Girls are not just "boys with different needs."

Girls are not just "boys with different needs." Their pathways into the juvenile justice system are often fundamentally different and our responses should reflect that.

For decades, juvenile justice systems have largely been designed around boys. While girls make up a smaller percentage of justice-involved youth, their experiences, needs, and pathways into the system are often very different.

Too often, girls enter the juvenile justice system because of status offenses, such as running away and truancy. In many cases, they are detained "for their own protection" rather than because they pose a risk to public safety. Even though detention was never intended to serve as a protective placement. It is designed to protect community safety and ensure a youth's appearance in court, not to compensate for gaps in community services.

Behind many of these cases is a history of trauma. Research consistently shows that girls involved in the juvenile justice system experience significantly higher rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). One frequently cited study found that 45% of justice-involved girls had an ACE score of 5 or higher, compared with 28% of boys. Although those data were collected more than a decade ago, they remain some of the most widely referenced findings in the field and underscore the profound impact of trauma on girls involved in the juvenile justice system. More recent research continues to confirm that justice-involved girls experience disproportionately high levels of adversity and trauma.

Early in my career, I had the privilege of developing and implementing a Girls Court. That experience reinforced what the research has long shown: when we create environments that are trauma-responsive, relationship-centered, and gender-responsive, we are far more likely to engage girls in meaningful ways and address the underlying issues that led to their involvement in the system.

When we treat girls exactly the same as boys, we miss the opportunity to provide interventions that truly meet their needs. Gender-responsive programming is not about giving girls special treatment—it's about recognizing that effective interventions must be informed by their unique experiences and strengths.

As we continue to improve juvenile justice systems, we must move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches and invest in programming that acknowledges the distinct needs of girls. When we do, we create systems that are not only more effective, but also more equitable and ultimately improve outcomes for youth, families, and communities.

What steps is your community taking to ensure girls receive the gender-responsive, trauma-informed services they deserve?

#JuvenileJustice #GirlsInJustice #GenderResponsive #TraumaInformed #YouthDevelopment #SystemReform #ACEs #JusticeReform #M3CollaborativeConsulting