, as boys make up the majority of juvenile delinquents. My views of the treatment between genders in the system is neither for the difference in treatment nor against them. I do believe that the system needs to do a better job at addressing some issues regarding the difference of gender. The system should focus on equality for all when it comes to resources, sentencing, and treatment. As of right now, I do not believe that the system is fair when serving justice. If it is possible for a girl to get off on a lighter sentence than a boy for the same crime, I believe that there is a bias or stigma against one gender over the other. Although studies on the topic of gender difference and their sentencing is mixed, a majority of the studies have reported females to be treated more leniently at intake than males (Leiber & Peck, 2012). This finding has been explained by beliefs that decision makers treat females more leniently because they have been socialized to protect females, or they have stereotypical beliefs or perceptions that females do not engage in criminal behavior (e.g., Bishop & Frazier, 1992; Leiber,

The chart shows crime arrest rates per 100,000 for persons between the ages of 10-17. The juvenile arrest rate for all crimes decreased substantially for both males and females since the peak in 1996 when males were at 12,687 and females, 4,029, a difference of 8,658. The most recent results are from 2016 when rates were at their lowest level for both genders since 1980, with males at 3,523 and females at 1,543, a difference of 9,164 for boys and 2,486 for girls from their peaks (USDOJ, 2016). What I got from these charts was how both genders have declined in recent years, but females rates have gone down less than the rates for boys. I’d say my stance on this matter is that I do not believe both genders are treated fairly within the system. Within the system, there is a possibility to detain a 15 year old boy longer than a 15 year old girl even if they have committed the same crime or are first offenders. This does not define justice. It is showing a bias towards one gender as it is implying that boys are more destructive than girls which in reality is not true. This is also apparent in research conducted by Leiber & Peck (2012) as one of their hypothesis from their study was that juvenile females will be less likely to receive a more severe outcome at judicial disposition once legal considerations were taken into account than their male peers. This comes from a