Chesney-Lind, Meda (1947–)

Scholarly Work and Thematic Ideas

Chesney-Lind revolutionized the field of juvenile justice by drawing attention to the unequal ways in which young women and young men were treated. In articles published in criminology and women's studies journals, she pointed out that young women were more likely than boys to be arrested and incarcerated for status offenses. Status offenses, which include such activities as running away from home, truancy, incorrigibility, curfew violations, and being sexually active, are considered offenses only because the perpetrator is a minor; they would not be considered offenses if the actor [Page 116]was an adult. Chesney-Lind argued that status offenses were a means by which parents and the state were able to police and enforce a particular ideal of femininity for young women. As a result of the growing awareness of the problem of disparate treatment of male and female delinquents, many states have attempted to address the double standard.

Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice (coauthored with Randall Shelden, 1992, 1998) and The Female Offender: Girls, Women, and Crime (1999) expose the problems associated with applying male-oriented criminological theories to girls and women. Historical data and numerous contemporary studies show that mainstream theories and approaches based on adults (especially adult males) do not explain female delinquency. Instead, factors such as histories of troubled family backgrounds (marked by poverty, divorce, parental death, abandonment, alcoholism, and frequent abuse) may contribute to their delinquency. These backgrounds may prompt young women to run away from home where they may engage in prostitution, petty property crimes, and drug use. As a result, statutes originally developed to “protect” girls have criminalized their survival strategies.

Chesney-Lind recommends that counseling for delinquent and at-risk young women should address these multiple problems and should include educational and occupational support. Furthermore, programming should address the needs of young women who do not live with their families and provide them with access to caring adults and communities. Chesney-Lind's research also examines racial issues and injustices; girls' involvement in gangs and violence, and sentencing. More recently, Chesney-Lind has coedited a book with Marc Mauer, Invisible Punishment: The Collateral of Consequences of Mass Imprisonment, that explores some of our most infamous criminal justice policies (e.g., “three strikes and you're out,” “a war on drugs,” “get tough on crime” attitudes that included mandatory sentencing, and prison privatization) and details the detrimental impacts and social consequences these (and other) policies have had on our families and communities.

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