“Why Do We Ask Them About Their Gender, If We Then Go on to Do Nothing with It?”
Constructions of Masculinity in Youth Justice in England and Wales
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Abstract
Boys and young men continue to make up 81 percent of the Youth Justice System (YJS) in England and Wales, yet dominant discourses on young people who have been identified as having offended largely neglect to examine the potential role of masculinity in offending and interventions. This article aims to fill the gap of research in this area by exploring the role masculinity may play as understood by practitioners. It concludes that practitioners closely link “localized forms of hegemonic masculinity” to offending behavior of boys and young men.
Contributor Notes
Eric Baumgartner works as Deputy Dean of the School of Education & Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland. Eric's research and practice interests evolve around masculinity and youth offending, prisons and prison education, criminal justice practice and policy, and young people from/in care. He has led and been involved with designing interventions and conducting evaluations in the youth and criminal justice system as well as with family stability services across the UK. Recently, Eric has conducted research on the assessment of young people in the Japanese youth justice system, prison incentive schemes, and has taught in prisons.