WEEK 8 -YOUNG WOMEN, YOUNG MEN AND GENDER

Question 1

What are the specific juvenile justice
issues affecting girls and young women
(i.e. under jurisdiction of the Childrens’
Court)?

Answer 1

the fact that the
[juvenile justice] system is by and large
oriented towards young men has
fundamentally shaped its institutions,
programs, and objectives along
masculine lines”

Question 2

How is the concept of gender i.e. femininity

related to juvenile justice?

Answer 2

– Tend to be institutionalised for less serious
crimes
– High proportion of them are Indigenous
– Many had been detained because they had
been refused bail
– Many had prior criminal convictions or had been to prison before
– Some were previously wards of state or had
been processed by the welfare system

Question 3

To what extent is femininity a factor when
analysing the nature of interactions with
the juvenile justice system?

Answer 3

Need to ensure that girls behaved appropriately according to the community’s expectations of their gender role???
– Girls were more likely than boys to be given a police caution and diverted from the juvenile
justice system
– Taking into account the girl’s image more so than the crime she committed?
– What is appropriate or inappropriate is probably determined by the socially mandated gender role