Violent Female Offenders

It will come as a surprise to no one that a traumatic childhood can lead to a troubled adult. When I worked with inmates at a maximum-security prison, it was the rare man who didn’t come from a background filled with abuse or neglect. It was also the norm to discover glaring warning behaviors during the inmate’s elementary school years; school suspensions or expulsions, fighting with or bullying peers, early drug or alcohol use. All too often, the child was labelled a troublemaker, dealt with strictly as a disciplinary problem and denied help at a time when it would have done the most good. Fortunately, more adults now recognize that underneath a boy’s problem behavior often lurks a kid in pain who might need professional help more than punishment.

However, it’s a different story with girls. It’s not that girls aren’t abused; according to the Department of Justice, 82% of female offenders suffered serious physical or sexual abuse as children. It’s not that females aren’t violent. Since 2010, the female jail inmates have been the fastest growing correctional population, increasing almost 50 percent between 1999 and 2013. From 1995 to 2005, the number of girls arrested for assault increased by 24%. Unlike abused boys, however, the vast majority of abused women who end up in jail fly under the radar during childhood. It’s not that they aren’t having problems; it’s that they tend to be overlooked.