The Girls Matter Too: Addressing the Girls' Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline

It is time to talk about our girls and criminal justice reform. I have devoted many years to fighting for significant reforms to our broken criminal justice system. I have called for an end to mass incarceration because of its devastating impact on men and boys of color. But, like so many others, I did not focus on our girls enough. I believed that our girls were, comparatively, less harmed by the failures of our criminal justice system.
However, it has become painfully clear to me that our girls of color are suffering too--and we must have a greater acknowledgement of what is happening to them. The Human Rights Project for Girls, Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, and the Ms. Foundation for Women just released a report The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline: The Girls' Story that exposes how Black and Brown girls are being criminalized. And, it is not because girls are suddenly becoming violent or joining gangs at any greater numbers. It is because they are arrested for their experiences of sexual abuse and trauma. Sexual abuse is one of the primary predictors of girls' entry into the juvenile justice system.
READ MORE:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/russell-simmons/the-girls-matter-too-addr_b_7760366.html