Trajectories of life of female offenders in the Spanish juvenile justice

The research for this article focused on a study of young female offenders serving custodial sentences in juvenile reform schools.   The central object of the research was to understand, analyze and describe the factors, contexts and social processes that lead young females to break the law and end up being placed in juvenile reform institutions (in Andalucía).  This objective was achieved by analyzing the meaning and significance of gender socialization and its influence on the commission of crime.  In addition, by looking at the life experiences of these young women, studying the social and judicial dossiers/case studies and by observing the women in the juvenile institutions the study assesses how many young women are entering the criminal sphere and the reasons why.  The study looks in particular depth at research into the contexts of the criminal behavior including the factors of ethnicity and socioeconomic class and culture.