The Criminalization of Trauma in Carceral/Community Alliances

• In Event: Carceral Care

Abstract

In an era defined by widespread reforms in the criminal justice system, there has been a notable increase in juvenile justice initiatives prioritizing therapeutic approaches over punitive measures. Often rooted in “trauma-informed” practices, these initiatives frequently involve partnerships between juvenile justice entities and community service providers. This paper delves into the adoption of trauma-informed principles that underpin community-based juvenile justice reforms, illustrating how notions of punishment extend into community settings, thereby perpetuating the criminalization of trauma. This paper derives from a qualitative study that explored community-based reforms in Chicago through semi-structured qualitative interviews (n=51) with people who work in and with the juvenile justice division, which is triangulated with document analysis of public reports on these reforms. This paper theoretically examines the contradicting nature of therapeutic interventions and court compliance, arguing that the nature of trauma-informed work is too nuanced to be standardized to a court order.

Author

• Kayla M. Martensen, University of New Mexico