Debunking the Myth of More Violent Girls
April 22, 2010We recently explored the misconception that girls are more violent than ever before. Initial findings from the Girls Study Group, a team of multidisciplinary experts convened by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, further dispel this myth and “suggest that girls are not more violent than before and confirm that girls engage in far less crime and delinquency than boys for nearly every offense.” The group also observed that changes in arrest and other juvenile justice policies have contributed to an increased number of girls entering the juvenile justice system. How do we reconcile the media’s frequent portrayal of a new breed of violent girls with these research findings? Is the myth of a big new wave of violent girls changing how we view and respond to girls’ behavior?
CfJJ: Juvenile Justice News 
I was recently asked to speak at a police cheifs Conference at John Jay College regarding my work with girls in the MA DYS. I led the creation of Boston’s adolescent female reentry model from 2000 to 2006, The Female Focus Initiative. During the conference I was saddened to hear the perceptions from many in the presenters circle, and in the audiance, of girls being so much more violent than boys of late. That perception was in sharp contrast to what I witnessed over a 6 year period with the Boston female DYS population. I am so glad to hear that the research is finally telling a more real, and less hyped version of who and what these girls really are. The girls I worked with were wonderful, it was the world around them that was most violent.