Juvenile Justice System and Gender

The term juvenile justice system (JJS) refers to those parts of the legal system that deal with violations of the criminal law by young people. Juveniles are usually defined as those under the age of 18 years, but this is not true for all states in the United States. The JJS includes law enforcement, the courts, and the correctional system. Gender, like age, race, class, family composition, and other factors, often has an impact on a child or adolescent’s experience in the JJS. Because youth who encounter the JJS do so when they are still growing and developing their gender identities, gender and the JJS intersect in a number of ways. These include the issues that bring these youth into the system as well as ...