I’m grateful for a powerful new book, Girls in Justice by artist Richard Ross, a follow-up to his moving earlier Juvenile in Justice, which combines Ross’ photographs of girls in the juvenile justice system with interviews he gathered from over 250 detention facilities across the United States. If a picture is worth a thousand words, the deeply disturbing photographs speak volumes. Ross uses the power of photography to make visible the hidden and harsh world of girls in detention. These heartwrenching images coupled with the girls’ ages and life stories should move us to confront the cruel and unjust juvenile justice system in our nation. These girls are ours: our neighbors, our children’s classmates, our daughters and granddaughters, sisters, cousins, and nieces — and, for some young children, our mothers. Girls in Justice invites the question:Why are so many girls, especially girls of color, confined in our nation’s detention facilities, and what are we as a society going to do about it?
We must all work tirelessly to give hope and a fair chance to these girls and all children by promoting policies, programs, and supports that help them and their families, especially those most at risk. We must combat systemic problems that contribute to family and community dysfunction and wreak havoc on developing children, including girls; we must dig beneath the surface and examine the root cause of girls’ “offenses” and why injustice saps the hopes of so many young lives on our watch.
In 2013, one in five girls in the United States was poor, and girls of color were disproportionately poor. From birth to young adulthood, children — especially poor children and children of color — encounter multiple and cumulative risk factors that often result in their being funneled into the prison pipeline through the juvenile and criminal justice systems and locked up behind bars. Such massive incarceration is sentencing millions of children to social and economic death. The pipeline to prison is lodged at the intersection of poverty and race and is intolerable in a professed society of opportunity. In 2007, the Children’s Defense Fund launched the Cradle to Prison Pipeline® crusade to confront youth incarceration and the factors driving it and propose solutions to replace it with a pipeline to college and career. While twice as many boys as girls are arrested, girls are the fastest-growing segment of the juvenile justice system. As girls rock the cradle, they rock the future, and we must pay attention to both girls and boys to ensure the development of healthy families.
Girls of color and poor girls face special challenges before they enter the juvenile justice system, during their confinement, and when they return to their communities after release. At the front end, racial disparities and the lack of appropriate treatment and support that run through every major child-serving system negatively impact their life chances by pushing more children into juvenile detention and adult prison. These include limited health and mental health care; lack of quality early childhood support experiences (including home visiting, Early Head Start and Head Start, child care, preschool, and kindergarten); children languishing in foster care waiting for permanent families and shunted through multiple placements; and failing schools with harsh zero-tolerance discipline policies, mostly for nonviolent offenses, that suspend, expel, and discourage children who then too often drop out and do not graduate. Too little effort is made to divert girls from the juvenile justice system despite the existence of successful evidence-based programs.
Girls in the system often encounter a unique set of challenges. Almost three quarters of them have been sexually or physically abused. Most are arrested for nonviolent offenses such as truancy, running away, or alcohol and substance use which can often be linked to severe abuse or neglect. These nonviolent offenses, or status offenses, would not be considered offenses for an adult. Poverty has an impact: although the trauma of sexual violence and abuse affects many girls, poor girls often lack adequate supports to keep them from juvenile detention.
Victimized girls often face more trauma and stigmatization by being held in juvenile detention facilities instead of diverted to appropriate community-based alternatives. Whether confinement is temporary or longer term, programs and personnel are often not equipped to deal with their unique needs and sometimes exacerbate the trauma. Reports are rampant of confined girls being emotionally, physically, and sexually abused, isolated, separated from their babies, unable to visit their family members regularly, and humiliated through common practices like pat downs. Detention centers need more comprehensive, gender-responsive, trauma-informed, culturally relevant services for girls.
After release, girls, many of whom may already have been disconnected from their families and communities, need help through education, employment, and family and community support including programs to strengthen their families and assure them access to health and mental health services. Effective reentry plans should include school reenrollment, housing, job training, case management, and mentoring. All help reduce recidivism. We should all feel ashamed as the girls in this book talk about reentering detention multiple times and how these are generational patterns. This revolving door of individual and family confinement must end — now.
It is way past time for every adult to take responsibility for reducing the number of girls and boys behind bars through prevention and diversion programs and community supports both before and after detention. And it is way past time for adults of every race and income group to break our silence about the pervasive breakdown of moral, family, community and national values, to place our children first in our lives, to rebuild family and community, to model the behavior we want our children to learn, and to never give up on any child. We do not have a “child and youth problem” in America, but we have a profound adult problem. It is time for adults to address it and to give all of our children true justice: hope, opportunity, and love.
Pictures are such a powerful method of communication. Reading about this photo project reminded me of the expository photo essay “Christmas in Purgatory” which was released in 1974 and shed light on the level of care that many people with intellectual and physical disabilities were receiving in large institutions. I hope this book has a similar impact to that essay and that it helps to make a change. I had not noticed before that there was such an unbalanced amount of interest between boys who are at risk and girls who are at risk. It makes sense that girls are beginning to fall through the cracks. Overall I think the judicial system, particularly the juvenile judicial system, has a lot of room for improvement. I think the judicial system should be more framed as a rehabilitation opportunity than as a holding cell. This could be done in many ways, but two obvious ways are to provide more comprehensive and sensitive training for the staff and to create transitional plans for when girls are released.
ReplyDeleteI also loved the line at the end of the post: “We do not have a “child and youth problem” in America, but we have a profound adult problem. It is time for adults to address it and to give all of our children true justice: hope, opportunity, and love.” While I am not trying to compare children to dogs, this also makes me think of the quote, “There are no bad dogs, only bad owners.” Children are a product of their environment and it is about time that we recognize that and stop blaming kids for the cards that were dealt to them.
As Devon stated, I as well did not notice the uneven amount of interest between boys who are at risk and girls who are at risk. I truly agree that the juvenile judicial system has much room for improvement and should be designed as a rehabilitation environment. Just holding our children in a cell and not working with them to ensure that emotional, mental and physical support is in place is only making matters worse. The problem is not being corrected, these are the children that need our help. They are dealing with other things and are not given the support they need to overcome whatever the issue may be. Instead of treating them as a criminal, the fact that they are still a child needs to be recognized and help should be given. In the article, "The Dangers of Detention: The Impact of Incarcerating in Detention and Other Secure Facilities" the author stated:
DeleteOne psychologist found that for one-third of incarcerated youth diagnosed with depression, the onset of the depression occurred after they began their incarceration, and another suggests that poor mental health, and the conditions of confinement together conspire to make it more likely that incarcerated teens will engage in suicide and self-harm. (B.Holman and J. Ziedenberg, p. 2).
Because of this, the juvenile system needs to be re-thought and arranged to help these young people so that they are physically, mentally and emotionally prepared to create a positive future.
B.Holman and J. Ziedenberg. "The Dangers of Detention: The Impact of
Incarcerating in Detention and Other Secure Facilities." Justice Policy
Institute: p.2 Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
I agree with Mindy and the statement of truth around where our problem lies; in the inactivity and dysfunctional institutions in our communities NOT in our children. Again, I am happy to see that there are folks on large platforms speaking to people across the country through words and images about the plight of our girls and young women. There is an excellent book that speaks to the incarceration of Black girls called Arrested Justice by Dr. Beth Richie who is a phenomenal activist/academic based out of Chicago. The book outlines research and stories to support the fact that Black girls are among the fastest growing group to be incarcerated by way of juvenile detention and status offenses.
ReplyDeleteI organize with a group of folks across the country and we have a public policy agenda (http://byp100.org/byp100-agenda-keep-us-safe/) that outline some policy recommendations to counteract punitive policies that lead to more bodies in "holding cells" as opposed to stabilizing and adding to communities. One major point that is outlined is an end to status offenses. These are often overlooked in general society but in schools and institutions servicing children, status offenses are an entry point to the cradle to prison pipeline. In some cases parents are unaware of the alleged inappropriate behavior until their baby is in cuffs.
I believe for me to be an effective change agent I have to spread the news of how this society is effecting all our children not just one subgroup. I believe the latter simplifies the problem and money gets funneled into programs that never hit the root cause. When the complete story is told we can imagine new more effective strategies and solutions.
What stood out to me is the prevalence of abuse in most incarcerated young women. This is also true of the young men i have worked with over the last 5 years in probation camps. I can't understand why so much money is spent on researching the effects, symptoms and treatment for abused children, yet it isn't put into motion with effective and accessible program and counseling resources? We must change law and policy to help these children. Merely having research on the topic does not change anything. Now we know, so we must act. Thousands of children are suffering from trauma and instead of providing them with love or care we lock them up. The trauma, sexual, physical, emotional, that these young men and women have suffered is OBVIOUS every single time i walk into a classroom in the probation camps. I have seen Freedom Schools give them a therapeutic outlet to talk about their stories, synthesize ideas of what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior, and learn how to cope with emotions and feelings that may cause 'delinquent' impulses and behaviors. Many of the youth i have worked with don't even realize the atrocities that have been done to them are abuse. No one has reached out to them in a caring way when they have acted out, despite the fact that the symptoms and effects of abuse are well known. Our children are bleeding from the inside out. Their pain is real and as children they cannot be expected to know how to heal themselves. Counseling needs to be destigmatized. Talking about abuse needs to be destigmatized. Therapy and other resources for healing need to be accessible and affordable in EVERY community. It is unbelievable that the government can't see how they would benefit from providing such services to every community to preemptively treat the problems effecting our youth. The healthy and stronger and more supported our youth are, the more successful they will be in society. It is to the advantage of the child and the community to offer such services. The return will surely pay off what needs to be put into each program. Our children need our love and support to recover from what OTHERS have done to them. Punishment is not the answer and especially for girls causes such harsh stigmas and reputations that only push them further into 'delinquent' behaviors and beliefs about themselves.
ReplyDeleteZoe - I share your confusion over the amount of money being spent on research versus the actual implementation of laws and policy. From an educator and activist standpoint, the choice seems obvious - why research something we already understand. Unfortunately, for many policymakers, it is far easier to keep such an ugly, "messy" issue at arms length. So many children in the justice system do not have advocates and, as a result, it is incredibly easy to hide the abuse they face. In today's political climate - the loudest voices receive the most attention. We must be the loud, outspoken voices for these youth so that they can receive the attention and justice they deserve.
DeleteI honestly had no idea that there was such an increase occurring with our girls being place in the juvenile detention system. All the factors presented in this article and some not stated, play a role in this increase. As the passage stated at the end, “We do not have a child and youth problem in America, we have a profound adult problem”, I automatically refer back to a school board meeting that I attended in the 12th grade. At this meeting, there were many parents who complained to the board about the lack of a quality education in the classroom, the favoritism shown by teachers towards certain students, and the concern of their child’s safety at school from bullies. In retrospect, these complaints were actually the adults presenting areas that they and other educators, counselors, officers, & parents should be advancing their knowledge in. I now see these “complaints”, as starting points to improving the environment around our boys but most importantly here, our young girls. If all the adults in the world were to create an environment in the home and at school that fashioned loved, support, and the other basic needs for our girls, there would not be as many in the juvenile justice system as there are currently.
ReplyDeleteAs a graduate assistant in a freshmen dorm, I’ve met a few girls who spent time in a detention center. As I listen to their stories and hear how they maintained sanity a fought to turn their lives around, I am amazed. These young ladies who come from backgrounds that lacked nearly everything, cherishes the help and compassion from a few individuals they met INSIDE those detention centers. Those interactions allowed them to rise above and obtain opportunities that they never dreamed of before. They are living proof that a turnaround can be made within this system. I agree entirely with what Devon said about how the juvenile system should improve in ways that create a more operational transitional phase for those girls as well as the proper training for all individuals coming in contact with the girls. Prayerfully, as these new transitional plans are implemented, our young girls who successfully exit this unwarranted system can contribute to the process of dismantling the prison pipeline.
Just like Alex, I did not realize that so many of our young women and girls are in detention centers and that there has been such an increase. Especially, knowing that many of them have been sexually and physically abused definitely makes this an "adult problem" in our country. It is often, and not fairly, the marginalized are disproportionately represented in the high number of those incarcerated which highlights other social issues and expectations. I also agree that the environment that is created in specific classrooms and schools can have a direct effect on the outcome we see. The problems "within" (schools) and can be transferred "without" (out of schools and in this case, detention centers). Here we see that a fair, healthy, moral, safe, and head start are so crucial for a successful passage into adulthood and to reduce the number of young women and girls incarcerated, especially those of color. It breaks my heart that these issues have exacerbated, but it is the broken heart that leads to advocacy, that leads to change. I hope that more eyes will be open and lead to those improvements.
Delete"It is time for adults to address it and to give all of our children true justice: hope, opportunity, and love." This statement really stood out to me in that true justice involves an impartation of love and hope in contrast to recent views that justice is upheld with force. Furthermore I agree with all the phenomenal ladies' statements above but cannot help but wonder how men will react to the incarceration rates of young women. All adults must work hard to ensure that we tackle the incarceration of young men as well as young women. Wholly I hope there's an understanding that the future mothers, grandmothers' etc. who have been mentally and physically enslaved in the aftermath of abuse and/or neglect is not just a calling for women to assist, but also men. As adults we all must take on the burdens of young people and must know that they may need maternal and paternal figures to assist in combatting the trauma in their lives that lead to incarceration. I must admit I was not aware of the alarming rates at which young ladies are being incarcerated, but I have served in a capacity to assist while volunteering at a juvenile placement/residential facility to teach them dance. I received the opportunity to give them the hope and love they need in order to stifle their delinquent behaviors in a remote way. My hope is that we are all- both men and women- readily prepared to “give all of our children true justice: hope, opportunity, and love."
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ReplyDeleteA lot stood out to me in this piece, the main parts being the inhumane criminalization of young girls, the lack of awareness in our society, and our lack of community. The point of how the majority of these “crimes” these young girls are being put in the detention center for reminded me of an article I recently read. The article spoke about how the country of Portugal decriminalized the use of drugs and instead treated it as a mental problem and would provide people with treatment. The consumption of drugs in Portugal is now among the lowest in the European Union. I bring this article up because this is just one example of how it has been shown that treating non-violent offenses with a rehabilitating outlook actually works toward solutions. This country, as in the United States is on the opposite end of this spectrum. People who use drugs are treated almost as badly as murderers. Now, this fact in a general human sense is obviously ridiculous but, now we are talking about young people, in this particular case young girls. It is preposterous and cruel, for a system to be created to criminalize and stigmatize these young girls before they ever even had much of a chance to live. As Mrs. Edelman states, many of these problems are rooted in abuse of these young girls. We must also be aware of the hardships young girls and women face in our culture and many others without the traumatizing cases of abuse. When this abuse is added as another devaluing factor of girls how can we truly stand here and blame them? We must look at ourselves and at the cultural narrative by which we live.
Awareness is a key factor in creating the necessary changes. I for one must admit I was not aware in the rising number of young girls who are being sent to detention centers. I do wish I could say that I am surprised but, due to knowledge of the system in this country and the history of it, I am not. It has been shown over and over that women have very great resilience when facing hardships and even oppression. Even when many men were being killed by white supremacists in the past women showed a great deal of strength and resilience keeping the household strong and the community connected. Although, we have seen this greatly affected by the introduction of drugs into the community, you still see this great strength and resilience today. Today I attended a talk about women in positions of power in post-conflict countries of Africa. The information I received was amazing and only validated my beliefs that we must further uplift our girls and women and continue to encourage their growth and input in all that we do.
The last point I would like to touch on is the topic of community and working together. It is an unfortunate reality that this system in which we live has not only failed to serve our young people, especially those of color and those in poverty but, it has in fact done plenty to traumatize and take life from them. We as people of the community though cannot just sit back and criticize the system. We must not only change the system but more importantly begin to change the narrative for these young girls and boys. We often fail to realize how much of our consent the system needs to function in its broken and cruel ways. No, I am not saying the accountability is taken off of those who make the decisions and create the system. But, I am saying that we have failed as communities in many aspects of caring for all of those around us, especially our young people. We too often get caught up in trying to accumulate certain status and materials that our young people get set on the back burner. We can no longer do this and expect change. We must find community in the true sense of the word and work together to dismantle this system and end the attack on young girls and boys. As Mrs. Edelman says there is no child problem, it does not exist, what we have is an adult problem. As bitter as it may be, we must face it and work toward solutions.
This article really surprised me, also at the same time, brought insight. I never realized how many girls are in and out of juvenile detention centers. Mainly, the focus is more so on the boys in detentions centers. There are so many girls straying down the wrong path because of something they have lacked, whether it being a mother, father, role model, education, income, security, etc. It's so important that we as adults, set up the plate and mold these young ladies to be a power for good. They are not our next generation, they are our current generation.
ReplyDeleteOur system is so quick to label and categorize our young girls, before even giving them the chance to make a turn around, with the help and support of others. This leads our girl create a negative image. An image that says no one cares about them.
A section of this article that stuck out to me was the part about having an "Effective reentry plan" that includes, "school reenrollment, housing, job training, case management, and mentoring," for the young ladies once they are released from the detention center. I feel like this is all about giving someone a second chance or another chance to make it right. Most of the time, the ladies are released from the detention centers and eventually manage to find their way back to the detentions center because they are not provided guidance upon release. Setting them up on plans before they are released can help and prepare them to live in their community once again. People do better, especially when they have someone beside them saying that they can.
This article was well written, and I am very appreciative for Marian Wright Edelman’s post, bringing our attention to this marvelous work of art. Prior to reading MWE child watch column post, I was unfamiliar with Richard Ross’s work as both an artist and educator. However, as I begin to familiarize myself with Richard Ross’s “Juvenile-in-Justice” book, I was moved by his photojournalism and artistic expression. I am a firm believer that “pictures speak louder than words”; Richard Ross’s pictures provide a glimpse into a gloom reality of the juvenile justice system.
ReplyDeleteOne picture in particular that stuck out to me was a women sitting in a chair holding a baby on her lap, with jeans on, high heels, and just under her rolled up paints jean was a GPS ankle bracelet (which is used to track movements and whereabouts). Aesthetically, it is a women wearing an electronically monitored device but conceptually, this imagine depicts a greater systemic societal problem… rapid increase of young girls locked up and incarcerated. In my home time Oakland, California, there has been a rampant increase of young girls (usually teenage moms) victims of sexual exploitation, prostitution, and abuse becoming caught up in the juvenile justice system. On a personal level, I know firsthand the emotional, psychological, and financial hardships children of incarcerated parents suffer while away from their mothers.
In an effort to restore broken families legislators need to focus on policy reform that creates initiatives to restore, educate, and empower the lives of young girls caught up in the system, as they are the mothers of today who will breed life into the futures of our tomorrow.
Eric
DeleteI encourage you to go and review more of Ross’ work because he is incredible. If you have any of the calendars that we get at training from previous years you will see a lot of his work throughout the months. He has some work on young black males in the juvenile detention centers that are really thought provoking. I actually have one of his pieces on my wall to remind me every day why I cannot give up on the work that we do. In the picture there are thirteen teenage boys all under the age of eighteen in orange jumpsuits. The caption talks about the thousands of minority boys executed in this country. All of those young boys feel like my little brothers so I keep the picture as motivation to stay dedicated to the movement.
This piece makes me reflect on my childhood and the friends that I surrounded myself with. I use to say that the only difference between me and a lot of the girls I knew who spent their lives in juvenile detention centers is that I did not get caught. However, understanding the importance of a strong family support system, living in suburban areas throughout high school, and receiving the necessary help to heal from my abuse is what really set me apart from so many of the girls I grew up with. Without my mother pushing for me to stay focused in school, I know for a fact I would not have went to college or even be involved with a program like Freedom Schools.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I am reminded of how often girls are forgotten in this fight to dismantle the cradle to prison pipeline. I think that girls of color are often times overlooked because of the saturation of statistics for boys of color. I want to challenge myself to find more information about the causes of juvenile female incarceration. I know that it is important to share my story along with others to young girls who have been through the same sorts of trauma. There are so many girls who simply need someone to process their struggles and abuse with rather than turn to drugs and other negative influences. At the same times, our judicial system and society needs a makeover in order to meet the needs of abused youth so that they can receive the resources they need rather than be criminalized for being a victim.
Finally! Black girls are being highlighted. I am so glad that people have started to make themselves more aware of the issues that plague black men and boys, but black women and girls are often overlooked. I was immediately attracted to this column because I do not often get to read about black girls and issues that are unique to them, so I truly appreciated having the chance to do so. One aspect of this column that stood out to me was the prevalence of abuse and how significant that was to the path girls went down. The fact that our society treats these young girls who have been abused as if they are criminals as opposed to with love and encouragement upsets me. We are supposed to be protecting our children, lifting them up, but instead they are being kicked when they are already down. They are too young to deal with this on their own, so it is crucial that they receive assistance. They need positive role models who love them unconditionally through all of the negative actions they may perform as a result of their hurt. I feel if they simply had unwavering support systems that would make all the difference.
ReplyDeleteJust like Dasha, I am also glad that this article highlights the issues that affect our young Black Girls. Many of our girls are simply misunderstood, underestimated, and thrown to the side. There is a misconception that our Black girls are violent and ill tempered. If many had faced half of the things that some of these girls have experienced, they would truly understand. I have a little girl in my class that has great difficulty dealing with her anger issues, even if they are small. Although I am not a psychologist, I can tell that there is a deep underlying mental health problem. After looking at the history of the family, I can see that she may face some extreme problems in her future. Had I not understood the situation this child was going through at home, it may have been very easy for me to write her up and send her to ISS for some of the behaviors she has displayed. However, our principals recently had a talk with us about write-ups and referrals. The referrals for our school were at an all time high, and guess who was being written up? Of course, our Black children were the ones who were written up and many of them were girls. Often times the write-ups were for things that could have been avoided like; talking back, having a bad attitude, etc... People don't realize that when we use referrals, ISS, and OSS, we are preparing them for incarceration and failure. We must be more proactive in making sure that this behavior does not occur. These girls need strong mentors who are consistent and willing to provide help. This article pushes me to make sure that I am consistent in my mentoring of the girls that I come into contact with.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest issue we have is that our society is deeply rooted in sexism and misogyny. Girls and women don't have enough social clout. Most people would be alarmed to know the facts presented here. And it's because when presented with a problem child/student, on the whole, we're trained to think of boys and men first. Churches and secular society alike give preference to correcting male issues. In too many sectors of society, problems faced by women and girls are ignored. We see examples of this with the popularity of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Black feminists are clawing for attention and light to be shed on Black females who have been victims of police brutality in recent history but have gone almost completely glazed over my mainstream as well as "Black Twitter".
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ReplyDeleteDuring my teenage years, our family fostered a diverse range of children. This experience inspired me to serve in various group homes and teen shelters during my college years, and what appeared the same, no matter where I went, was the low level of tolerance for adolescent suffering and misplaced emotion. People are not made “whole” though negative consequences. However, we do build confidence with patience and positive reinforcement. This article speaks of a need for rehabilitation and empathy, and I believe that these will occur if we, as servants, make it our personal responsibility to seek the best in even the most challenging adolescent. I am only one person. Today, I may not have the resources to challenge the infrastructure of national foster care or juvenile systems, but I am able to listen intentionally, treat my charges with the utmost respect, maintain a hate free, loving environment, and instill the golden rule in myself so that it may be reflected on others. Yes, the juvenile justice system has its flaws, as every institution does. Yes, many minorities are often “left behind”, as we often are. However, in my opinion, if I spend too much time pointing out the “wrong” in what is being done, I will miss the “right” in what I am able to do. This article reminded me that I have the power to make daily change, and it begins with how I choose to interact with others, specifically our youth. I endeavor to think before I speak and learn before I teach.
Often times I forget that the prison pipeline issue among our youth affects girls just as much as boys. Unfortunately, far too many times the media is responsible for promoting the idea that Black and Latino male youth are the only ones being incarcerated but we know that is not true. The incarceration rates for young girls continue to be a problem because of lack of mentorship, poverty, and self esteem issues. Often times’ young black girls are looking for guidance and reassurance and sometimes in the wrong places. However, it is important that as adults we recognize these issues and provide assistance early. Too often are worries only extend to our immediate families; however, we do not take into consideration that there are lost girls out there with no families. For those of us who recognize the problem, it is up to us to make the first move and provide assistance and mentorship to these young girls. None of us made it to this point in our lives without any guidance. It takes a village to raise a child but the strength of a woman builds a nation.
ReplyDelete"Our youth are not failing the system; the system is failing our youth" -Rachel Jackson. That statement by Rachel Jackson I read a few weeks ago, reminded me of this article thought is very powerful directing towards out youth. I believe that the goal is to expose and end the over incarceration of our youth. For our younger adolecents organizers whose reach extends far beyond jails, but whose message shoots right to the hear of the matter. Us as young individuals need more opportunites, advanced rights, and for their lives to be seen as valuable and not like the door and closed. Ironically, I believe that every indiviual deserves a chance regardless of the past history or ethinicity. The very youth who are being treated the worst are the young individuals who are going to lead us as a society out of this nightmare.
ReplyDeleteStatics show that over 250 million girls are living in poverty today. I believe that putting our adolescents girls in the heart of development programmes can benefit the entire community. Edith Jibunoh stated "We need more role models that look like the girls, who are educated and successful, but are still part of thier culture". More exposure of coming from and struggle and challenging childhood and advancing to a young successful individual will decrease the staticstics of young women born in poverty. Connecting the bridge and enforcing the conditions that will empower girls and allow them to reach their full potential will depend on stakholders working together.
Like Jazmin, I find that I sometimes forget that the cradle to prison pipeline affects more than just boys. To me this says something important about the invisibility of the stories of women and girls, particularly women and girls of color. I think that because of this, we often forget to ask "why" in terms of how they get to be in the "justice" system and how it could have been prevented. I looked at the online preview for Ross's book and I was definitely struck by the reasons that these girls end up in the system. What is sad is the increased severity of the laws regarding runaways that Ross highlights, and that no one actually looks at why these girls are running away. I think we all can be more intentional about making ourselves available to young people, both male and female. I think mentorship is so important because it offers to children an adult that can offer love, support, structure, and care in situations where they may be seriously crying out for it. Being involved in the lives of children can ensure that their stories are not overlooked as well as help us to be better advocates for their needs.
ReplyDeleteLike others, I forgot [never thought] that the Cradle to Prison Pipeline included more than Black and Latino males. We often hear of this demographic and how they are affected by the pipeline, but there is a completely different demographic being left out. This hurts to think about. We have to do something to make these stories more visible, which makes Ross' book extremely important to America. One thing I found odd was that these girls allegedly skip class and become truant. The solution for this is to put them in jail again so that they never go to school. This doesn't make sense to me. Perhaps there are education programs in jails/detention centers, but I'm not going to count on it. The fact that jail is an answer for runaways and truancy is disconcerting. If America is going to have better tomorrows, we have to start taking care of the today's. We have talk to these girls and ask why they are running away. Allow them to be in healthy, safe environments. Ask why they won't go to class. Encourage them to attend school. We have to find some way to put a stop to this before it's too late. As Shardé mentioned, mentorship is a great start. Our young people need to know that we care for them and that we want to see them succeed. They need role models.
ReplyDeleteFor some odd reason, I have never actually sat and pondered the conditions and numbers of girls imprisoned. Of course I’m family with the Cradle to Prison Pipeline, but I have always assumed the focus was on boys incarcerated. This could be due to the immense numbers of males arrested and imprisoned. The idea of these girls imprisoned hurts my heart deeply. To think of the hurt, anger, and shame that these girls have to be feeling daily is unnerving. This is apart of the importance of acknowledging the need for mental health help in our communities. This article states that the crimes these girls are convicted of are mostly nonviolent. This makes me believe that there was a need or insecurity that forced these girl to do things society deems as criminal. I’m sure in many, if not most, of these cases the girls could have benefited from positive, strong, healthy relationships that show investment and concern for the her. This is something as simple as real mentors stepping up and taking actions in these girls lives. Something as simple as a genuine smile and expression of concern could have saved many of these girls lives.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the "Girls in Justice" column, I became very interested in reading the book "Girls in Justice" by Richard Ross. As I read the accounts of the girls and looked at the images illustrating life for them in confinement, I became very moved. In college I was a photojournalist for the university news paper. With every story I covered, I increasingly realized that with the use of my camera I became the conduit of information by which someone's story would otherwise never be heard. I decided then that I wanted to continue to pursue standing in as a voice to the voiceless through my lens. Needless to say, I graduated from college, began working, and lost sight of that vision. At this moment, I can say that because of the work of Richard Ross, that vision has reignited in me and I am grateful to him and his work as an example of what it looks like to be a modern day social activist and photojournalist and to have the courage to speak out against injustice.
ReplyDeleteThis article reminds me of a conversation I had with a troubled teen. Although he was a male I believe this is still very relevant. He said he did want to go to school but, why when his cousin makes more money in a day than most. When I asked him why he thought his cousin sold drugs, he said because "he couldn't find a job and got tired of looking". I asked what should he do instead he said "I don't know he has kids to take care of". Puzzled I left the conversation there, I said all that to say when we are not creating jobs, and continuing to take funding from any program that is designed to keep our children on the right path, this is what you can expect. We also need more people who have made it out to give back not necessarily financially but by mentoring our youth and letting them know they can make it! It takes a village to raise a child and we definitely have forgotten this. If we do not invest in our children we cannot expect a return! Simple as that!
ReplyDeleteYoung girls and boys of color deserve freedom. That is a basic human fact. The fact that so many are arrested because they skip school or do minor offenses that more privileged scholars get away with on a daily basis is deeply unsettling and downright racist. I am really proud of Richard Ross' initiative -- he is truly giving a voice to the unseen and the unheard. Too often, there are narratives that Americans would rather watch in Orange Is the New Black, and that they turn their backs to when it comes to the realities in our very own country. If more people visited these jail cells, or even opened up Ross' work and saw the despair and depth in the eyes of our victimized youth, maybe it would strike a chord of empathy. Maybe they could see their own children in the eyes of these oppressed children. Maybe they could see themselves when they were younger, and also may have made mistakes that they never were so severely punished for. Maybe they would realize the humanity in us all... something that seems to be so frequently stripped away from people of color. Richard Ross' documentary of these human souls enduring unimaginable hardship is a heroic act. We need to keep telling these stories until the narrative changes. Until freedom is granted to youth everywhere.
ReplyDeleteGirls are disproportionately incarcerated for nonviolent, status crimes. Even more so, these girls are almost always affected by the risk factors of poverty sometimes multiple and cumulative risk factors. The trauma these girls face that impact their probability of being incarcerated is further exacerbated by the trauma ensued while detained in the detention centers. Interactions with people in a system that does not understand or have the knowledge, empathy or will power to adequately support, treat, or provide quality programs that will prevent or, dare I say it, rehabilitate these young girls by getting to the root of the issue is far more devastating than had they not been incarcerated at all. Increased Policy changes, family programs and counseling, prevention and diversion programs as well as systematic changes within the law enforcement departments and justice system need to be made and implemented.
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