RESUMEN
Violence among incarcerated youths is a serious public health issue and an area of marked health disparities. Procedural Justice is an ethical framework to guide policy approaches in the criminal justice system. The purpose of our study was to evaluate youth perception of neutrality, respect, trust, and voice while incarcerated. Young people ages 14 to 21 previously incarcerated in a juvenile detention facility were interviewed regarding their perceptions of procedural justice. Participants were recruited from community-based organizations. Interviews were semi-structured, lasting for 1 hr. Interviews were coded for themes related to procedural justice. Twenty-eight participants were interviewed regarding their experience with procedural justice while incarcerated. Key themes included: Neutrality: Participants felt that they were treated impartially regarding everyone receiving the same punishment for offenses; however, levels of punishments for offenses were inconsistent. Respect: Participants often felt disrespected by staff. Trust: The participants did not feel safe to trust. Voice: Participants felt they had no voice while incarcerated. Previously incarcerated youth perceptions indicated a need for more training in the juvenile detention system to enable staff members to have a better understanding of procedural justice and to appropriately utilize it.
RESUMEN
PURPOSE: Sexual consent is important to healthy relationships; however, sexual coercion is common. We examine modifiable risk and protective factors for sexual coercion among high school students in a rural community. METHODS: We surveyed 10th graders (N = 442) in a rural, Midwestern, low-to-middle income county before receiving an evidence-based sex education program. Sexual coercion was a single item, "has anyone you were dating or going out with forced you to do sexual things that you did not want to do?" We examined associations between sexual coercion and demographics, risk behaviors, sexual self-efficacy, controlling relationship behaviors, parent communication, and adverse childhood experiences. RESULTS: Approximately 22% of females and 8% of males reported experiencing sexual coercion at least once in their lifetime. Gender differences emerged in associated risk and protective factors, including sexual sex efficacy, controlling relationship behaviors, parent-adolescent communication about sex, and adverse childhood experiences. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual coercion is common among adolescents in rural communities. Prevention interventions should target modifiable risk and protective factors.
