DIFFERENCES IN TREATMENTS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS

Assertions regarding the differences in the treatment of boys and girl in juvenile criminal law arise from an investigation by Cottier (2006). The results of her empirical research show that in the canton Basel-Land during the period studied, boys over 10 years of age were more likely to be placed under juvenile criminal law, while girls over 10 years of age were placed under child protection procedures (Cottier 2006). Even with regard to the nationalities of boys and girls dif- fesrences were evident: while over 89 % of girls convicted under juvenile criminal law held Swiss citizenship, 46 %> of boys convicted under juvenile criminal law were foreign nationals (Cottier 2006). Cottier also discerns in her study that adults appear more likely to evaluate crimes committed by girls as “abnormal” than crimes committed by boys. This is particularly the case with violent crimes. The analysis of the federal sentencing statistics according to gender reveals that girls as a whole comprise one-fifth of convicted juveniles. In comparison to boys they are strongly underrepresented in cases of imprisonment and strongly overrepresented in other measures.

Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank Karin L. Johnston, Ph.D. (Washington) for her support with the translation.