With appallingly high rates of abuse in their histories, exploitation around every corner, and a very different set of needs once ‘inside,’ girls are brought into the juvenile justice system by a unique set of social forces and experience incarceration much differently than boys. Girls in Justice, the much-anticipated follow up to Juvenile in Justice, turns our focus specifically to girls in the system, and not a moment too soon. While the number of youth in the juvenile justice system has steadily declined, girls are a growing share of youth arrested, detained and committed.

A rare, multidimensional look at these girls’ vulnerable lives, Girls in Justice speaks to the unique issues they face with both hard-hitting words and Richard Ross’ evocative images. Essays from some of the top girls’ criminology scholars and advocates in the U.S. give readers a picture of their work with young women in the system as well as cold, hard facts about the issue. As with Juvenile in Justice, the photographs are accompanied by girls’ first-person stories, as told to Ross in interviews from over 250 detention facilities across the U.S. Even for those who work with girls in the system daily, this book is sure to expand your understanding of the realities of these girls’ lives.