Unique dataset helps reveal the structural drivers of LGBTQ+ youth criminalization

In this article, authors Kynn et al. drew on survey data collected in 2014 from over 4,000 youth detained or incarcerated in California’s juvenile detention facilities, and distributed by NACJD in the study, Criminalization of LGBQ/GNCT Youth, California, 2014 (ICPSR 37001). The authors wanted to reuse these data to investigate structural factors that could lead to the over-criminalization of LBGTQ+ youth, specifically in terms of prostitution-related charges. The authors noted that there is little reliable national data on the sexual orientation and gender identity and expression of justice-involved youth. The California study did contain such data, as well as the number of times respondents had been in detention, their race and ethnicity, and their prostitution or related charges. Kynn et al. measured the respondents’ structural vulnerability by using three other items collected in the study: experiences with homelessness, past foster care or group home placements, and family rejection. They found that compared to cisgender and straight youth, LGBTQ + youth were 213 percent more likely to be incarcerated for prostitution or related charges, and experiencing family rejection and being detained more than once significantly increased the odds of this. The authors discussed structural bias that does not support the unique challenges faced by this population, recommended systemic reforms, and called for the collection of national standardized data on justice-involved LGBTQ + youth.