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| Malika Saada Saar |
Each year, 429,000 girls are arrested across the United States; 10,000 girls are in locked facilities on any given day.
Last week, the YTFG Juvenile Justice Work Group invited Malika Saada Saar, executive director of Rights4Girls, and Leslie Acoca, executive director and founder of the National Girls Health and Justice Institute (NGHJI), to lead an in-depth discussion about the unique needs of system-involved girls.
The statistics were shocking!
Research suggests that between 200,000 and 300,000 American children are at risk for child trafficking within the United States, primarily girls ages 12-14. Many of these girls have run away from their homes due to domestic violence/neglect, and then are targeted by traffickers.
60-80% of children who have been identified as trafficked are coming out of the child welfare system; less is known about the number of trafficked youth in the juvenile justice system.
Instead of providing services to these young victims, girls are often arrested and detained on the charge of child prostitution. In the last 5 years, 5,000 children in L.A. County have been arrested for child prostitution.
Despite having a range of serious medical issues, girls often lose their health insurance when they are put into detention. According to the National Girls Health Screen Project:
But in the face of these heartbreaking findings, the national response to this crisis has been lackluster. There are far fewer services for girls and advocacy efforts tend to focus more on the needs of boys. (We shouldn’t discount the excellent work that supports boys and young men; we should expand upon it!)
There are some promising initiatives on the horizon but there could be much more.
1. The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (H.R. 3530) would support the innovation of court-based efforts to bring girls who are charged with child prostitution to come into specialized courts. This legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives on May 20, 2014 and is now being considered by the Senate.
2. Rights4Girls is launching a ‘No Such Thing’ Campaign in an effort to end the term “child prostitution.” Arresting and criminalizing young girls for sex “offenses” does not recognize that they are, in fact, victims of trafficking.
3. The electronic version of the National Girls Health Screen is now part of the standard medical intake for all girls entering the Los Angeles county juvenile justice system, which serves approximately 1,600 girls per year. A number of other jurisdictions are also seeking to implement the tool in order to reach as many vulnerable girls as possible.
There are undoubtedly many opportunities to engage in this issue around the county. The first step is to continue raising awareness and educating ourselves about plight of girls in the justice system.
Here are some additional resources that may be helpful:
60-80% of children who have been identified as trafficked are coming out of the child welfare system; less is known about the number of trafficked youth in the juvenile justice system.
Instead of providing services to these young victims, girls are often arrested and detained on the charge of child prostitution. In the last 5 years, 5,000 children in L.A. County have been arrested for child prostitution.
Despite having a range of serious medical issues, girls often lose their health insurance when they are put into detention. According to the National Girls Health Screen Project:
- 98% of girls in detention had experienced some form of physical or sexual abuse;
- 20% had been pregnant at least once;
- 34% had been sick or overdosed from alcohol or drugs;
- 36% reported being homeless within the past year;
- 23% had a history of self-harming behavior and 11% had a history of attempted suicide.
But in the face of these heartbreaking findings, the national response to this crisis has been lackluster. There are far fewer services for girls and advocacy efforts tend to focus more on the needs of boys. (We shouldn’t discount the excellent work that supports boys and young men; we should expand upon it!)
There are some promising initiatives on the horizon but there could be much more.
1. The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (H.R. 3530) would support the innovation of court-based efforts to bring girls who are charged with child prostitution to come into specialized courts. This legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives on May 20, 2014 and is now being considered by the Senate.
2. Rights4Girls is launching a ‘No Such Thing’ Campaign in an effort to end the term “child prostitution.” Arresting and criminalizing young girls for sex “offenses” does not recognize that they are, in fact, victims of trafficking.
3. The electronic version of the National Girls Health Screen is now part of the standard medical intake for all girls entering the Los Angeles county juvenile justice system, which serves approximately 1,600 girls per year. A number of other jurisdictions are also seeking to implement the tool in order to reach as many vulnerable girls as possible.
There are undoubtedly many opportunities to engage in this issue around the county. The first step is to continue raising awareness and educating ourselves about plight of girls in the justice system.
Here are some additional resources that may be helpful:
Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (H.R. 3530)
Kaiser Medical Brief: Health Coverage and Care for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: The Role of Medicaid and CHIP - Leslie Acoca, Jessica Stephens and Amanda Van Vleet, May 19, 2014
NCCD Fact Sheet: Girls and the Justice System
Addressing girls' health needs at juvenile detention centers, Los Angeles Times,
March 13, 2013
In Juvenile Detention, Girls Face Health Care Designed for Boys, NPR: All Things Considered, November 26, 2012
What About the Girls? by Cathy Weiss, Stoneleigh Foundation
NCCD Fact Sheet: Girls and the Justice System
Addressing girls' health needs at juvenile detention centers, Los Angeles Times,
March 13, 2013
In Juvenile Detention, Girls Face Health Care Designed for Boys, NPR: All Things Considered, November 26, 2012
What About the Girls? by Cathy Weiss, Stoneleigh Foundation
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