Education Week - October 14, 2015 - 18

COMMENTARY

The Sexual-Abuse-to-Prison Pipeline

By Gina Womack
f we truly believe that children are
our future-all children-then it is
imperative that we stop the cruel
and unjust funneling of victims of
abuse into incarceration, and improve the lives of sexually abused
girls currently in our juvenile-justice
system.
Recently, the Ms. Foundation for Women,
the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and
Inequality, and the Human Rights Project
for Girls released a report, "The Sexual
Abuse to Prison Pipeline: The Girls' Story,"
with groundbreaking new data on this
problem. Among the study's many findings
are data confirming that sexual abuse is a
"primary predictor" for involvement with
the juvenile-justice system, and that girls of
color-particularly African-Americans, Native Americans, and Latinas-are disproportionately affected.
According to the report, "Native American
girls are in residential placements at a rate
of 179 per 100,000; African-American girls
at a rate of 123 per 100,000; and Latinas at
a rate of 47 per 100,000. By comparison, 37
per 100,000 of non-Hispanic white girls are
confined." The report also finds that the sexual-abuse rate of girls in the juvenile-justice
system (31 percent) is more than four times
higher than the rate for boys (7 percent).
A recent U.S. Department of Justice study
shows that the increased arrest and incarceration of girls over the past 20 years has not
been the result of increased criminal activity
or violence. Instead, more and more girls are
being arrested and incarcerated because of
the aggressive enforcement of non-serious
offenses, many of which stem from abuse
and trauma. Gender stereotypes contribute
to the problem, as the decision to arrest and
detain girls in many of these situations is

negatively influenced by whether the decisionmaker perceives girls to have violated
gender norms-even though such deviation
may actually be a response to trauma.
In fact, girls are ending up in the juvenile-justice system as a result of behaviors
directly connected to their sexual abuse,
such as running away, truancy, or substance
abuse. Outrageously, girls who have been
trafficked are often arrested for prostitution-even when they are too young to consent to sex when they enter the juvenilejustice system.
At the nonprofit organization I head, Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated
Children, or FFLIC, we have seen the devastating impact of sexual abuse, including the
alarming and shameful increased incarceration rates of girl survivors. This is not only
cruel and unjust, it also fails to deal with the
underlying trauma that results from sexual
abuse. As a result, victims are further traumatized by the juvenile-justice system.
There are many parallels between the
sexual-abuse-to-prison pipeline mentioned
in the recent report and school-to-prisonpipeline issues. Rather than providing the
care, counseling, and support these young
people need, we are allowing vulnerable
youths to be pushed out of schools and into
the juvenile-justice system. We are failing at
providing the safe and supportive environments young people need in our schools and
communities, particularly for youths of color.
Through an initiative called the Let Kids
Be Kids Campaign, FFLIC is working to address Louisiana's failure to care for our most
vulnerable youths. We are raising awareness
about laws in place that effectively criminalize children, and we are working to ensure
that all children have the necessary support
to grow, thrive, and reach their full potential.
For example, we are working to reduce the
number of youths suspended from school

18 | EDUCATION WEEK | October 14, 2015 | www.edweek.org/go/commentary

for habitual absence, tardiness, or "willful
disobedience"-a subjective categorization
susceptible to racial bias that schools are
often ill-equipped to deal with. Approximately 56 percent of African-American
youths in the juvenile-justice system report

Girls are ending up in the
juvenile-justice system as a
result of behaviors directly
connected to their sexual
abuse, such as running away,
truancy, or substance
abuse."
a prior school suspension. Out-of-school suspensions cut classroom time for children
who need it most, and research demonstrates a correlation between harsh discipline practices, dropouts, and incarceration.
Students with multiple suspensions are
three times more likely to drop out by 10th
grade than students who have not been
suspended. Our group urges educators to
work to ensure that children who are in
crisis or exhibit challenging behaviors are
kept in school, where they are surrounded
by sources of knowledge and opportunity.
Another approach we stress is "positive
behavioral interventions and supports," or
PBIS, a rehabilitative practice focused on
developing and nourishing support structures for students to help improve their

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lives, both in and out of the classroom, and
strengthen positive behaviors. Rather than
centering exclusively on reactive disciplinary approaches, PBIS uses modeling and
positive reinforcement to foster a good
learning environment for young people.
These restorative practices are based on
an understanding that children are not
problems; children have problems. If children are suffering from sexual abuse, that
trauma can manifest itself in acting out.
In fact, research has consistently linked
problem behavior in girl offenders to abuse
and a traumatizing home life. In such situations, children need support, rather than
suspension followed by incarceration.
The "Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline"
report includes the story of Sasha to illustrate how current school structures and
dynamics can fail girls who are victims of
trauma. Sasha was raped as a high school
student. The details of her assault spread
via social media and led to judgment and
harassment from her peers. Sasha felt
unsafe at school and became truant and
dropped out. Two years later, with the support and assistance she received from an
educational advocate, Sasha successfully
returned to her education, attending an
alternative school. But without this kind
of help, her story could have ended very
differently.
For more of these promising endings to
terrible life stories, both educators and
whole communities must implement rehabilitative practices like PBIS, and provide
the care and support our children need. If
we don't act now, we may lose a generation
of children of color and victims of abuse. ■
GINA WOMACK is the executive director of Families
and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children, a
grassroots membership organization that works for
reform in the juvenile-justice system.

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Education Week - October 14, 2015

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