On the Outside Looking In: Rural Girls, Trauma, and Involvement in the Criminal Justice System

Abstract

Complex trauma histories represent a common characteristic among incarcerated girls. Their childhoods include dysfunctional homes, emotional abuse, sexual and/or physical abuse, and witnessing of violence. Such conditions represent coercive sexual environments (CSEs), a socio-spatial phenomenon that supports continued abuse of girls. CSE studies emerge from urban studies; none has addressed such passages in rural areas. The current study takes place in a primarily rural state, exploring structural and cultural markers of CSEs in rural communities. In-depth interviews with de-identified incarcerated girls and women, as well as with community stakeholders, provide insight into these patterns in non-urban areas. Results confirm three pathways to prison based on resources, culture, and outsider status, all of which propel at-risk rural girls into an abuse-to-prison pipeline.