Justice-Involved Latina Girls, Their Parents, and the Juvenile Justice System

• In Event: Latin@ Criminology Panel 1: Setting a New Agenda for Research, Policy, and Justice

Abstract

The juvenile justice system does an inadequate job of understanding the needs of Latina girls. This talk draws upon interviews and focus groups with 60 juvenile justice professionals to document how they view Latinas. Despite their concern for the girls in their care, many of these professionals attributed Latina girls’ delinquency to inappropriate lifestyle choices, irresponsible parents, and a “Latino culture” that encourages gang involvement, drug use, and teenage pregnancy. Interviews and focus groups with 42 and 19 justice-involved Latina girls, respectively, yielded a more complicated picture. While Latina girls also attributed their delinquency to personal choices, their narratives revealed that like many other young women in the juvenile justice system, they grew up in families characterized by parental drug use, violence, and poverty. Despite these complicated backgrounds, these young women were deeply attached to their parents and often shared examples of how their parents cared about them in turn. These more nuanced views of Latinas and their parents challenge the simplistic stereotypes that juvenile justice professionals sometimes rely on when making decisions about Latina girls. I conclude this talk by arguing on behalf of a critical approach that can be used when working with Latina girls and their families.

Author

• Vera Lopez, Arizona State University