LGBTQ+ youth are vastly overrepresented in the juvenile justice system. It is estimated that 20% of youth in the juvenile justice system identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, compared to only around 9.5% in the general population. Furthermore, queer individuals are much more likely to be arrested than straight individuals. 

LGBTQ+ youth in the juvenile system are also treated inhumanely. Many LGBTQ incarcerated people report being held in solitary confinement; this is more likely to happen to queer individuals than to straight men and women. BIPOC LGBTQ+ incarcerated individuals are twice as likely to be held in solitary confinement. Solitary confinement is often used under the guise of “protection” for LGBTQ individuals; however, lasting effects prove that more damage is done than good. Furthermore, queer individuals are 10 times as likely to be sexually victimized by other incarcerated people and 2.6 times as likely to be sexually victimized by prison staff as heterosexual people. 

Trans people specifically face extreme rates of harassment and assault, both physical and sexual, in prisons. It is found that a majority of prisons within the United States still refuse to house trans people with their proper gender. Housing trans people based on their sex assigned at birth increases the risk of both assault and harassment. Refusing to provide basic rights to trans people only puts them in further harm.

The inhumane conditions that LGBTQ+ youth face in the juvenile justice system need to be dealt with. We call for change in the juvenile justice system, including proper room assignments and clothing for those who identify differently from their gender assigned at birth, along with referring to youth by their proper pronouns. Furthermore, we call for adequate medical and mental health services. LGBTQ+ youth need to be provided with medical treatment for their health diagnoses. For example, someone diagnosed with gender identity disorder need both medical and psychological services in order to provide them with adequate healthcare. We also call for education for prison staff. Prison staff that are trusted to watch queer youth need to be trained in order to properly protect our LGBTQ+ youth in the juvenile system.

By letting this issue go unaddressed, we continue to promote a violent culture of bigotry against America’s youth. When we say nothing or do nothing, we stop nothing. Silence means letting this horrific abuse run rampant across a broken system, abuse against vulnerable children. By signing this petition, you’ll help draw attention to this critical issue, and bring us one step closer to what the juvenile system stands for: justice.

The target for this petition is Deborah J Glick. She is a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 66th assembly district in lower Manhattan. She has been an assembly member since 1991, and is also a member of the Democratic Party. Glick is the first openly LGBTQ+ member elected to the New York State Assembly, and is only one of five LGBTQ+ members of the New York State legislature. Glick is a strong advocate for civil rights, and many of the bills Glick has supported reflect this, Glick has previously commented on the Justice Departments rolling back civil right protections for sexual orientation, and stated “Arguing that this position does not reflect the position of the United States not only threatens the rights of lesbian, gay, and bisexual Americans in the workplace but, when taken with the previous president's Twitter announcement banning transgender people from military service, makes clear that the administration will take any opportunity to dismantle federal protections for members of the LGBTQ+ community. We will continue to fight them every step of the way." By her statement you can see she wants to ensure that LGBTQ+ individuals are protected against discrimination, and that she is willing to fight for it. Because of this, we are hoping that Glick will have the same enthusiasm in protecting young LGBTQ+ people wrongly affected by the justice system. 

Email: GlickD@nyassembly.gov

District Office #1 Phone Number: 212-674-5153

Capitol Office Phone Number: 518-455-4841

https://www.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/gdtb_2013_10_juvenile_justice.pdf

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2021/03/02/lgbtq/