8. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Youth and the Juvenile Justice System

Summary

Most youth, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, are supported by their families and peers as they progress through adolescence, including the establishment of gender identity and the exploration of sexuality. Unfortunately, many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth experience social stigma and abuse from their families and peers, interrupting normative development, threatening mental and physical health, and leading to a series of negative outcomes for some LGBT youth, including school failure and truancy, family conflict, placement in group and foster homes, homelessness, and involvement in the juvenile justice system. In this chapter, Garnette and colleagues provide a framework for understanding healthy adolescent development, the ways that social stigma and abuse can arrest healthy adolescent development and the often harmful effects of detention, presenting new research on the links between social stigma and abuse and juvenile detention. It also offers policy and programmatic recommendations for meeting the needs of this vulnerable and mostly invisible population.