Girls in Trouble with the Law

A much needed, well-grounded exploration of the trials and tribulations of aggressive girls who fall prey to the accumulation of social risk factors in their lives. Schaffner blends first-hand accounts with empirical data from multiple sources to tell a compelling nonfiction narrative.

~James Garbarino, author of See Jane Hit: Why Girls Are Growing More Violent and What We Can Do A

This is a superb work, intermingling poetry, narrative, interviews, and examples to create a fascinating overview of what girls experience in the juvenile corrections system, as well as how they are perceived by the people entrusted with their care. Schaffner's book is well-conceived, beautifully written and extremely clear.

~Lynn Chancer, author of High Profile Crimes: When Legal Cases Become Social Causes

Girls in Trouble with the Law offers readers a brilliant window for re-viewing the gender, race, and class politics of juvenile justice. Readers will be filled with outrage, and yet fueled by Schaffner's passionate sense of possibility and vision for 'what must be.'

~Michelle Fine, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, The Graduate Center, CUNY

Girls in Trouble with the Law is an important addition to the growing scholarship on girls and women and the legal system. The strength of the book is Schaffner's use of the girls' own words as they describe their family lives and the pattern of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of parents and other adults who should offer them nurturance and protection. Schaffner performs an important service for these victims. Her advocacy of early intervention...[and] new approaches to meeting their needs should be acted upon by schools and social service agencies.

~American Journal of Sociology