Contents:
- THE UNFAIR CRIMALIZATN OF GAY AND TRANSGENR YOUTH
- LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENR YOUTH THE JUVENILE JTICE SYSTEM
THE UNFAIR CRIMALIZATN OF GAY AND TRANSGENR YOUTH
A growg body of rearch lays bare the overreprentatn of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer (LGBTQ) youth the juvenile jtice system the Uned Stat. Alongsi Pri Month’s paras and rabow flags e harsh tths about the disparate treatment that persists for Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQ+) young people the Uned Stat - particularly those ntact wh the youth legal system. Youth populatn is timated to intify as lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr or genr nonnformg, such inti prise 20 percent of the youth legal system populatn.
The Overreprentatn of Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Qutng, Genr Nonnformg and Transgenr Youth Wh the Child Welfare to Juvenile Jtice Crossover Populatn (2016).
Gay, transgenr, and genr nonnformg youth are signifintly over-reprented the juvenile jtice system—approximately 300, 000 gay and transgenr youth are arrted and/or taed each year, of which more than 60 percent are black or Lato. Though gay and transgenr youth reprent jt 5 percent to 7 percent of the natn’s overall youth populatn, they pose 13 percent to 15 percent of those currently the juvenile jtice system.
LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENR YOUTH THE JUVENILE JTICE SYSTEM
The high rat of volvement the juvenile jtice system are a rult of gay and transgenr youth abandonment by their fai and muni, and victimizatn their schools—sad reali that place this group of young people at a heightened risk of enterg the school-to-prison pipele. Dpe the disproportnately high rat of gay and transgenr youth enterg the juvenile jtice system, our natn’s schools, law enforcement officers, district attorneys, judg, and juvenile fenrs are not equipped to manage the unique experienc and challeng that the young people face.
Angela Irve of the Natnal Council on Crime and Delquency njunctn wh the Equy Project, which works to ensure gay and transgenr youth the juvenile jtice system are treated wh fairns and rpect, have both generated groundbreakg rearch on the experienc of the youth the system over the past few years. This issue brief offers a high-level summary of some of their fdgs, as well as others, to expla the disproportnate pipelg of gay and transgenr youth to the juvenile jtice system, the bias and discrimatn they face once wh the system, and the steps that the feral ernment and state and lol juvenile urts n take to ensure that gay and transgenr youth are treated wh digny and rpect. Rearch shows that gay and transgenr youth enterg to the juvenile jtice system are twice as likely to have experienced fay nflict, child abe, and homelsns as other youth.