The Criminalization of Latina Girls’ Coping and Survival Strategies

• In Event: Feminist Criminologists of Color on Coping and Survival Responses to Crime and Injustice by Girls and Women of Color

Abstract

The juvenile justice system does an inadequate job of understanding the needs of poor girls of color whose behaviors are often viewed as being a product of inappropriate lifestyle choices as opposed to histories of neglect, abuse, and exposure to violence. This is especially true for Latina girls whose coping and survival strategies are more likely to be criminalized than those of white girls. This study qualitatively examines how 51 system-involved Latina girls’ adapted to growing up in families characterized by neglect, abuse, exposure to violence, and parental drug use. While girls ran away, used drugs, and participated in other delinquent activities, they also employed several strategies to help their families, such as attempting to protect mothers from physical victimization, taking care of younger siblings when parents were incapacitated by drug use, and giving mothers relationship advice. Their narratives indicate that system-involved Latina girls are not simply “bad girls” who make inappropriate lifestyle choices, but rather young women who are doing their best to cope and survive under challenging conditions. Despite this, juvenile justice professionals continue to rely on gender, class, and racial/ethnic stereotypes when making decisions about Latina girls in their care. This study challenges those assumptions.

Author

• Vera Lopez, Arizona State University