TV REVIEW : ‘Jennifer’s in Jail’: Violent Femmes

A 14-year-old stabs a 19-year-old to death; a 16-year-old fractures the skull of a stranger. This is teen violence with a twist: The aggressors are female, not male, and their skyrocketing numbers are overwhelming the juvenile justice system.

That’s the subject of “Jennifer’s in Jail,” a disturbing “Your Family Matters” documentary at 9 tonight on the Lifetime cable channel. (It repeats Saturday at 10 p.m., Tuesday at 2 p.m. and Sept. 5 at 2 p.m.).

With Susan Dey as host, the hourlong program focuses on the girls themselves--some in youth facilities, some on the street, a few who are attempting to turn their lives around against tough odds.

One of the latter, who calls herself Shadow, takes viewers on a tour of the Hollywood she knew intimately as a runaway--the corners where drug deals are made, the places where prostitutes take their “dates,” the freeway underpass where she made her home. Shadow’s effort to escape that life, with little or no family support, seems a monumental challenge.

The weakness and prejudices of the juvenile justice system contribute to the problem, we’re told. The already limited funding for remedial programs for teen offenders is generally targeted at males; girls are more likely than boys to be treated harshly by courts for less serious crimes and they are more often incarcerated in adult jails because there are fewer youth facilities to take them.

A handful of programs offering girls therapy and individual counseling show high rates of success, but don’t have the resources to reach more than a tiny fraction of those who would benefit most.

Who are these violent young women? Their ethnic and racial backgrounds are varied, but they share one thing in common: Most have been victimized themselves through sexual and physical abuse, usually at the hands of a family member. Drug and alcohol abuse often play a part too, the experts say, as do poverty and the increasingly violent society at large.

It’s a sobering hour.