Best Charlotte, Ioane Julia, Lambie Ian
Kayes Fletcher Walker, The Office of the Manukau Crown Solicitor, Auckland, New Zealand.
School of Psychology, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand.
Psychiatr Psychol Law. 2021 Apr 7;28(6):867-884. doi: 10.1080/13218719.2021.1894258. eCollection 2021.
Young female offenders comprise approximately one fifth of the New Zealand youth offender population; however, they remain an understudied population of offenders. This paper aims to provide a current overview of the key characteristics of this population and recommendations for how the youth justice system could better cater to this population. These recommendations include more training of professionals (specifically judges, youth advocates and justice coordinators) and practitioners (specifically social workers, psychologists and youth workers) in the youth-justice system in matters specific to young female offenders. A gender-responsive and trauma-informed approach to addressing offending behaviour is also necessary. There is a need for new empirical research in the New Zealand context on young female offenders and the best way to address offending by this group. Finally, a focus on the diversity of young female offenders is a priority, given the over-representation of indigenous and ethnic-minority communities in justice jurisdictions worldwide.
年轻女性罪犯约占新西兰青少年罪犯总数的五分之一；然而，她们仍是一个研究不足的罪犯群体。本文旨在概述这一群体的关键特征，并就青少年司法系统如何更好地满足这一群体的需求提出建议。这些建议包括对青少年司法系统中的专业人员（特别是法官、青少年权益倡导者和司法协调员）以及从业者（特别是社会工作者、心理学家和青少年工作者）进行更多关于年轻女性罪犯具体问题的培训。采用对性别问题有敏感认识且考虑到创伤因素的方法来处理犯罪行为也是必要的。在新西兰背景下，需要针对年轻女性罪犯以及处理该群体犯罪的最佳方式开展新的实证研究。最后，鉴于土著和少数族裔社区在全球司法辖区中代表性过高，关注年轻女性罪犯的多样性是当务之急。
