YJB highlights good practice around support for girls in youth justice system
Fiona Simpson
Wednesday, December 6, 2023
A Youth Justice Board (YJB) briefing has identified key challenges and areas of good practice for supporting girls in the youth justice system.
The paper notes that “girls make up a very small part of the children in the youth justice cohort. As a result of this girls’ needs and vulnerabilities can be overlooked, resulting in poorer experiences and outcomes”.
Key areas where support is needed include “more emotive” challenges for girls entering the youth justice system compared with their male peers. These include a high prevalence of mental health issues and adverse childhood experiences.
It also notes a lack of consistent access to staff “who can develop specialist skills for supporting girls” as well as a lack of appropriate spaces to deliver support.
“There have been challenges around attachment to staff which is both positive and negative, young people may become solely dependent on the worker which is difficult when the work is coming to an end,” states the report.
Meanwhile, in some youth justice services (YJS) support for girls is delivered by case managers, “there is the view that support should be offered ideally by another staff member,” it adds.
Highlighting areas of good practice, the YJB finds that “many YJS’ are keen to give girls the opportunity to share their views on what they need in order for projects to then be co-developed and adapted. This has involved encouraging girls to contribute to Youth Justice management board discussions and raising issues which is in line with Child First”.
It also notes that “many projects were centred around life skills, targeting girls at risk of exploitation and some sought to teach emotional regulation and confidence”.
The report praises West Berkshire YJS for its work to share and gather tips with other services supporting girls.
Islington YJS’s work to reduce adultification of girls in the youth justice system is also highlighted.
Collaborative work in the Midlands is praised. The report states: “This area has taken a regional approach through a collaboration between Coventry, Birmingham and Sandwell. Work is centred around using the voices of girls through focus groups to better understand needs.”
Hammersmith and Fulham is lauded as the “service has a specialist female gangs and exploitation worker” who works closely with Queens Park Rangers football club to provide extracurricular support to build trust and engagement.
In Portsmouth, “the service runs one-to-one or group sessions around stress management, thinking styles and coping with change”, the report states.
According to latest YJB figures, 15 per cent of first time entrants into the youth justice system in 2021/22 were girls.
