Black Girls In D.C. Arrested At A Rate More Than 30 Times Higher Than White Kids, New Report Says

The reasons why girls of color are ended up in the juvenile justice system are varied, but don’t have anything to do with girls being more violent or badly behaved, the report says. Instead, the arrests stem from issues like sexual abuse, poverty, trauma, unstable housing options and more vigorous enforcement of petty crimes from police. The report also cites black girls being at the receiving end of institutional racial bias, being seen as oversexualized and older than they are.

Another reason for the uptick in arrests is that school officials are criminalizing girls – and specifically black girls – and pushing them out of school and into the system as a means of maintaining “discipline” in the classroom, according to the report.

And once in the justice system, the girls are more likely to become pregnant, lured into sex trafficking or suffer mental health deterioration, the report says.

The report’s authors recommend solutions that involve more community based solutions and decrease girls’ exposure to police and the juvenile justice system, as well as more transparency from D.C. agencies involved with girls in the justice system. The authors also want more done to engage with and provide resources to girls in the system.

Read the report here.