Decision-making about girls by the criminal justice system in Holland

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EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE, FLORENCE

EUROPEAN POLICY UNIT

^ ^ E i ^ W O R K I N G P A P E R N o . 87/ 300

ISION-MAKING ABOUT GIRLS BY

CE SYSTEM IN HOLLAND AND ITALY by

/ A q b e ELZlNGA,Pauline NABER, flotlerta CIPOLLINI, Franca FACCIOLI

' and T am ar PITCH

BADIA FIESOLANA, SAN DOM ENICO ( F I )

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T h i s p a p e r s h o u l d n o t w i t h o u t p r i o r be r e p r o d u c e d i n w h o l e or p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e a u t h o r s i n Cc) A n n e E l z i n g a , P a u l i n e N a b e r , R o b e r t a C i p o l l i n i , F r a n c a F a c c i o l i a n d T a m a r P i t c h P r i n t e d in I t a l y i n 1 9 8 7 E u r o p e a n U n i v e r s i t y I n s t i t u t e B a d i a Fi e s o l a n a 1 - 5 0 0 1 6 S a n D o m e n i c o ( F i ) I t a l y p a r t © The Author(s). European University Institute. version produced by the EUI Library in 2020. Available Open Access on Cadmus, European University Institute Research

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PREFACE

In November 1985, as a result of generous sponsorship by the Italian government (Ministero degli Interni) and the European Policy Unit of the EUI, a conference was held in Florence on "The prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency among girls in the EEC: towards an evaluation". Seventy-two scholars and practitioners attended, from eleven different European countries. The purpose of the conference was to celebrate the United Nations Year of Youth by constructive discussion about how and why girls and young women come to the attention of the criminal justice and welfare systems, how they are treated, and how practices for the care and control of girls and young women might be improved.

The value of comparative work of this kind was amply demonstrated both theoretically and in terms of policy and practice. The big lack was clearly of studies designed and intended for comparative purposes. The 27 conference papers collected together in ten EUI Working Papers (of which this volume is one) reveal both these strengths and this need.

Theoretically what was surprising and of importance were the similarities between countries with very different cultures and political economies in the way girls and young women are treated. Their employment prospects are everywhere worse; their sexuality is heavily policed by their male and female peers, with the ultimate sanction of non-marriageability to a 'good' man having the potential of causing both economic and social and psychic pain. The efforts of a minority of girls and young women to break out of this cycle appear to be policed by state agencies - the welfare and justice systems - although the part played in some countries by private (often religious) agencies remains to be explored. For other girls non-conformity could not properly be under stood as rebellion: but whatever its cause the directions and occasions of control were similar.

This cross-nation similarity suggests that a theoretical reduction of these constraints in the direction of familial coupling to an effect of capitalism or of class structure is not adequate, given the wide variations in political economies already alluded to.

The second important similarity which seemed to emerge - although requiring much more detailed work before adequate theorising is achieved - is that policy in relation to delinquent girls is for some matters based on boys' behaviour patterns and career paths. This emerged most clearly in relation to British and Dutch ways of dealing with drug offenders, in the contributions by Thom and Blom (WP 87/298) . Such policies, being inappropriate, were also ineffective. But for the most part both court decision making and the practice of subsequent sentences were gendered. This, however, seemed to the

contributors to be inappropriate too. The demand, therefore, is not for formal sameness but for appropriate differences in welfare practices in relation to girls, based on careful feminist and sociological analysis of their life spaces and possibilities rather than on male mythologies about the needs and natures of young females. It is to this end that more detailed comparative work must be directed - a project which the conference participants already have in hand.

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D E C I S I O N M A K I N G A B O U T GI RL S BY THE

C R I M I N A L J U ST I C E S Y S T E M IN H O L L A N D

A N D ITALY: A D I S C U S S I O N A ND

R E CE N T R E S E A R C H RESUL TS

G ir l s and the Dutch J u ve n i l e J us t i c e System: the J u di c i a l C on t r o l of S e x u a l i t y in H o l l a n d p. 1 A s p e c t s of the pe na l t r e a t m e n t of m i no r s in Rome: a first r es e a rc h report p. 19 © The Author(s). European University Institute. version produced by the EUI Library in 2020. Available Open Access on Cadmus, European University Institute Research

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Gi r l s an d the D u t c h J u v e n i l e J u s t i c e System: the J u d i c i a l Co n t r o l of S e x u a l i t y in H o l l a n d by A n n e E l zi ng a & Pa ul in e Naber c A n n e E l z i n g a & Pa u l i n e Nabe r 1985 © The Author(s). European University Institute. version produced by the EUI Library in 2020. Available Open Access on Cadmus, European University Institute Research

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Gi r l s a n d the Du t c h J u v e n i l e Ju s t i c e System: the J u d i ci al Co n t r o l of S e x u a l i t y in H o l l a n d *

In tr od u c t i o n

Si nc e the si xt ie s the ch il d p r o t e c t i o n s y s t e m has been s t ro ng ly c r i t i c i z e d in va r i o u s so ci ol o g i c a l a n d c r i m i n o l o g i c a l pu bl ic at io ns . In p a r t i c u l a r its id eo logical o b j e c t i v e s of care and p r o t e c t i o n have b e co me a topic for disc us si on ; the

d i s i n t e r e s t e d h u m a n i t a r i a n a i m of chil d care has been

demythologized'. It is a r g u e d that chil d ca re ca nn ot be rega rd ed as a ne utral in st ru me nt of p r o t e c t i o n on b e h a l f of minors.

C r i t i c a l social s c i e n t i s t s relate the f u n c t i o n of the ch il d p r o t e c t i o n s y s t e m to d o m i n a t i n g social c o n d i t i o n s in society,

judicial aid to m i n o r s m a n i f e s t i n g itself as an in st i t u t i o n of social co nt ro l that is re la te d to p a rt ic ul ar interests. M i dd le - clas s va lu es a n d norm s are a guid e in the d e f i n i t i o n a n d co nt ro l of d e v i an ce that forms a threat to the so ci al s t at us quo. In ac tu al practice, it is s p e c i f i c gr oups of y o u t h s that ar e faced w i t h c o r r e c t i o n a l i n st it ut es and court o r de rs fr om the state. Lo we r - c l a s s y o ut hs in p a r t i c u l a r end up in the p r o v i n c e of chil d p r o t e c t i o n by w a y of c r im in al or civil law or on a "voluntary" b a s i s .

H i st or ic al ly , this c l a s s - s e l e c t i v e n e s s can be tr aced back to the social or i g i n s of the chil d p r o t e c t i o n s y s t e m and the

juvenile laws. At the b e g i n n i n g of this century, m i d d l e - c l a s s re form m o v e m e n t s in the U n i t e d States an d W e s t e r n E u ro pe that we re rooted in the c h u r c h o b t a i n e d po li t i c a l su pp or t for their a i m of i s ol at in g and p r o t e c t i n g ne gl e c t e d lower class y o u t h by w a y of r e pr es si ve i n t e r v e n t i o n by the state. A l t h o u g h c o n c e r n about the c o n d i t i o n s in w h i c h l o w e r- cl as s y o u t h s g r e w up in the ci ty did p l a y a role in the o r g a n i z a t i o n of this ki nd of ju dicial aid, it is not the ca se that p u r e l y h u m a n i t a r i a n mo t i v e s led to the rise of a ch il d p r o t e c t i o n s y st em that was le gally

streamlined. At least as e s se nt ia l a goal of the chil d sa ve rs was the c o nt ro l and c o r r e c t i o n of (potentially) c r im in al and

(potentially) immoral ju ve ni le s w h o t h re at en ed to u n d e r m i n e the rules of law, mo r a l co de s and C h r i s t i a n va lu es of W e s t e r n society. The ef fe ct s of ju dicial p o li cy wi th respect to juveniles have a l wa ys be en c l as s- se le ct iv e; the state and

* P r e v i o u s l y p u b l i s h e d as "Meisjes en de k i n d e r b e s c h e r m i n g : de justitiele c o n t r ô l e van s e k s u a l i t e i t ' in T i j d s c h r i f t voor C r i m i n o l o g i e (M ay /August 1984). © The Author(s). European University Institute. version produced by the EUI Library in 2020. Available Open Access on Cadmus, European University Institute Research Repository.

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p r i v a t e in it ia ti ve s in te r v e n e in the fa mi ly - l i v e s of the w o rk in g clas s in particular.

In their h u m a n i z e d a n d m o d e r n i z e d forms, the juvenile ju st ic e s y s t e m and c h i l d p r o t e c t i o n still f u nc ti on as ef fe c t i v e in st r u m e n t s of co nt ro l in the m a i n t e n a n c e of the so ci al status quo. The social p r o b l e m s that result f r o m class re la t i o n s are kept under co ntrol a n d the s o c i o - e c o n o m i c order that is at their root is not raised as a p r o b l e m in itself (Kagie 1979; Platt 1969; R o e l a n d 1980).

If c l a s s - s e l e c t i v e n e s s in ju di ci al p o l i c y w i t h re spect to m i n o r s has been a topi c for r e s e ar ch a n d c r i t i c i s m for year s by now (cf., e.g., J o n g m a n 1972), the r e p r o d u c t i o n of p a t r i a r c h a l se xu al rela ti on s in the p r a c t i c e of ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n has s c ar ce ly be en p r e s e n t e d as a p r o b l e m at a l l . The o n e - s i d e d c o n c e n t r a t i o n of rese ar ch er s on the c r i m in al law p r o c e d u r e s th r o u g h wh i c h y o u t h s 1 (esp ec ia ll y boys) co me into co nt ac t w i t h the court has h a d the ef fect that the s p e c i f i c - e s p e c i a l l y sexual - c o nt ro l of f e ma le l o w e r- cl as s y o u t h via (civil law) Ca re and P r o t e c t i o n O r d e r s and 'voluntary' ch il d care has r e m a in ed b e yo nd

co ns id er at io n.

Fo ll o w i n g fo r e i g n p u b l i c a t i o n s that, fr om the b e g i n n i n g of the seventies, have i n d i c a t e d a d i f f e r e n t i a t e d a p p r o a c h wi th r e ga rd to boys and girls, we want to argu e he re that in Dutc h ch il d p r o t e c t i o n policy, too, a t e n d e n c y to wards sex-

s e l e c t i v e n e s s can be noted. Th is t e n d e n c y m a n i f e s t s itself in p a rt ic ul ar in the d e c i s i o n s and court' o r de rs that are taken and m a d e c o n c e r n i n g "problems of be ha v i o u r and u p b r in gi ng " of older fe ma le y o u t h (14 - 19 years old). E x a m p l e s are ru nning aw ay from home, truancy, and d i s a p p r o v e d se xu al c o n t ac ts w i t h boys or men.

Just as the p r e v e n t i o n a n d co n t r o l of crime is an im po rt an t m o t i v e in the st ate's c o nc er n w i t h m a l e lo we r - c l a s s youth, so the p r e v e n t i o n a n d co n t r o l of s e x u a l i t y of lo we r - c l a s s girls, too, forms at least as c r uc ia l an el em en t of ch il d p r o t e c t i o n policy. In the st at e' s ac t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g j u ve ni le s the e x i s t i n g social a n d se xu al re la ti on s a r e r e p r o d u c e d in the d e f i n i t i o n and co nt ro l of crime a n d morality.

The co ur se of our a r g u me nt wi ll be as follows:

(1) first we g i v e a s u m m a r y a n d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the m a i n results of in te r n a t i o n a l research, w h i c h in dicate the spec if ic

co nt ro l of girl s in two s u c c e s s i v e st ag es of the ca re and p r o t e c t i o n process;

1 It is i n t e re st in g to note that in E n g l i s h the te rm yo ut h has an e x c l u s i v e l y ma le c o n n o t a t i o n (Ed.). © The Author(s). European University Institute. version produced by the EUI Library in 2020. Available Open Access on Cadmus, European University Institute Research Repository.

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(2) si mi la r te nd en ci es towards s e x - s e l e c t i v n e s s in Dutc h ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n p o l i c y will be p o i n t e d out w i t h the h e l p of e m pi ri ca l da ta a n d r e se ar ch reports.

T h e n we turn to the b a c k g r o u n d of this policy:

(3) the s c i e n t i f i c l e g i t i m a t i o n of this s e x - d i s c r i m i n a t o r y ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n p o l i c y is c r i t i c a l l y di sc us se d;

(4) f i n a l l y we turn to the p r o t e c t i v e i d e o l o g y of the chil d p r o t e c t i o n system. In this c o nt ex t the va l u e of l e g i s l a t i o n w i t h re ga rd to the s t at e' s i n t e r v e n t i o n in "p ro bl em s of be ha v i o u r and u p b r in gi ng " wi ll be me nt io ne d. We b e li ev e we can relate a s e x u a l l y r e p r e s s i v e t e nd en cy in the ch il d p r o t e c t i o n s y s t e m to a s e x u al ly r e p r e s s i v e p o l i t i c s w h i c h is c a r r i e d out w i t h respect to girl s a n d w o m e n in p a t r i a r c h a l societies. (1) 1. S t at us offe nc es : v i o l a t i o n s of e d u c a t i o n a l norms A f e at ur e w h i c h is i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y s h a r e d by ju ve ni le justice s y st em s a n d w h i c h is ce nt ra l to this a r t i c l e is the a u t h o r i t y of the st a t e to take m i no rs into ca re a n d p r o t e c t i o n on n o n - c r i m i n a l gr ounds. Th is p r o v i d e s a legal ba si s for the

i n t e r v e n t i o n in p r i v a t e si tu a t i o n s on b e h a l f of m i n o r s by the m a k i n g of Ca re an d P r o t e c t i o n Orders. I d e o lo gi ca ll y, this br o a d a u t h o r i t y is l e g i t i m a t e d by the p e d a g o g i c ne ed to pr ot ec t

ju ve ni le s ag a i n s t th em selves, ag ainst f a mi ly situ at io ns , and othe r h a r m f u l in fl ue nc es , in ca se their p h y s i c a l a n d/ or mo ra l d e v e l o p m e n t is threatened.

In the l e g i s l a t i o n of mo st of the c o u n t r i e s to wh ic h the p u b l i c a t i o n s s t u d i e d pertain, one can o f t e n o b s e r v e a rather vagu e i n d i c a t i o n of the 'situations' that can lead to state in terference: 'beyond p a r e n t a l control' (U.K., U.S.), 'moral d a ng er situation' (Belgium), 'neglect' (" V e r w a h r l o s u n g " , Germ an y) , 'danger of mo r a l or p h y s ic al undoing' (The

N e t h e r la nd s) . In s e ve ra l A m e r i c a n st at es the i n d i v i d u a l ki n d s of be ha v i o u r that are d e e m e d to be u n d e s i r a b l e or d e v i a n t for m i n o r s a n d can le ad to i n t e r v e n t i o n are al so s p e c i f i e d in the law: truancy, ru nn in g a w a y fr om home, m a i n t e n a n c e of se xu al rela ti on s and the like. (2) For these kinds of b e h a v i o u r the te rm 'status offences' has b e e n i n t r o d u c e d in E n g l i s h an d A m e r i c a n

pu bl i c a t i o n s , re fe r r i n g to acts that are g e n e r a l l y judged to be u n d e s i r a b l e and de v i a n t for m i n o r s on the gr o u n d s of their age. B a s i c a l l y this te rm refers to the s o c i a l l y in ferior st at us of juveniles. Le gally, i n t e r v e n t i o n is p o s s i b l e w h e n a d ul ts be li ev e that yo u n g p e o p l e (threaten) not to a d he re to e s t a b l i s h e d

re la ti on s of a u t h o r i t y a n d to d e vi at e f r o m the norms, rules and m o r a l s that are e s t e e m e d in education. (3)

P u t t i n g side by side the av a i l a b l e r e s e a r c h d a t a w i t h regard to the s e x - s p e c i f i c h a n d l i n g of girls' case s in the U n i t e d States a n d W e s t e r n Europe, at va ri ou s levels, it b e c o m e s cl ea r that a c o n s i s t e n t c o m p a r i s o n of the va ri ou s fa ct or s that p l a y a role in s e x - s e l e c t i v e n e s s is impossible. Not o n l y do the ju st ic e sy st em s

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di ff er fr om ea ch other in the co un t r i e s involved, but the rese ar ch is a l s o too di ve r g e n t as to sc op e a n d m e t h o d for a re se ar ch er to be in a p o s i t i o n to d r a w d e f i n i t e co nc l u s i o n s on se ve ra l le vels by way of s y s t e m a t i c co mp ar is on .

In the f o ll ow in g su bs ec ti on s, therefore, we po in t out a t e n d en cy to wards a s e x - d i s c r i m i n a t o r y a p p r o a c h to m i n o r s in two ro ug hl y d i s t i n g u i s h e d stages of the ca re p r oc ee di ng s, n a m e l y p r e s e l e c t i o n (which includes the role of the police) and court d i s p o s a l (i nc lu di ng c o mm it me nt to re si d e n t i a l homes). (4)

The p r e - t r i a l s i t u a t i o n . At this stag e it is p o l i c e o f f i c e r s and other a u t h o r i t i e s (5) that, h a vi ng be en face d w i t h a v i o l a t i o n of the law or of mo r a l codes by juveniles, exer t their infl ue nc e on the d e c i s i o n to have the chil d ap pe ar in ju ve ni le court.

In g e n e r a l terms, it em er ge s fr om A m e r i c a n re se ar ch that girl s come into co ntact w i t h the police, so ci al w e lf ar e agencies, the court, a n d the ch il d p r o t e c t i o n s y s t e m (6) p r e d o m i n a n t l y be ca us e of st at us offences, wh e r e a s boys do so m a i n l y be ca us e of cr im in al offences. In p a rt ic ul ar w i t h r e ga rd to st at us offences, d i s c r i m i n a t i o n a g ai ns t fe ma le yo ut h takes p l a c e in the

a p p r e h e n s i o n by the police, the m a k i n g of the report for the court, and in later stages of the procedure.

W i t h re ga rd to status of fe nc es , the p o l i c e tend to ar re st and remand in c u s t o d y girls rather than boys (C he sn ey -L in d 1974). It has a l s o be en noted that p o l i c e o f f i c e r s ad o p t a mo re lenient a t t i tu de to wards girl s w h o are a r r e s t e d for c r i m i n a l o f f e nc es than to wa rd s the girls a r r e s t e d for st atus offences; the latter are m o r e o f t e n h e l d in c u st od y than the former (Chesn ey -L in d 1977). Th is is a l s o o b s e r v e d in the U.K. (Campbell 1981). Ac co r d i n g to Casburn, c u st od y in the ca se of st at us o f f e n c e s is ofte n us ed to wr it e reports that are f r e q u e n t l y e x p r e s s e d in terms of in di vi du al d e vi an ce and p s y c h o l o g i c a l c h ar ac te ri st ic s. R o ut in e q u e s t i o n s about the sexual e x p e r i e n c e s of girls are ofte n part of this (Casburn 1979; see a l s o D a vi es 1976). As to Belgium, B l o m m e cl ai ms that st at us o f f e n c e s c o m m i t t e d by girl s are less of te n d i s m i s s e d than the status or c r i m i n a l o f f e nc es co mm i t t e d by boys (Blomme 1981). H a m b u r g p o l i c e fi gures in dicate that girl s m a i n l y commit mino r o f f e n c e s a g ai ns t p r o p e r t y (often shoplifting) and that there are "other s t r i k i n g things" that appear to p e r t a i n to "sexual ne gl ec t" in one th ir d of all p o li ce contacts (Gipser 1975). Such a "neglect" is s e l d o m o b s e r v e d wi th boys. The results of such a s e x - d i s c r i m i n a t o r y p r e s e l e c t i o n are refl ec te d in the p e r c e n t a g e s of female and m a l e yo u t h that are p r o s e c u t e d by the ju venile cour t on the g r o u n d s of status offe nc es and c r i m in al offences.

In all co un t r i e s girl s turn out to a p pe ar in ju venile court p r e d o m i n a n t l y be c a u s e of st at us offences, w h e r e a s the m a j o r i t y of boys is br ou gh t u p b e ca us e of c r i m in al offe nc es . In A m e r i c a n re search it is sa id that 70% of the gi rl s as o p p o s e d to 31% of

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the boys are br ou gh t up on a c co un t of st atus o f f e n c e s (Chesney- L i n d 1974). C o m p a r a b l e p e r c e n t a g e s are m e n t i o n e d in W e s t e r n - E u r o p e a n research.

T h e cour t d i s p o s a l At this stage, in w h i c h the ju ve ni le court take s the d e c i s i o n abou t disposal, s e x - s e l e c t i v e n e s s b e co me s mo re s h a r p l y visible. Th is stag e in the p r o c e d u r e has be en

i n v e s t i g a t e d and c r i t i c i z e d mo st in the va r y i n g studies. For instance, in the U n i t e d S t at es the c o n c l u s i o n is dr aw n that gi rl s a p p e a r i n g in cour t on a c co un t of status o f f e n c e s are tr ea te d mo re h a r s h l y th an boys. Th is is a l s o true if th ey are c o m p a r e d to the f e ma le y o u t h that co me into co n t a c t w i t h the juve ni le co ur t for c r i m i n a l offences.

The d e t e n t i o n risk in the ca se of st at us o f f e n c e s is higher th an w i t h c r i m in al offe nc es ; gi r l s in p a r t i c u l a r are of te n i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e 3 for st at us offences. Th is is e s p e c i a l l y the case w h e r e 'sexual deli nq ue nc y' and 'incorrigibility' are concerned. Th e ho me s wh er e gi r l s stay can be d e s c r i b e d as m o r e se ve re th an those of the m a l e y o u t h and th ey m a i n l y st ay there longer than boys, too. (C h e s n e y - L i n d 1974 and 1977; C o h n 1970; Sarri 1966; T e r r y 1970).

Th is c o n c l u s i o n is a l s o d r a w n by B r i t i s h researchers. For status o f f e n c e s a Ca re Orde r is m o r e o f t e n a w a r d e d than for cr im in al ones and this hold s g o o d e s p e c i a l l y for girls. In c o m p a r i s o n w i t h boys, the Care Orde r is o f t e n a w a r d e d on the gr ou nd s of 'moral danger' for gi r l s (85% of the fe males as op p o s e d to 15% of the males), a n d this o f t e n leads to a removal fr om home (Campbell 1981, D a vi es 1976). G i r l s a p p e a r i n g in court on a c co un t of st at us o f f e n c e s are p l a c e d in a ho me mo re o f t e n than boys a n d m o r e o f t e n than girl s w h o are br o u g h t u p for cr im in al o f f e n c e s (C asburn 1979; Ma y 1981; Sm i t h 1978).

In W e s t e r n Germ an y, less d e t a i l e d d a t a a t e av ai la bl e. It has be en noted, however, that 'sexual neglect' an d 'dis ap pr ov ed sexual contacts' are f r e q u e n t l y o b s e r v e d in the case of girls, whic h of t e n leads to "F ur s o r g e e r z i e h u n g " (Care Or ders), a n d finally re su lt s in i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n (Gipser 1975; R o s e n 1977). F r o m an i n v e s t i g a t i o n into the s e x - s e l e c t i v e n e s s of varying a u t h o r i t i e s it can be seen that i n t e r v e n t i o n b e c a u s e of

'disapproved se xu al relations' was found n e c e s s a r y for 3.5% of the boys in vo lv ed in c o n t ra st to 61.5% of the girl s involved. For 33% of the girl s as o p p o s e d to 1% of the boys this was the ground for a court order (S t e i n - H i l b e r s 1979). For one thir d of all i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n s of girls, 'sexual problems' was the most important c r i t e r i o n (S te in -H il be rs 1979). In the end al most half of the older W e s t e r n G e r m a n y o u n g s t e r s r e ga rd in g w h o m a Ca re Order was p r o n o u n c e d was of the female sex.

In Belgium, ju ve ni le s are said to be de al t w i t h m o r e h a r s h l y for status o f f e n c e s than for c r i m in al of fe nc es . Girls, w h o are p r os ec ut ed r e la ti ve ly m o r e o f t e n than boys on the g r ou nd s of status offe nc es , tu rn out to be 'protected' rather well by the juvenile court; of the girl s c o m m i t t e d to a home, 96% h a v e be en

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p r o s e c u t e d for a st at us offence, as o p p o s e d to 48% of the boys p l a c e d in homes (Blomme 1981).

As to the ab o v e data we can su mm a r i z e that, de s p i t e

d i f f e r e n c e s in the ju stice sy stems in the v a ry in g countr ie s, the t e n d en cy to wards a s e x - s e l e c t i v e a p p r o a c h and h a n d li ng of m i no rs in di f f e r e n t s t ag es of the ju dicial p r o c e e d i n g s ca n be noted. W h et he r we have to do w i t h a m o r e s p e c i f i c d e s c r i p t i o n of the status o f f e nc es by the law or w i t h a rather m o r e va g u e in di ca ti on in terms of ' s i t u a t i o n 1, their i n t e r p r e t a t i o n by p o l i c e and judicial a u t h o r i t i e s ap p e a r s to be s t r i k i n g l y u n i v o c a l a n d to wo rk out u n f a v o u r a b l y for girl s on an i n t e r n a t i o n a l scale. It is girls in p a r t i c u l a r wh o ap pe ar in juve ni le court for status offences, i n cl ud in g ve ry of te n 'sexual de li n q u e n c y ' , 'sexual neglect', 'd is ap pr ov ed sexual contacts', a n d the like, a n d who are p l ac ed in ho me s on these grounds. Boys, on the othe r hand, of te n appear in juvenile court an d are i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d on ac co un t of c r i m in al offences. The risk of being p l a c e d in a home is higher for gi rl s wh o are c o n v i c t e d b e c a u s e of s t at us of fe nc es than for boys an d it is al so hi gh er than for girl s w h o co me into contact w i t h ju ve ni le court b e ca us e of c r i m in al offe nc es . Of the girls p l a c e d in a home, by far the m a j o r i t y ar e there for status offences, o f t e n b e ca us e of 'sexual pr ob le ms '. T h e p l ac in g in homes of boys m a i n l y takes pl ac e for c r i m in al conv ic ti on s. Girls, more ov er , st ay in rather st ri ct home s for their 'civil offences', and on a v e r a g e for longer than their m a l e peers. 2. S e x - s e l e c t i v e n e s s in Dutc h judicial 'care' p o l i c y (6)

Even less than in other W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n co un t r i e s ha vi ng broad and va g u e l e g i s l a t i o n c o n c e r n i n g minors, do the N e t h e r l a n d s have figures or rese ar ch fi nd in gs r e ga rd in g the c r i t e r i a upon whic h de ci s i o n s on d i f f e r e n t levels of the judicial p r o c e e d i n g s are based. The in fo r m a t i o n that can be d e r i v e d fr om the an nual reports of the ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n a g e n c y is li m i t e d a n d general, and it is not c o n s i s t e n t l y d i f f e r e n t i a t e d as to, for instance, numbers of boys and girls, age, nati on al it y, so cial back gr ou nd , v o l u nt ar il y v e rs us le ga ll y i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d subjects, kinds of court order, or locations. (7) The s p e c i f i c re as on s for court orders or i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n s are not m e n t i o n e d either. The secondary so urces we st ud ie d m a i n l y p e r t a i n to i n v e s t i g a t i o n s of juveniles in ch i l d care homes, to g r ou ps of mi nors, therefore, who form the 'result' of the se le c t i o n s by, for instance, the courts and the ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n auth or it ie s. D e s p i t e these limitations, co mb i n i n g and in te rp r e t i n g the data w h i c h are available, a p i c t u r e of a s e x - d i s t i n c t a p p r o a c h to m i n o r s can be revealed that is c o m p a r a b l e to i n t e r n at io na l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s (8).

Fr om the fi gu re s we can see that the ratio b o y s : g i r l s over w h o m an order has b e e n p r o n o u n c e d is 57:43 (11384 boys and 8648 girls in 1982). A n a g e - p e a k can be note d w i t h 15-17 year olds (Child P r o t e c t i o n Bo ar d 19 81 /2 p. 94. Ta bl e 1.5). The ratio of the perc en ta ge s of boys an d girl s c o m m i t t e d to a ho me on the grounds of an Or de r is 60:38. Not m u c h ch an ge s in this rati o if one also takes into c o n s i d e r a t i o n those wh o we re p l a c e d

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v o l u n t a r i l y (Child P r o t e c t i o n Bo a r d 1981/82; v a n K a m p e n 1981). A l t h o u g h girl s p l a y a sm al l pa rt in the c r i m i n a l l y su sp ec t g r o u p of m i n o r s (10%) (9) a n d an ev en smaller g r o u p (2%) is p l a c e d unde r s u p e r v i s i o n by way of cr im in al law (10), their shar e in the total g r o u p of s u p e r v i s e d youth, on the g r ou nd s of bo th civi l a n d c r i m i n a l law, is abou t 40% (Child P r o t e c t i o n Bo ar d Re po rt

1981/82, p. 108).

F r o m thes e da ta we m a y c o nc lu de that w i t h girls, far mo re than w i t h boys, we ha ve to do w i t h n o n - c r i m i n a l 'deviance' l e ad in g to an orde r and in st it ut i o n a l i z a t i o n . If the gr ou nd s u p o n w h i c h the d e c i s i o n of co mm i t m e n t to a ho me is ba s e d are not m e n t i o n e d in the a n n u a l re po rt s of the ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n

a u th or it ie s, they do emerge, though, fr om v a r y i n g in v e s t i g a t i o n s c a r r i e d out r e ga rd in g the ch il d p r o t e c t i o n p o p u l a t i o n in homes.

(11) Frans, for instance, indicates that, w i t h re spect to the te e n a g e girls (13-19 ye ar s old) wh o we re c o m m i t t e d to the home "G elders End" at Rekken, the first cause for i n t e r v e n t i o n by p u b l i c a g en ci es like j u ve ni le p o li ce and ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n a g e n c i e s is r e c o rd ed as follows: "family p r o b l e m s " for 20%

(further s p e c i f i c a t i o n in less than half of thes e cases) and " b eh av io ur al pr o b l e m s " of the girl s t h em se lv es for 80% (36% of w h i c h were in c o m b i n a t i o n wi th family problems) (Frans, 1978). The be ha v i o u r a l p r o b l e m s w e r e running a w a y f r o m h o m e (24%), theft

(20%) u n g o v e r n a b i l i t y (15%), d i s a p p r o v e d se xu al co n t a c t (11%). For 30% of the girls, the b e h a vi ou ra l p r o b l e m s w e r e not s p e c i f i e d a n y further. In sum, for 94.5% of the gi r l s c o m m i t t e d to this u l t i m a t e st ag e of ch i l d p r o t ec ti on , st atus o f f e n c e s are at least o n e of the g r ou nd s for i n s t i t u t io na li za tio n.

A similar p i c t u r e em e r g e s fr om van der Pl o e g (1975). His in ve s t i g a t i o n is i n t e r e s t i n g in p a rt ic ul ar because, in c o nt ra st w i t h the other r e se ar ch that we studied, it m a k e s p o s s i b l e a c o m p a r i s o n of the d i a g n o s e d be ha v i o u r a l p r o b l e m s of

i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d boys a n d g i r l s . For boys, c r i m i n a l o f f e n c e s like joy-riding, b u r g l a r y and theft are m u c h m o r e of t e n m e n t i o n e d amon g the b e h a v i o u r a l p r o b l e m s le ading to c o m m i t m e n t than is the ca se wi th gi rl s (40:2). As for girls, theft is the o n l y c r i m i n a l o f fe nc e w h i c h is m e n t i o n e d at all as part of their p r o b l e m a t i c behaviour. It s h ou ld be ad de d here as an a s i d e that in g e ne ra l crime for gi rl s me an s m i n o r o f f e nc es a g ai ns t prop er ty .

Shoplifting, u s u a l l y of small value, is the b i g g e s t c a t e g o r y here (Angenent 1980; CBS 1981).

An ot he r r e m a r k a b l e fe at ur e of van der P l o e g 's r e se ar ch is the me n t i o n of 'sexually d i s t u r b e d behaviour' as a b e h a v i o u r a l p r o b l e m for 22% of the gi r l s as op p o s e d to a m e r e 2% (sic?!) of the boys. De N a t r i s e v e n call s 'sexually d i s t u r b e d behaviour' the most impo rt an t m o t i v e for the c o mm it me nt of g i r l s (de Natris, ci te d in van der Ploe g 1975). V a n der Pl o e g re po rt s in this c o nn ec ti on that the " p r o b l e m a t i c be ha vi ou r" of gi rl s is o f t e n a co mb i n a t i o n of "s ex u a l l y d i s t u r b e d be ha viour", ru nn in g a w a y and vagrancy. His i n v e s t i g a t i o n of 1979 c o n f i r m s the 'unfav ou ra bl e score' of girl s on the v a r i a b l e 'sexually p r o b l e m a t i c beha vi ou r' .

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A c c o r d i n g to Frans the c o m b i n a t i o n 'running aw ay fr om home' a n d 'disapproved sexual c o nt ac t w i t h boys/men' is m e n t i o n e d most f r e q u e n t l y as a cause for c o m m i t m e n t to G e ld er s End (Frans 1978).

V a n Ohm, in his in ve s t i g a t i o n of girl s w h o ran a w a y fr om three ch il d p r o t e c t i o n in stitutions, w r i t e s that ru nning away fr om an institution, st a y i n g aw ay f r o m home, truancy and d i s a p p r o v e d fr ie nd sh ip s are amon g the re asons most of t e n

m e n t i o n e d for c o mm it me nt to a home. 'Sexually d e vi an t behaviour' was one of the reasons for 21% of the girl s (van U h m 1981).

As to the p e r i o d of time spent in the homes, we m a y say that, a l t h o u g h van der Pl o e g b e l i ev es that girls stay in homes sh orter p e r i o d s than boys, on a v e r a g e their total stay is just as long, b e ca us e they u s ua ll y go th ro ug h m o r e than one (B as tiaansen 1976; van der Ploe g 1975). This o b s e r v a t i o n can be ca lled r e ma rk ab le w h e n it is reca ll ed that girl s are i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d p r e d o m i n a n t l y for 'problems of b e h a v i o u r a n d upbringing' wh e r e a s for boys it is m o s t l y c r im in al o f f e n c e s that are the ca us e of i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n .

S u m m a r i z i n g the abov e it turns out that wi th boys m o r e than w i t h girls it is cr im in al o f f e n c e s that le ad to a Ca re and P r o t e c t i o n Orde r and to in st i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n . For girls,

'behavioural problems' are most f r e q u e n t l y m e n t i o n e d as re qu ir in g c o r r e c t i o n (i.e., running aw ay f r o m home a n d d i s a p p r o v e d sexual contacts). Wh i l e the p r o p o r t i o n of girl s in recorded juvenile crim e is small and it is m a i n l y s h o p l i f t i n g that is involved, they are i d en ti fi ed as h a vi ng 'behavioural problems' so of t e n that the r e l a ti on b o y s / g i r l s w i t h i n the ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n p o p u l a t i o n is 57:43 (11384 boys a n d 8646 gi r l s in 1982, C.P.B. 1981/82 p. 94, Tabl e 1.5). W i t h i n the i n s t i t ut io na l p o p u l a t i o n the ratio was 62:38 (3091 boys a n d 1926 gi r l s C.P.B. 1981/82, p. 84). 'Sexually d i s t u r b e d behaviour' is a l mo st e x c l u s i v e l y used as a cause of c o mm it me nt to an i n s t i t u t i o n for girls. What e x ac tl y m a y be the na tu re of this d i s t u r b a n c e is not in d i c a t e d in the re search we studied. The 'treatment or ie nt at io n' of the girls' stay at a ho me seems to l e g i t i m a t e a r e la ti ve ly long p e r i o d there. Finally, the c l a s s - s p e c i f i c c h ar ac te r of the child p r o t e c t i o n system, w h i c h was m e n t i o n e d at the b e g i n n i n g of this paper, ap pe ar s to be o b s e r v e d in p r a c t i c a l l y all Du tc h as well as i n t e r n at io na l research. D e p e n d i n g on the na ture of the court order, the 'voluntary' or e n f o r c e d ch ar a c t e r of the

i n s t it ut io na li za tio n, and some wh at d i f f e r i n g for i n di vi du al homes, the p e r c e n t a g e of l o w e r- cl as s gi rl s in the female gr o u p invo lv ed va ries from 70% to 90% (12).

3. The p e d a g o g y of 'extremely d i f f i c u l t girls': the s c ie nt if ic le gi ti m a t i o n of s e x - d i s c r i m i n a t o r y judicial po li cy

On e of the most q u e s t i o n a b l e and c r uc ia l m a t t e r s r e ga rd in g the te nd en cy towards the s e x - s e l e c t i v e n e s s in chil d p r o t e c t i o n p o l i c y we ha ve just o b s e r v e d is the u n c r i t i c a l a c c e p t a n c e of the results of judicial s e l e c t i o n in s c i e n t i f i c pu bl ic at io ns . The fi gures of chil d p r o t e c t i o n and the p r o b l e m s as they are de f i n e d

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ther e ar e s u p p o s e d to be a r e fl ec ti on of a re al it y of c o nf li ct s that boys a n d girl s ha ve w i t h th em se lv es a n d their e n v i r o n m e n t a n d w h i c h a r e e x p r e s s e d s e x - s p e c i f i c a l l y . The im plicit

a s s u m p t i o n is that st at us offences, e s p e c i a l l y for gi r l s from l o w e r - c l a s s families, are a w a y of e x p r e s s i n g p r o b l e m s of e d u c a t i o n an d pers on al it y. It is not r e c o g n i z e d that m i d d l e - cl as s o r i e n t e d an d p a t r i a r c h a l norms of e d u c a t i o n are d e c i s i v e for the d e f i n i t i o n and d i s c i p l i n i n g of the 'unacceptable' and

'deviant' b e h a v i o u r of juveniles.

In the i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y o b s e r v a b l e s e x - s e l e c t i v e chil d p r o t e c t i o n p o li ci es , tr ad i t i o n a l views of the c a us es of the d e v i a n c e of girl s and wo m e n are seen to be reflected. By me a n s of w e l l - k n o w n c l a s s i c a l c o n c ep ts about the crime and d e v i a n c e of women, an imag e of the p r e d o m i n a n t l y se xu al n a tu re a n d o r i g i n of

'female deviancy' is created.

Ever sinc e L o m b r o s o and F e r r e r o (end 19th b e g i n n i n g of 20th cent ur y) , the c r i m i n a l i t y a n d d e v i a n c e of w o m e n ha ve a l w a y s been e x p l a i n e d m o n o - c a u s a l l y in the c l a s s i c a l c r i m i n o l o g i c a l

tradit io n, i.e., in terms of "feminine" ch a r a c t e r i s t i c s . The 'deviancy' of w o m e n is seen as a result of i n di vi du al features, o n l y p a r t i a l l y and s u p e r f i c i a l l y in fl u e n c e d by po li t i c a l , so ci al a n d e c o n o m i c forces. Or ig i n a l l y , the p h y s i o l o g i c a l a n d

b i o l o g i c a l - s e x u a l st r u c t u r e of wo m e n was p a r t i c u l a r l y e m p h a s i z e d as the so ur ce of e x p l a n a t i o n of their (criminal) de vi at io n. Later, b i o l o g i c a l d e t e r m i n i s t i c e x p l a n at io ns , w h i c h d i a g n o s e an a b n o r m a l i t y in the h o r m o n a l a n d c h r o m o s o m a l s t r u c t u r e of de vi an t gi r l s a n d women, w e r e re pl ac ed by i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s that focus on their p s y c h i c d y s f u n c t i o n i n g . A l t h o u g h ther e is some a w a r e n e s s of the i n fl ue nc e of e n v i r o n m e n t a l factors, i n di vi du al b e h a v i o u r a l p r o b l e m s a n d p e r s o n a l i t y d i s t u r b a n c e s are e s p e c i a l l y e m p h a s i z e d as le ading to the d e v i a n c y of girls.

As in the b i o l o g i c a l ex pl an at io ns , here, too, in di vi du al c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s fo rm the so ur ce and ba s i s of their c r i m i n a l i t y a n d (sexual) deviance. In the h u m a n i z e d a n d m o d e r n i z e d v e rs io n the cl as s i c a l co nc ep t is m a i n ta in ed : d e v i a n c e of w o m e n is re la te d to a p e r s o n a l i t y s t r u c t u r e that is a b n o r m a l for women. In t h e o re ti ca l e x p l a n a t i o n s a n d t r ea tm en t mo dels, u n m a r r i e d m o t h er ho od , p r o m i s c u i t y (danger of p r o s t i t u t i o n !), c r im in al it y, va gr an cy , a n d p r o s t i t u t i o n are quit e o f t e n re du ce d to a

'feminine' ne ed for w a r m t h a n d s e c u r i t y w h i c h is e x p r e s s e d in a s e x u a l l y de v i a n t ma nner. In su ch a p p r o a c h e s it is m a i n t a i n e d that it is not girls' na ture to d e v i a t e f r o m p r e s c r i b e d (legal) norms, but that her d e v i a n c y ex p r e s s e s it se lf in a t y p i c a l l y fe mi ni ne fashion, n a m e l y s e x u a l l y (cf., e.g., Co w i e & Slater 1968, K o no pk a 1966, V e dd er & S o m m e r v i l l e 1970).

P r e s e n t - d a y Du tc h p u b l i c a t i o n s o n f e ma le ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n an d juveniles, too, are c h a r a c t e r i z e d by an in di v i d u a l -

p s y c ho lo gi ca l, s e x u a l i z i n g o r i e n t a t i o n (cf., e.g., v a n Acker 1980, Fr an s 1978, v a n der Ploe g 1975, 1977, 1979). T h e s t a r t i n g - po in t is a c l as si c vi ew of wh at n o r m a l i t y a n d d e v i a n c e amon g girls co ns ti tu te s. Thus van Acke r m a i n t a i n s that " ... the

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gi rl 's role is p r i m a r i l y d e t e r m i n e d b i o l o g i c a l l y .... The female h o r m on es infl ue nc e the d r iv es and other p e r s o n a l i t y traits, a l t h o u g h exact rela ti on s ca nn ot be es ta bl i s h e d " (van Acke r 1980, p. 85)

In such l i te ra tu re about 'extremely di ff i c u l t girls', no q u e s t i o n s are a s k e d abou t the judicial d e f i n i t i o n of the

'deviancy' of girls, but this d e f i n i t i o n is take n over and c o n t i n u e d in p e d a g o g i c a l l y 'acceptable' terms. Se xual d e v i a n c y

(to repeat: for 22% of the girls that we re i n v e s t i g a t e d by van der Pl oe g as o p p o s e d to a m e r e 2% of the boys i n v o lv ed ! van der Ploe g 1975) and p e r s o n a l i t y d i s t u r b a n c e s a r e q u i t e ofte n

e n c o u n t e r e d w i t h girls, it be in g h a r d l y m a d e e x p l i c i t on the basis of wh ic h no rm s an d c r i t e r i a this 'deviancy' is es ta blished.

It be co me s clear i m pl ic it ly that the gi r l s d e vi at e fr om a d e ce nt a n d o b ed ie nt image of womanh oo d, w h i c h is kept al iv e by mean s of c l as si ca l b i ol og ic al and p s y c h o l o g i c a l explan at io ns . In this way, t r a d it io na l view s of the d e v i a t i o n of w o m e n an d girls, and in p a r t i c u l a r its u l t i m a t e l y h a vi ng a b i o l o g i c a l - s e x u a l basis, are pe rp et ua te d.

The re se ar ch re sults c o n c e r n i n g ju di ci al p o l i c y se em to suggest that c l a s s i c a l co nc ep ts of the n a tu re of women, se xu a l i t y and d e vi an ce are stil l a guid e to 'protective' a c t i o n towards g i r l s .

In fe minist o r i e n t e d literature, it is c l a i m e d that the fund am en ta l ideas of the c l as si c th eo ri es abou t d e v i a n c e of wome n and girls, as they are a l s o r e fl ec te d in r e s e n t - d a y Dutch

studies, have be en ab le to su rv iv e on ly b e ca us e they ha ve never been m a d e ex pl ic it and d i s c u s s e d c r i t i c a l l y (cf. e.g., Ca mp be ll 1981, Kl e i n 1973, Smart 1976). The t r a d i t i o n a l image of wo m e n and the sexist i d eo lo gy on w h i c h the c l a s s i c th eo r i s t s base themselves are ro ot ed in our p a t r i a r c h a l culture. Such

tr ad it io na l s c i e n t i f i c e x p l a n a t i o n s f u n c t i o n as le gi t i m a t i o n s for a s e x - d i s c r i m i n a t o r y ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n policy.

4, For her o w n go od ?

As was i n di ca te d in the introduction, the ch il d p r o t e c t i o n system, by its ju dicial g r i p on the e d u c a t i o n a n d c o r r e c t i o n of lower class youth, has had an impo rt an t f u n c ti on in the

re pr od u c t i o n of so ci al re la ti on s fr om its v e r y begi nn in gs . In va rying p u b l i c a t i o n s f r o m the sixties onwards, the d i s i n t e r e s t e d ch ar ac te r of this p r o t e c t i n g p r a c t i c e has b e e n d i s c a r d e d as a m y t h .

Ev e r y social i n s t i t u t i o n has a s p e c i f i c relation, c r i t ic al or le gi timating, to the p r e v a i l i n g powe r relations, an d chil d pr ot ec ti on , too, o c c u p i e s a position, in this case an af fi r m i n g one, in the fiel d of so ci al forces. The o v e r - r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of boys and gi rl s f r o m lo we r - c l a s s b a c k g r o u n d s refers to the c l a s s s e le ct iv en es s of judicial policy. Not o n l y w i t h c r i m in al

offe nc es but al so w i t h c o nf li ct s b e t w e e n e d u c a t o r s and m i n o r s and

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w i t h th os e ca se s that are c h a r a c t e r i z e d as i n di vi du al b e h a v i o u r a l p r ob le ms , st at e i n t e r v e n t i o n is la rgely d i r e c t e d to wards lower- cl a s s youth. M i d d l e - c l a s s juveniles, on the ot he r hand, run a s m al le r risk of c o n v i c t i o n in cr im in al p r o c e e d i n g s and, in the ca se of e d u c a t i o n confli ct s, m o s t l y end up in the hand s of p r i v a t e so ci al w e lf ar e agencies. M i d d l e - c l a s s o r i e n t e d p r i v a t e in it ia ti ve , in part ic ul ar , work s for its o w n g r o u p and leaves l o w e r - c l a s s juve ni le s to the care of the state.

L i t t l e s c i e n t i f i c r e s e ar ch has be en do ne in H o l l a n d on the role p l a y e d b y the c h i l d p r o t e c t i o n s y s t e m in the m a i n t e n a n c e of p a t r i a r c h a l sexual relations. U p to now it has on ly be en

fe mi ni st o r i e n t e d r e s e ar ch er s from other c o u n t r i e s who ha ve ra is ed as a p r o b l e m our s e x - d i s c r i m i n a t o r y ju di ci al p o l i c y r e ga rd in g minors. O n the basi s of the da ta p r e s e n t e d a b o v e we b e l i e v e we can c l a i m that, w i t h respect to s t at us o f f e n c e s in g e ne ra l a n d s e x u a l i t y in pa rt ic ul ar , one can speak of a sex- d i s c r i m i n a t o r y ch il d p r o t e c t i o n p o l i c y w h i c h has u n f a v o u r a b l e ef fe ct s on gi rl s in part ic ul ar . In the judi ci al a s s e s s m e n t and d i s c i p l i n i n g of the 'disapproved' and 'harmful' be ha v i o u r of minors, two d i f f e r e n t st a n d a r d s are used. T h e o n e - s i d e d o b s e r v a t i o n of 'sexual distur ba nc es ' w i t h gi r l s p o i n t s to a p a t r i a r c h a l image of the n a tu re of w o m e n a n d to a d o u b l e sexual s t a n d a r d rather than sa yi ng a n yt hi ng ab o u t the p r o b l e m s that girls t h e m s e l v e s ha ve w i t h their (sexual) relations.

T h e e d u c a t i o n a l lines are c o n s i s t e n t l y d r a w n mo re s h a r p l y for girl s than for boys in the s o c i a l i z a t i o n pr o c e s s of m i n o r s and in a s p e c if ic w a y by the ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n au th or i t i e s . The p o s t p o n e m e n t of the g r a t i f i c a t i o n of se xual needs until m a r r i a g e or a s t e a d y h e t e r o s e x u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p a n d the p r o t e c t i o n of v i r g i n i t y or at least a 'decent' r e p u t a t i o n are norms w h i c h are he ld h i g h in the u p b r i n g i n g of girls, thus i n se rt in g t h e m into the trad it io na l, s u b o r d i n a t e p o s i t i o n of w o m e n in p a t r i a r c h a l cultures.

W h i l e boys are a l l o w e d h e t e r o s e x u a l e x p r e s s i o n s w h i c h are regarded as normal (since a boy has to p r o v e his m a n h o o d !) the s e xu al it y of girl s is su bj ec t to strict norms. She has to ke ep her g o o d name. The im pl i c a t i o n of this d o u b l e s t a n d a r d is that too "free" and i n d e pe nd en t b e ha vi ou r of u n ma rr ie d, youn g gi rl s is often p l a c e d in a sexual co nt ex t and seen as a (potential)

v i ol at io n of sexual codes. Girls' s e x u a l i t y is 'protected' in a p o ss es si ve an d re pr e s s i v e fashion. In the ju di ci al d e f i n i t i o n and co nt ro l process, girls' c o nd uc t is se xu al iz ed ; their

de viance is e x p r e s s e d as sexual d e v i a t i o n and ha r s h l y d e a l t with. Th is s e x u a l i z a t i o n t e n d en cy b e co me s s i g n i f i c a n t w h e n it is placed in the f r am ew or k of the c o n t r o l l i n g f u n c t i o n of the ch i l d p r ot ec ti on system: w h e n f a mi ly s o c i a l i z a t i o n fails in the strict m o r a l i t y for a n d d i s c i p l i n i n g of daught er s, the state, p a r e n s p a t r i a e , takes over the e d u c a t i o n of girls.

In this w a y the ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n s y s t e m has an a f f i r m i n g function in the m a i n t e n a n c e of e x is ti ng p a t r i a r c h a l se xu al © The Author(s). European University Institute. version produced by the EUI Library in 2020. Available Open Access on Cadmus, European University Institute Research Repository.

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relations; a re pr es si ve p o l i t i c s wi th respect to fe ma le

s e x u a l i t y is a f f i r m e d by the p r a c t i c e of the ju ve ni le court. The h i s t o r i c a l l y ro ot ed i d e o lo gy of ch il d p r o t e c t i o n - i n t e r v e n t i o n

'in the inte re st of' - l e g i t i m a t e s this p o l i c y and is m a t e r i a l l y e x p r e s s e d in the wi de lack and ev en p r o f e s s e d u n d e s i r a b i l i t y of formal rules of pr oc e d u r e a n d c r i t e r i a ag ainst w h i c h judicial d e c i s i o n s can be checked.

The le gi t i m a c y of this a l m o s t u n l i m i t e d a u t h o r i t y of i n t e r v e n t i o n 'in the i n te re st s of' girl s can be q u e s ti on ed . Is it in their interest that their ci vi l rights are r e s t r i c t e d if they take mo re room to m o v e than a d ul ts find p e d a g o g i c a l l y a c c e p t a b l e ? B e ca us e of the lack of an a u t o n o m o u s legal status, d e f e n c e or re si st an ce a g ai ns t the d e f i n i t i o n of 'their interests' by ot hers is impossible.

An ot he r p r o b l e m is the fact that the two tasks of he lp and judgment of the ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n s y s t e m are in se pa ra bl e. The te ns io n b e t w e e n the legal m o d e l an d the w e l f a r e m o d e l wh ic h c h a r a c t e r i z e s judicial a i d to m i n o r s re coils in a s p e c i f i c way up on girls. V i a o f t e n info rm al pr oc ed ur es , the s o ci et al interest in the m a i n t e n a n c e of the e x i s t i n g p r a c t i c e as to se xu al

e d u c a t i o n and sexual r e la ti on s is t r an sl at ed i n vi si bl y and u n c o n t r o l l a b l y into an i n di vi du al interest that 'sexually d i s t u r b e d girls' wo u l d ha ve in ju dicial treatment. The d e f i n i t i o n of their 'problem' turns out to be a m a t t e r of pa rents, social workers, and legal a u t h o r i t i e s (cf. the reports by B a s t i a a n s e n 1976 and the C r i m i n o l o g i c a l I n st it ut e G r o n i n g e n 1983). The m i n o r s t h e m s e l v e s ha ve li ttle i n fl ue nc e on it.

Tr ad i t i o n a l view s c o n c e r n i n g the 'desirable', 'normal', and 'adjusted' b e ha vi ou r of girl s are gi v e n all the ro om they want in su ch a ju dicial system. In te r n a t i o n a l p u b l i c at io ns , therefore, po i n t out the n e c e s s i t y of a r e vi si on of the ju ve ni le judicial s y s t e m (also) 'in the inte re st of girls' (cf. A r m s t r o n g 1977, D a t e s m a n & Sc ar pi tt i 1977).

It seems fu rt h e r m o r e necessary, on the level of science, to do rese ar ch into the c o n d i t i o n s that can lead to a c h a n g e of the s e x - d i s c r i m i n a t o r y ch il d p r o t e c t i o n p o l i c y a n d to u s e fe minist conc ep ts in e x pl ai ni ng a n d c r i t i c i z i n g the co nt ro l of girls' s e xu al it y by the ju venile ju stice system. Fo ll o w i n g

intern at io na l p u b l i c at io ns , this mi g h t lead to a r e j e c t i o n of the pa tr i a r c h a l st er e o t y p i c a l i d e o lo gy of the s e x u a l i t y of girls.

The theory and p r a c t i c e of ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n wo rk are m u t u a l l y af fi rm at iv e. O n e - s i d e d l y an d t r a d i t i o n a l l y d e v e l o p e d insights pr o v i d e the u n c r i t i c a l ideas and the p a t r i a r c h a l and p r o t e c t i v e p r a c ti ce of ju dicial a u t h o r i t i e s w i t h a s c i e n t i f i c a l l y l e g i ti ma te d basis. V i c e versa, the 'treatment experts' in child p r o t e c t i o n accept the ju dicial d e f i n i t i o n s and s e l e c t i o n s of

'difficult' girls. It is time to break out of this c i rc le a n d to raise the pa tr i a r c h a l c h a r a c t e r of chil d p r o t e c t i o n as a p r o b l e m in itself. © The Author(s). European University Institute. version produced by the EUI Library in 2020. Available Open Access on Cadmus, European University Institute Research Repository.

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Note s

1. Th is a r t i c l e is b a s e d on two mo re e x t e n d e d p u b l i c a t i o n s about the ju dicial co nt ro l of the s e x u a l i t y of girls: the m a s t e r ' s th es is "In haar eige n b e la ng ?" by A n n e E l zi ng a and J a a p W o l l e n s t e i n (Cri mi no lo gi ca l Institute, Fr ee U n i v e r s i t y Amster da m, Ju ly 1983) a n d the t h e o re ti ca l stud y

" M e i s j e s d e v i a n t i e . Een kritiek op de b e n o e m i n g en c o n t r o l e van " v r o uw el ij k a f wi jk en " by Pa ul in e Nabe r (Free U n i v er si ty , A m st er da m, 1983).

2. It is not a coin ci de nc e, in this context, that the

in it i a t i v e s for r e s e ar ch into the in f l u e n c e of the sex of m i n o r s on judicial p o l i c y ha ve co me fr om the U n i t e d States. The d e s c r i p t i o n of s p ec if ic status o f f e n c e s by the law has as a result, namely, that the ca us es for co u r t o r d e r s can o f t e n be d e r i v e d fr om o f f i c i a l w r i t i n g s (reports, files, etc.). Th e "s it ua ti on " in di ca ti on in W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n co un t r i e s in part ic ul ar , on the othe r h a n d limits the p e r s p e c t i v e on the gr o u n d s that we re d e c i s i v e for the a u t h o r i t i e s in their m a k i n g of the decision.

3. In this article, the te rm status o f f e n c e s is a l s o us ed for n o n - c r i m i n a l c a us es of state i n t e r v e n t i o n re ga r d i n g m i n o r s b e ca us e of "problems of b e ha vi ou r a n d up br in g i n g " . Ther e m a y be o b j e c t i o n s a g ai ns t this te rm (its be i n g A n g l o - S a x o n and its u n f a m i l i a r i t y in the Dutch l a n g u a g e of chil d p r ot ec ti on ), but we find these less s u b s t a n t i a l than the a l t e r n a t i v e s that are a v a i l a b l e (exten si ve d e s c r i p t i o n s or i n d i ca ti on s of "deviant" kinds of b e h a vi ou r) . E s p e c i a l l y the latter is wh at we want to avoid: we are not c o n c e r n e d w i t h an a s s e s s m e n t of the a d ap te d d e v i a n t n a tu re of the i n di vi du al types of behavi ou r. Our s u bj ec t is an e v a l u a t i o n of the f u n c t i o n of the ju ve ni le judi ci al system, in

p a r t i c u l a r its s e x - d i s c r i m i n a t o r y e f fe ct s on mino r girls. 4. Th is rough d i v i s i o n into stages is not a r e f l e c t i o n of the

formal law p r o c e e d i n g s c o n c e r n i n g st at us offe nc es ; the l e g a l - j u d i c i a l sy st em s an d p r o c e d u r e s in the di ff e r e n t co un t r i e s are too di v e r g e n t to m a k e p o s s i b l e a u n i f o r m d e s c r i p t i o n o n all levels. What is be i n g d e s c r i b e d he re is two e l e m en ts of the p r o t e c t i o n p r o c e e d i n g s , namely, first, the p r e s e l e c t i o n w h i c h is c a rr ie d out by v a r y i n g a u t h o r i t i e s and wh i c h is ab ou t the d e c i s i o n to p r o v o k e a judicial

p r o n o u n c e m e n t and Ca re a n d P r o t e c t i o n order, and, second, the d i s p o s a l s of case s by the court, i n c l u d i n g the

i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n s .

5. Th e s e are a u t h o r i t i e s w h i c h m a y or m a y not be c o n n e c t e d to the court, like so ci al w o r k e r s of the c h i l d p r o t e c t i o n a u th or it ie s, p r o b a t i o n officers, so ci al w o r k e r s f r o m p r i v a t e o r g a n i z a t i o n s a n d the like.

6. D u t c h j u ve ni le law has four court o r d e r s of ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n (based on civi l law) w h i c h m a y lead to a removal fr om home:

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" d e p r i v a t i o n of p a r e n t a l rights" ( o n t z e t t i n g ) , "removal of p a r e n t a l rights" ( o n t h e f f i n g ) , t e m p o r a r y e n t r u s t i n g to the ch i l d care auth or it ie s, a n d a s u p e r v i s i o n order. As a re su lt of o n t h e f f i n g (Civil L a w Book I Art. 266), and o n t z e t t i n g (Civil L a w Book I Art. 269), the a b s o lu te p a r e n t a l a u t h o r i t y over mino r c h i l d r e n is taken a w a y fr om the parents. The a u t h o r i t y over the ch il d and the

r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of care and e d u c a t i o n is a s s i g n e d to a

g u a r d i a n a p p o i n t e d by the ju ve ni le court. The legal gr ou nd s for the p r o n o u n c e m e n t of o r de rs of o n t h e f f i n g and o n t z e t t i n g reside in the parents' b e ha vi ou r (lack of power or c a p a c i t y to brin g up; bad way of life; gr o s s ne gl ec t or bad

e d u c a t i o n of minor c h i l d r e n ) . W i t h an eye to the

p r e p a r a t i o n of a p o t e n t i a l o n t h e f f i n g or o n t z e t t i n g order, mi no r c h i l d r e n can be en t r u s t e d t e m p o r a r i l y to the ch i l d ca re a u t h o r i t i e s (Civil Law Book I Art. 257). This orde r m e a n s a te mp o r a r y s u s p e n s i o n of the parents' in the e x e r c i s e of their p a r e n t a l power. If an order of

s u p e r v i s i o n is p r o n o u n c e d (Civil L a w Book I Art. 254), the p a re nt s are li mi te d in the e x e r c i s i n g of their a u t h o r i t y over their children. The order can be p r o n o u n c e d for one year and can be e x t e n d e d in time for an ot he r year. D u ri ng the order a fa mi ly g u a r d i a n is a p p o i n t e d w h o s u pe rv is es the ed uc a t i o n of the c h i l d r e n under c o nt ro l of the juvenile court. A ch il d can be p l a c e d unde r s u p e r v i s i o n if it "grows u p in such a w a y that it is t h r e a t e n e d w i t h m o r a l or

ph ys ic al undoing". A s u p e r v i s i o n or de r u s u a l l y is

a c c o m p a n i e d b y a re moval fr om home. E x ce pt the te mp o r a r y e n tr us ti ng order w h i c h is c a rr ie d out w i th ou t the

in te rv e n t i o n of a judge, all o r d e r s are p r o n o u n c e d by the juvenile cour t after a d v i c e fr om the ch il d p r o t e c t i o n au th or it ie s. Th ey ha ve a requesting, advisory, i n f o rm at iv e and s u p e r v i s o r y task rega rd in g m i n o r s w h o are su bj ec t to a Care a n d P r o t e c t i o n order.

7. Next to ju dicial c o m m i t m e n t s that are ba se d on the se nt en ce of a judge, the Du tc h judicial s y s t e m a l s o has v o l u n t a r y i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n s that take p l a c e w i t h o u t the

i n t e rv en ti n of judicial auth or it ie s. Formally, the pa r e n t s do the placing. I n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n has taken pl a c e in cr ea s i n g l y on the basi s of v o l u n t a r i n e s s in the pa st few years; the number of judicial p l a c i n g s has be en d e c r e a s i n g cl ea rl y sinc e the si xties (from 26,044 i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n s in 1960 to 13,568 in 1980) w h e r e a s the nu mb er of v o l u n t a r y c o m m it me nt s has rise n co ns id er ab ly . In 1976 the nu mber of v o lu nt ar y i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n s a m o u n t e d to 19.3% of the total number. In 1978 this p e r c e n t a g e ha d gone up to 45.5%

(Roeland, D. K i n d e r b e s c h e r m i n g in de m a a t s c h a p p i j 1905-1908, Baarn 1980, p. 125) .

8. At the end of 1982 a total of 20030 m i n o r s we re p l a c e d in the care of the ch il d p r o t e c t i o n a u th or it ie s. A c o m p a r i s o n with the fi gures of the p r e v i o u s ye ar s shows that the

falling tren d in the nu mb er of c h i l d p r o t e c t i o n p u pi ls wh ic h st arted in 1967 and 1968 has co nt in ue d. T h e number of

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judicial re movals fr om home, too, has g o n e down. If at the end of 1960 a total of 26044 were re mo ve d f r o m home, by 1982 this fi gu re h a d go ne do wn by 12469 c h i l d r e n to 13575. Abou t one third (37%) of th es e ch il d p r o t e c t i o n p u pi ls w e r e p l ac ed in chil d ca re ho me s and i n s t it ut io ns (see report of D i r e c t i e k i n d e r b e s c h e r m i n g 1981/1982).

9. The a b s o l u t e nu mb er in 1980 was 4071 girls, wh i l e the total number of c r i m i n a l l y su sp ec t m i no rs in 1980 was 42236 (Source: C e n t r a l B u re au of S t at is ti cs S t a t i s t i c a l Handbook, 1983, p. 339). 10. 42 girls in 1980. (Source: CBS S t a t i s t i c a l H a nd bo ok , 1983, p. 351). 11. In the r e s e ar ch c i t e d in the f o ll ow in g pa g e s th er e is us ua ll y no d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n the e n f o r c e d or v o l u n t a r y char ac te r of in st it ut i o n a l i z a t i o n ; t h e r e f o r e we c a nn ot ma ke such a d i s t i n c t i o n either. 12. A p p r o x i m a t e l y 70% is m e n t i o n e d in mo st of the st u d i e s cite d in this paper. H o we ve r 90% can be d e r i v e d fr om Fr a n s ' s (1978) study of gi rl s in the final stage of the ch i l d p r o t e c t i o n system. R e f e r e n c e s A c k e r J. van, M e i s j e s zonder k a n s e n ? O p v o e d i n q v a n m e i s j e s in e r ns ti qe p r o b l e e m s i t u a t i e s . R o t t e r d a m 1980. M e i s j e s c r i m i n a l i t e i t . Ki nd en ad ol escent. T i j d s c h r i f t voor peda qo qi ek , p s y c h i a t r i e en p s y c h o l o g i e 3 (1982), 4, 196-204. A n g e n e n t H., W i n k e l d i e f s t a i . The Hagu e 1980.

A r m s t r o n g G., F e ma le s under the law. 'Protected' but unequal. Cr im e and d e l i n q u e n c y 23 (1977) 2, 109-20.

B a s t i a a n s e n J.C.A., Het p l a a t s e n van j e uq di qe n in t e h u i z e n . R o e r m o n d 1976.

B l o m m e J., Het v e r v o l g i n g s - en a f h a n d e l i n g s b e l e i d in jeugdzaken. Een m u l t i v a r i a t e analyse. T i j d s c h r i f t voor c r i m i n o l o q i e 23

(1981) 2, 87-100.

C a m p b e l l A., Gi rl deli nq ue nt s. O x f o r d 1981.

C a s b u r n M . , Girl s wi ll be girls. S e x i s m and ju ve ni le ju st ic e in a L o n d o n b o r o u g h . L o n d o n 1979.

C e n t r a a l B u r e a u voor de St at is ti ek . M a a n d s t a t i s t i e k po li ti e, justitie en br an d w e e r 25 (1981) 5 tabel 3 and 5.