The Pink-Blue Divide

boy-girl.jpgIt happens in the medical field and apparently it also happens in government. For a long time, researchers used men for studies on heart attacks and other diseases and simply assumed women would exhibit the same symptoms and respond similarly to the same drugs.

In the juvenile justice system, programs for boys, it seems, are assumed to work for girls, according to a story in Governing's sister publication, the St. Petersburg Times.

"Very few places have really embraced gender-responsive strategies," says Barry Krisberg, president of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. "Girls' programs are often boys' programs painted pink."

The research group released a study concluding that girls in the Florida system are being overlooked.

Anybody out there work in a juvenile justice program that is one of those "few places" that have such gender-specific strategies? It would be interesting for us to learn how it's working.