Girls turning 18 in the criminal justice system face a cliff edge in support and are falling through the gaps
Girls in the criminal justice system face a cliff edge in support as they turn 18 as many services change or drop off all at once. An afterthought in provision for women and young adults in the criminal justice system, young women are falling through the gaps and left vulnerable at a critical time in their lives.
New research from Agenda, the alliance for women and girls at risk, and the Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ) shows that girls face unique and escalating risks as they turn 18. The transition from girlhood to adulthood could be an opportunity to get things right, but with little to no specialist support for young women as a group, it becomes a missed opportunity to prevent young women’s needs from becoming more complex and entrenched.
The briefing, which brings together research undertaken with young women and the services supporting them, as well as existing literature and data, shows that:
Young women turning 18 face a cliff edge in support, facing harsher treatment than in the youth justice system, as well as changes to mental health support, reduced safeguarding obligations, and limited and potentially unsafe accommodation options.
Girls and young women in conflict with the law as they turn 18 are more likely to have experienced violence, abuse and exploitation, have been in care, faced poor mental health, and experienced early parenthood than boys – vulnerabilities which, if left unaddressed, can be key drivers of their offending.
The risk of abuse and maltreatment for girls does not end when they turn 18, but many are not entitled to ongoing support from statutory services, despite perpetrators identifying this falling away of support and deliberately targeting older teenage girls on the cusp of adulthood.
Girls who commit offences as children but turn 18 whilst waiting for their court hearings face more punitive sentences. This has lifelong impacts, including additional stigma and barriers to employment, but years of court closures and delays due to COVID-19 mean young women will be increasingly affected by this.
Already overrepresented in the criminal justice system, racism and other forms of oppression leave Black and minoritised young women vulnerable to being driven even further into it as they turn 18.
Young women who become care leavers as they turn 18 are over-represented and face additional stigma in the criminal justice system. Instability in childhood is exacerbated by the disruption they experience as they become adults, leaving them at greater risk of re-offending.
Danielle, 22, says:
“I was involved in children’s and young people’s mental health services from the age of 13 or 14 – I had the same worker for years. I was put in touch with her through the youth justice system as part of a court order. I had a good relationship with her but, when I turned 18, I no longer had her supporting me. At the same time, the support I was receiving from youth justice services ended. I had also moved out of supported accommodation and into my own place. I thought I was ready at the time but, looking back, I was still a young person and I was struggling.
“I have support now, but it was a bad experience and my mental health deteriorated – I was very unwell. This affects other young women in the justice system too. There’s a massive gap when they turn 18, where they’ve probably gone from having loads of support – too many workers and too many people involved in their lives – to having absolutely nothing. You’re not really sure where you should go from there.”
Agenda and AYJ warn that without recognition of young women’s distinct needs and experiences at this critical time in their lives, the issues that drive them further into the criminal justice system will continue to go unaddressed.
Jessica Southgate, CEO of Agenda, says:
“The vast majority of girls in contact with the criminal justice system have experienced significant trauma and disadvantage. Specialist services for young women are limited, and wider services are not always equipped to recognise and respond to the ongoing risks of harm and new vulnerabilities they face as they turn 18.
“We need to see a coordinated effort by government to address the issues which lead young women to offend, and greater availability of support tailored to their age- and gender-specific needs.
“This must include greater investment in the specialist women and girls’ sector which plays a critical role in building and maintaining trusted relationships with some of the most disadvantaged young women at a time of great instability in their lives as they enter adulthood.”
Pippa Goodfellow, Director of the Alliance for Youth Justice says:
“As they turn 18, many young women experience a stark difference in support when they are transferred from youth offending teams to adult probation. This significant drop-off in provision is mirrored in various other statutory services, leaving young women to face multiple cliff-edges of support.
“‘Cliff-edge sentencing’, where girls turn 18 while waiting for their day in court, sees them facing harsher sentences, a more punitive criminal records regime and lost protections, with unjust impacts for the rest of their lives. This is only going to affect more young women as years of court closures and now COVID-19 mean they may wait years to face justice, through no fault of their own.
“To prevent young women from ‘falling through the gaps’, a more flexible and nuanced approach is required to ensure that specialist, holistic and coordinated support is available to young women experiencing multiple transitions.”
Read the full Falling Through the Gaps briefing paper here.