LOCKDOWN
             I got a pain in my stomach . . .âcause my baby is cominâ (oo-ahh)
             I got a pain in my side . . .âcause my baby is alive (oo-ahh)
             I got a pain in my back . . .âcause my baby is Black (oo-ahh)
             I got a pain in my head . . .âcause my baby is dead (oo-ahh)
I ndividual desks were arranged in forward-facing rows toward a whiteboard at the front of the class. On the institutional walls were vocabulary words and images of prominent African Americans. Computers, all of them older models, lined the back wall of the classroom. Near the exit was a chair for the uniformed institutional staff member who accompanied the girls to and from their units, and who watched over them during class to help maintain order. Steel doors had already been slammed shut and locked behind me, restricting access between the corridor and the classrooms. On each side of the narrow hallway was a row of classrooms, but in only two of them were classes in session at any given time. The remainder were dark and seemingly not put to any use, though decorated with desk chairs and large blackboards. Displays of student work filled in the wall space not taken by inspirational drawings and photographs of Black leaders.
I asked sixteen-year-old Portia and thirteen-year-old Mia what they thought of their education in detention.
âI canât learn here,â Mia said, letting out a heavy sigh.
âDepressing,â said Portia.
Twenty-one.
Thatâs the percentage of juvenile court detention cases that involve girls nationwide. This number, low when compared to the 79 percent of cases involving boys, is often used as an excuse to ignore or dismiss the experiences of girls in this system. 1 More often than not conversations about incarceration leave girls out, or add them as an afterthought lest someone take offense to the lack of gender inclusiveness. Itâs trueâthe majority of all juvenile cases involving secure detention, or other forms of incarceration, are brought against boys and men. However, the plight of girls in confinement is more severe than any single number suggests.
In fact, while the rate of arrest and detention has declined overall for boys, rates have increased for girls. 2 Between 1996 and 2011, the proportion of girls arrested declined by 42 percent, compared to a 57 percent decline among boys. 3 Girls (37 percent) are more likely than boys (25 percent) to be detained for status offenses and technical violations rather than for crimes that actually present a danger to public safety. 4 Girls (21 percent) are also more likely than boys (12 percent) to be detained for sexual assault (cases that may include commercially sexually exploited children) and public disorder cases, including those that may include public drunkenness or scuffles. 5 These statistics amount to a situation where girls who do not present an immediate and significant threat (because of having committed violent offenses like homicide, robbery, or false imprisonment) are being held in confinement, despite research that shows the negative impact of detention on educational achievement. 6
More than 70 percent of girls in juvenile detention facilities have a history of trauma, and at least 60 percent have experienced rape or the threat of rapeâa number that reflects reported incidentsand is likely an underestimation. 7 Other studies show that up to 90 percent of girls in detention have experienced some form of sexual, emotional, or physical abuse. 8 We cannot ignore the very real impact of trauma.
In the late 1990s, Isis Sapp Grant, herself a former gang member in New York, launched the Blossom Program for Girls at the Youth Empowerment Mission. Through this program, she worked with girls who were gang-involved or in
             I got a pain in my stomach . . .âcause my baby is cominâ (oo-ahh)
             I got a pain in my side . . .âcause my baby is alive (oo-ahh)
             I got a pain in my back . . .âcause my baby is Black (oo-ahh)
             I got a pain in my head . . .âcause my baby is dead (oo-ahh)
I ndividual desks were arranged in forward-facing rows toward a whiteboard at the front of the class. On the institutional walls were vocabulary words and images of prominent African Americans. Computers, all of them older models, lined the back wall of the classroom. Near the exit was a chair for the uniformed institutional staff member who accompanied the girls to and from their units, and who watched over them during class to help maintain order. Steel doors had already been slammed shut and locked behind me, restricting access between the corridor and the classrooms. On each side of the narrow hallway was a row of classrooms, but in only two of them were classes in session at any given time. The remainder were dark and seemingly not put to any use, though decorated with desk chairs and large blackboards. Displays of student work filled in the wall space not taken by inspirational drawings and photographs of Black leaders.
I asked sixteen-year-old Portia and thirteen-year-old Mia what they thought of their education in detention.
âI canât learn here,â Mia said, letting out a heavy sigh.
âDepressing,â said Portia.
Twenty-one.
Thatâs the percentage of juvenile court detention cases that involve girls nationwide. This number, low when compared to the 79 percent of cases involving boys, is often used as an excuse to ignore or dismiss the experiences of girls in this system. 1 More often than not conversations about incarceration leave girls out, or add them as an afterthought lest someone take offense to the lack of gender inclusiveness. Itâs trueâthe majority of all juvenile cases involving secure detention, or other forms of incarceration, are brought against boys and men. However, the plight of girls in confinement is more severe than any single number suggests.
In fact, while the rate of arrest and detention has declined overall for boys, rates have increased for girls. 2 Between 1996 and 2011, the proportion of girls arrested declined by 42 percent, compared to a 57 percent decline among boys. 3 Girls (37 percent) are more likely than boys (25 percent) to be detained for status offenses and technical violations rather than for crimes that actually present a danger to public safety. 4 Girls (21 percent) are also more likely than boys (12 percent) to be detained for sexual assault (cases that may include commercially sexually exploited children) and public disorder cases, including those that may include public drunkenness or scuffles. 5 These statistics amount to a situation where girls who do not present an immediate and significant threat (because of having committed violent offenses like homicide, robbery, or false imprisonment) are being held in confinement, despite research that shows the negative impact of detention on educational achievement. 6
More than 70 percent of girls in juvenile detention facilities have a history of trauma, and at least 60 percent have experienced rape or the threat of rapeâa number that reflects reported incidentsand is likely an underestimation. 7 Other studies show that up to 90 percent of girls in detention have experienced some form of sexual, emotional, or physical abuse. 8 We cannot ignore the very real impact of trauma.
In the late 1990s, Isis Sapp Grant, herself a former gang member in New York, launched the Blossom Program for Girls at the Youth Empowerment Mission. Through this program, she worked with girls who were gang-involved or in
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