African-American girls and women are becoming a fast growing population in our prisons and jails nation-wide. While much attention has been focused on the plight of young African-American males, girls have been involved in gangs, school fights, juvenile prisons and vandalism at a rate faster than that of boys. Recent research by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency shows some startling results concerning young African-American girls.

…

In telling their stories, the women often shared similar experiences of traumas throughout their lives, such as physical and sexual abuse. In many instances, criminality was a coping mechanism or escape from abusive circumstances. Often, their traumas were rooted in family dysfunction surrounding alcohol and drug abuse. In other cases, it was the women’s difficulty in making wiser decisions about close companions, and the perceptions or realities of limited options for productive, fulfilling, and economically viable lives. Underlying these difficulties, the women expressed keen awareness about the devaluation of their lives as African American women.

excerpt from article by Dona A. Vassall-Fall, Ed.D., “Not to be Ignored:  African-American Women and the Prison System”

(via southerntellect-deactivated2012)

Source: daniellemertina

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