[A]dvocates and researchers say there are ways to close that gap — and to make sure that black girls are not being pushed out of school and into confinement. Those remedies include launching restorative justice practices, creating diversion courts, remaking the educational and juvenile justice system and — as the Office of Civil Rights recommended
African American girls don’t misbehave more or commit more serious infractions, experts say, yet they often receive more severe penalties for the same behavior as white peers. They are nearly six times more likely to get out-of-school suspension than white counterparts, a report from the African American Policy Forum and Columbia Law School’s Center for
The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative found that in 1992, black girls comprised 29% of all girls with juvenile court cases; in 2002, the number was 30%; and by 2009, it was 40%. By all accounts, this increase is not due to a rise in the criminal activity of black girls. It comes down to decisions
During my legal career, I’ve served as a public defender and private defense lawyer. I’ve represented clients in criminal matters including murders, rapes, high volume drug cases, sex crimes, and federal offenses. What I’m going to lay out here may be disheartening, but one of the most important aspects in any trial is believability. The
A growing number of individuals have expressed support for U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ harmful Title IX proposed rules on sexual harassment, including sexual assault, in schools by pitting the rights of sexual assault survivors against efforts to further racial justice. By doing this, these individuals—often white, self-identified feminists or conservative men—erase the experiences
A highly-cited paper from the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, Human Rights Project for Girls and Ms. Foundation for Women titled “The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline,” found “that in a perverse twist of justice, many girls who experience sexual abuse are routed into the juvenile justice system because of their victimization.” Authors
The need for long-term and specialized care to treat child sex-trafficking victims is increasing. For decades, rescued children wound up being arrested and thrown into the juvenile justice system. But that’s changed in recent years, as states have moved to steer victims toward treatment. Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have eliminated criminal liability
Black girls are nearly four times more likely to be arrested at school than their white counterparts and Latina girls are almost three times more likely to be arrested in elementary school than white girls, a new report says. Researchers at the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality and the National Black Women’s Justice