Criminalization of Girls who Experience Sexual Violence
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, April 10, 2023 New “Abuse to Prison Pipeline” Report, Released Today, Provides Critical Update on Criminalization of Girls who Experience Sexual Violence Findings Indicate Girls Continue to Be Criminalized As a Result of Abuse — Punished, Rather Than Supported Washington, DC – Today, the Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at
Gender Justice and Opportunity Initiative receives landmark support from #StartSmall
Gender Justice and Opportunity Initiative receives landmark support from #StartSmall *Please consider donating to the Initiative. “If we harness our collective power we can make an even bigger difference in the lives of girls,” says executive director Rebecca Epstein. The Initiative on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law, which works to advance race and
Do No Harm: Reflecting on a Legacy of Pain for Black Women and Girls in the United States
As the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality reported in 2017, “compared to white girls of the same age (i.e. age range of five to 14), adults perceive that black girls need less protection, know more about adult topics, and know more about sex.” Yet they are seen as too childlike and promiscuous to
Why Sexual Assault Survivors Of Color Need Their Own Spaces To Heal
Research has found the “strong black woman” stereotypes can have significant consequences for black women’s mental health, including higher likelihood of depression and a lower likelihood of seeking out help. A data analysis from the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality also found people see young black girls as “less innocent and more adultlike
Raped, Then Thrown in Jail: A Teen’s ‘Abuse-to-Prison Pipeline’
As the co-author of a groundbreaking 2015 report on sexual trauma and juvenile justice, [Rebecca] Epstein’s one of the country’s leading experts on the issue. “In many ways, this case is an example of the system responding to a girl of color who has experienced trauma by punishing her,” Epstein said. “When we punish these
Cyntoia Brown, Now Free From Prison, Says She Wants To Help Other Victims Of Abuse
The rate of girls in the juvenile justice system is increasing, according to a 2015 report Vafa coauthored with researchers from the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality and the Ms. Foundation for Women. They found that those girls also experience sexual violence at disproportionate rates. Read the Full Article at Nashville Public Radio
Naomi Wadler Continues Her Activism for Black Girls One Year After Walkouts
12-year-old activist Naomi Wadler came into the spotlight after speaking out for Black girls at the March for our Lives — her advocacy for young women like herself has only expanded in the months since. Read the Full Article at NowThis News
Reclaiming Black Girlhood with Hand Games
“We’re trying to change the master narrative around black girls being loud, mean, promiscuous, and defiant,” says Halyard. “We want to flip that question of, ‘What is wrong with you?’ to ‘What has happened to you?’ and provide the platform for black girls to speak with their own voices.” Likewise, Georgetown Law’s Center on Poverty
Cyntoia Brown, R. Kelly and the refusal to recognize black and brown female victims
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