http://rights4girls.org/wp-content/uploads/r4g/2015/02/2015_COP_sexual-abuse_layout_web-1.pdf
"The
facts are staggering: one in four American girls will experience some form of
sexual violence by the age of 18. Fifteen percent of sexual assault and rape
victims are under the age of 12;1 nearly half of all female rape survivors were
victimized before the age of 18.2 And girls between the ages of 16 and 19
are four times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape,
attempted rape, or sexual assault."
This is sickening, but very true statistics about sexual abuse. The article then talks about how many girls who have been sexually abused are "routed" into the juvenile justice system. It then talks about how girls who are victims of sex trafficking are a lot of times arrested on prostitution charges when in reality they should be given help to recover from being a victim and survivor of this awful act that they were forced into. The article talks about how prison can bring up the trauma of the abuse and could even continue the abuse while in prison. These girls need help in order to be successful human beings and live the life they were born to live.
Haley,
ReplyDeleteMy article also focused on girls in the juvenile justice system. Your PDF is very insightful, though. For example, the fact that 45% of girls in the system have over 5 ACEs is astonishing. I find that to be awful. Generally, youth don't have much control over many of the ACEs they experience. These girls are set up for prison straight from the beginning. As social workers, we need to focus on what we can do before this abuse-to-prison pipeline begins. As I have read, trauma-informed care and individualized intervention is much more useful than sending these girls to prison. Continuing to advocate and educate will be crucial in our fight to eliminate this issue. Great article!
Reading this really breaks my heart. I agree with you when you say that instead of being arrested for prostitution, they need to be helped to recover from this life they were forced into. Those who did this to them need to be punished instead of these girls. As social workers we will be a big part of being a voice for these girls. Thank you for sharing this article!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a sad reality. Instead of focusing on how to punish these girls we need to be focusing on how we can help with the underlying issues. Emma is right though, youth generally don't have much control over the ACEs they experience, and some may even seem like the norm to them. We need interventions to build these girls up, not tear them down.
ReplyDelete