NOW, GIRLS NEED HELP, TOO

IN the past 10 years, the number of girls sent to juvenile halls in
the Bay Area has risen twice as fast as the number of boys. While that
is worrisome in itself, a new study provides disturbing evidence that
most of the girls are victims of sexual or physical violence before
they get into trouble with the law. Often their attempts to escape
such abuse -- either by running away from home or using drugs to dull
their rage and pain -- are the offenses for which we lock them up.

In a recent article, Mercury News reporter Alan Gathright laid out the
bleak statistics: Of 200 girls interviewed by the National Council on
Crime and Delinquency at juvenile halls across California, 81 percent
said they had been physically abused in some way. More than half had
been sexually molested, 45 percent had been beaten or burned, 40
percent had been raped and 25 percent shot or stabbed. The study found
that half of the girls had mothers who had been incarcerated and 58
percent had witnessed violence at home. And while most girls said
involvement with family members got them into trouble in the first
place, they were still planning to go back to their families when they
were released from the hall.

It would be possible to look at these numbers as just another
indication of the ever narrowing gap between boys and girls in our
society, the breaking down of another taboo. If more girls are going
to law school and playing professional sports, perhaps we should
expect more girls to join gangs or commit violent crimes.

But there is another way to look at the numbers: as further evidence
that children are increasingly at risk in our society.

Girls are the canaries in the mine shaft, the clapper rails warning us
that the environment is turning toxic. More children are being raised
by single parents, teen parents, parents who work two jobs, parents
who abuse drugs or alcohol. More children are not being raised by
their parents at all, but by relatives or foster parents. The rising
cost of housing has forced lower-income families to live in crowded
conditions, where parents and children have little breathing space or
privacy.

These conditions take a toll on all kids. But adolescent girls are
particularly vulnerable because their self-esteem is so tied to their
relationships with family and friends. Alienated from family, they are
easy targets for sexual predators.

This study showed that girls who run away from home are more likely
than boys to be picked up by police and placed in custody ``for their
own good.'' But juvenile hall doesn't solve their problems.

What can be done?

Girls are only a quarter of the total juvenile offender population, so
few programs address their specific needs. Alameda County has begun
placing most girl offenders in community-based counseling and support
groups instead of locking them up. Other counties are watching to see
how successful this new program will be. This year the state
Legislature passed a bill, SB 1657, which provided $15 million in
grants for crime prevention programs aimed at girls. But Gov. Pete
Wilson vetoed it, saying it would shortchange programs aimed at boys,
who are roughly 75 percent of the juvenile offenders.

The Legislature should try again to push for money to help girls. But
the best way to prevent youth crime is to target at-risk families
before the kids get into trouble with the law. Family counseling,
substance-abuse treatment, community policing, after-school programs,
pregnancy prevention -- these programs help boys as well as girls.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry