LGBTQ Youth

LGBTQ and Status Offenses
Fact Sheet from CJJ,
Human Rights Campaign &
The Equity Project

Judicial, legal, law enforcement, justice, social service and school professionals should ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning  (LGBTQ) youth who are charged with status offenses receive fair treatment, equal access to services, and respect and sensitivity from all professionals and other youth in court, agency, service, school and placement.  

LGBTQ youth are over-represented in the juvenile justice system, are more likely to be seriously maltreated by other youth in the system, and may receive excessive punishments, including secure confinement due to court biases or misguided attempts to keep these youth “safe.”1  LGBTQ youth faced increased risks of being rejected by their families and bullied and harassed at school, which can lead to running away and truancy.2

System professionals can ensure fair treatment of LGBTQ youth by identifying when youth are entering the system due to alienation, exclusion, or persecution at home, in foster care or group homes, in the community or at school, due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Families should be treated as potential allies in supporting LGBTQ youth.3 Targeted interventions can work to change the behavior of families that are not initially accepting of LGBTQ children, and research shows that even small improvements in family acceptance of LGBTQ youth can lead to better physical and mental health outcomes.4  For this reason, it is essential that LGBTQ youth and their families are offered support services and that every effort is made to keep youth in their homes whenever it is safe to do so.  Youth and their families must also receive necessary supports and services to avoid court involvement altogether.  Detention facilities and residential placements must be made LGBTQ-affirming to reduce victimization among youth who may need to be placed out of their homes. Learn more about LGBTQ youth in Section 1.10.

This language was adapted from Section 1.10 from the National Standards for the Care of Youth Charged with Status Offenses. 


1  Minter, S. & Jeff Krehely (2011) “Families Matter: New Research Calls for a Revolution in Public Policy for LGBT Children and Youth.” Washington DC: Center for American Progress. Available at: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/report/2011/02/07/9117/families-matter/; Majd, K.,  Marksamer, J., and Carolyn Reyes. (2009) "Hidden Injustice: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth in Juvenile Courts." Available at: http://equityproject.org/pdfs/hidden_injustice.pdf.

2 Id.

3 Minter, S., & Jeff Krehely (2011) “Families Matter: New Research Calls for a Revolution in Public Policy for LGBT Children and Youth.” Washington DC: Center for American Progress. Available at: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/report/2011/02/07/9117/families-matter/.

4 Id.