Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law
@gtowngenderjust.bsky.social
We are an independently funded organization affiliated with Georgetown Law. We center the lived experiences of girls, gender-expansive youth, and women in our work to address the root causes of race & gender disparities in schools, courtrooms, & hospitals.
Today, the Council on Criminal Justice released a new report that calls for a stronger nationwide standard prohibiting sexual contact between law enforcement officers and people in custody — a vital reform long overdue.
reports.counciloncj.org/wjc-report/
reports.counciloncj.org/wjc-report/
Welcome - WJC Report
reports.counciloncj.org
October 7, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Today, the Council on Criminal Justice released a new report that calls for a stronger nationwide standard prohibiting sexual contact between law enforcement officers and people in custody — a vital reform long overdue.
reports.counciloncj.org/wjc-report/
reports.counciloncj.org/wjc-report/
We're excited to join the Center for Trauma and Embodiment for their next roundtable conversation on Trauma and the Law. Adultification bias touches so many systems: criminal justice, education, health.
Join us next week, 10/14 at 11:30am ET
Join us next week, 10/14 at 11:30am ET
Roundtable Discussions • Join the Global Conversation Around Trauma
CFTE's quarterly panel of public health and non-profit professionals discuss the intersections of mental health, movement, advocacy, philanthropy and more. Free to join.
www.healwithcfte.org
October 7, 2025 at 6:29 PM
We're excited to join the Center for Trauma and Embodiment for their next roundtable conversation on Trauma and the Law. Adultification bias touches so many systems: criminal justice, education, health.
Join us next week, 10/14 at 11:30am ET
Join us next week, 10/14 at 11:30am ET
A trafficking survivor. A system that failed her. Until a judge listened.
Judge Talia Nurse shares how one girl’s story changed the way she approaches children from the bench—and why adultification bias has no place in our justice system.
Learn more: buff.ly/QWydeLL
Judge Talia Nurse shares how one girl’s story changed the way she approaches children from the bench—and why adultification bias has no place in our justice system.
Learn more: buff.ly/QWydeLL
October 2, 2025 at 7:06 PM
A trafficking survivor. A system that failed her. Until a judge listened.
Judge Talia Nurse shares how one girl’s story changed the way she approaches children from the bench—and why adultification bias has no place in our justice system.
Learn more: buff.ly/QWydeLL
Judge Talia Nurse shares how one girl’s story changed the way she approaches children from the bench—and why adultification bias has no place in our justice system.
Learn more: buff.ly/QWydeLL
“They expect you to carry yourself as an adult would, when I am still a child.”
A new mural by shanina dionna & We REIGN is a warning and a call: Honor my youth. It celebrates Black girlhood and confronts the adultification bias that too often robs girls of their youth.
www.msn.com/en-us/tv/cel...
A new mural by shanina dionna & We REIGN is a warning and a call: Honor my youth. It celebrates Black girlhood and confronts the adultification bias that too often robs girls of their youth.
www.msn.com/en-us/tv/cel...
MSN
www.msn.com
September 26, 2025 at 7:18 PM
“They expect you to carry yourself as an adult would, when I am still a child.”
A new mural by shanina dionna & We REIGN is a warning and a call: Honor my youth. It celebrates Black girlhood and confronts the adultification bias that too often robs girls of their youth.
www.msn.com/en-us/tv/cel...
A new mural by shanina dionna & We REIGN is a warning and a call: Honor my youth. It celebrates Black girlhood and confronts the adultification bias that too often robs girls of their youth.
www.msn.com/en-us/tv/cel...
The House of Representatives just passed two bills that roll back youth justice in Washington, DC. One lowers the maximum age to try children as adults to just 14, and the other lowers the maximum age young people can be sentenced as children.
wtop.com/dc/2025/09/h...
wtop.com/dc/2025/09/h...
House approves bill to allow for charging some juveniles as adults in DC - WTOP News
The House approved two D.C. crime bills on Tuesday proposed by Republicans as part of their ongoing effort to improve public safety in the District.
wtop.com
September 18, 2025 at 3:07 PM
The House of Representatives just passed two bills that roll back youth justice in Washington, DC. One lowers the maximum age to try children as adults to just 14, and the other lowers the maximum age young people can be sentenced as children.
wtop.com/dc/2025/09/h...
wtop.com/dc/2025/09/h...
Black girls are children. But when adultification bias enters the courtroom, that fundamental truth can be erased.
Our Adultification Bias training connects that bias with the systemic unfairness of treating Black girls like adults—and why that undermines the entire justice system.
Our Adultification Bias training connects that bias with the systemic unfairness of treating Black girls like adults—and why that undermines the entire justice system.
September 15, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Black girls are children. But when adultification bias enters the courtroom, that fundamental truth can be erased.
Our Adultification Bias training connects that bias with the systemic unfairness of treating Black girls like adults—and why that undermines the entire justice system.
Our Adultification Bias training connects that bias with the systemic unfairness of treating Black girls like adults—and why that undermines the entire justice system.
“Raise your hand if you’ve been called an angry Black woman.” Judge Gayl Carr shares her personal experience—and connects it to how Black girls are perceived in courtrooms across the country.
This is why we are so grateful to NCJFCJ for our partnership on the Adultification Bias Bench Card.
This is why we are so grateful to NCJFCJ for our partnership on the Adultification Bias Bench Card.
September 8, 2025 at 3:26 PM
“Raise your hand if you’ve been called an angry Black woman.” Judge Gayl Carr shares her personal experience—and connects it to how Black girls are perceived in courtrooms across the country.
This is why we are so grateful to NCJFCJ for our partnership on the Adultification Bias Bench Card.
This is why we are so grateful to NCJFCJ for our partnership on the Adultification Bias Bench Card.
Reposted by Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law
Too often, Black girls are treated as less innocent and more adult than their white peers.
Join us for our next training to unpack adultification bias, its impact, and solutions: https://prosecutorsalliance.org/event/adultification-bias-understanding-its-impact-on-black-girls-in-the-justice-system/
Join us for our next training to unpack adultification bias, its impact, and solutions: https://prosecutorsalliance.org/event/adultification-bias-understanding-its-impact-on-black-girls-in-the-justice-system/
September 3, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Too often, Black girls are treated as less innocent and more adult than their white peers.
Join us for our next training to unpack adultification bias, its impact, and solutions: https://prosecutorsalliance.org/event/adultification-bias-understanding-its-impact-on-black-girls-in-the-justice-system/
Join us for our next training to unpack adultification bias, its impact, and solutions: https://prosecutorsalliance.org/event/adultification-bias-understanding-its-impact-on-black-girls-in-the-justice-system/
Black girls are disproportionately arrested, punished, and pushed deeper into the system. The data is clear—and it points directly to adultification bias.
Prof. Thalia González, Senior Scholar at the Center, explains why we need tools like the Adultification Bench Card.
More: buff.ly/QWydeLL
Prof. Thalia González, Senior Scholar at the Center, explains why we need tools like the Adultification Bench Card.
More: buff.ly/QWydeLL
August 28, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Black girls are disproportionately arrested, punished, and pushed deeper into the system. The data is clear—and it points directly to adultification bias.
Prof. Thalia González, Senior Scholar at the Center, explains why we need tools like the Adultification Bench Card.
More: buff.ly/QWydeLL
Prof. Thalia González, Senior Scholar at the Center, explains why we need tools like the Adultification Bench Card.
More: buff.ly/QWydeLL
Last call! Voting for SXSW closes Sunday!
If you haven't already, please take a couple of minutes to vote for our panel: Arresting the Innocent: Punishing Sexual Assault Survivors.
participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx...
If you haven't already, please take a couple of minutes to vote for our panel: Arresting the Innocent: Punishing Sexual Assault Survivors.
participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx...
PanelPicker | SXSW Conference & Festivals
PanelPicker® is the official SXSW user-generated session proposal platform. Enter ideas and vote to help shape Conference programming for SXSW and SXSW EDU.
participate.sxsw.com
August 23, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Last call! Voting for SXSW closes Sunday!
If you haven't already, please take a couple of minutes to vote for our panel: Arresting the Innocent: Punishing Sexual Assault Survivors.
participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx...
If you haven't already, please take a couple of minutes to vote for our panel: Arresting the Innocent: Punishing Sexual Assault Survivors.
participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx...
Vote to bring our panel to SXSW!
Joining us on the SXSW stage is Kristen M. Gibbons Feden—nationally recognized trial attorney and survivor advocate.
participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx...
Joining us on the SXSW stage is Kristen M. Gibbons Feden—nationally recognized trial attorney and survivor advocate.
participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx...
August 20, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Vote to bring our panel to SXSW!
Joining us on the SXSW stage is Kristen M. Gibbons Feden—nationally recognized trial attorney and survivor advocate.
participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx...
Joining us on the SXSW stage is Kristen M. Gibbons Feden—nationally recognized trial attorney and survivor advocate.
participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx...
“Children are children.” That basic truth is why we have a juvenile justice system. And as Judge Talia Nurse reminds us, it’s a principle that must be applied to every child, regardless of the color of their skin.
August 19, 2025 at 2:12 PM
“Children are children.” That basic truth is why we have a juvenile justice system. And as Judge Talia Nurse reminds us, it’s a principle that must be applied to every child, regardless of the color of their skin.
When judges are trained to recognize adultification bias, their perception of Black girls changes. In our recent Adultification Bias webinar, our Executive Director, Rebecca Epstein, shows the powerful before-and-after impact of the Adultification Bias training.
August 18, 2025 at 8:11 PM
When judges are trained to recognize adultification bias, their perception of Black girls changes. In our recent Adultification Bias webinar, our Executive Director, Rebecca Epstein, shows the powerful before-and-after impact of the Adultification Bias training.
Vote to bring our panel to SXSW!
We’re thrilled to feature Rae de Leon, investigative journalist at Reveal, whose groundbreaking reporting and film Victim/Suspect exposed over 230 cases in which a sexual assault report ended in criminal charges.
buff.ly/11V27Yv
We’re thrilled to feature Rae de Leon, investigative journalist at Reveal, whose groundbreaking reporting and film Victim/Suspect exposed over 230 cases in which a sexual assault report ended in criminal charges.
buff.ly/11V27Yv
August 18, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Vote to bring our panel to SXSW!
We’re thrilled to feature Rae de Leon, investigative journalist at Reveal, whose groundbreaking reporting and film Victim/Suspect exposed over 230 cases in which a sexual assault report ended in criminal charges.
buff.ly/11V27Yv
We’re thrilled to feature Rae de Leon, investigative journalist at Reveal, whose groundbreaking reporting and film Victim/Suspect exposed over 230 cases in which a sexual assault report ended in criminal charges.
buff.ly/11V27Yv
Vote to bring our panel to SXSW!
We’re honored to be joined by Rachel Barkley (they/she)—a fierce advocate and legal strategist with the Battered Women’s Justice Project.
participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx...
We’re honored to be joined by Rachel Barkley (they/she)—a fierce advocate and legal strategist with the Battered Women’s Justice Project.
participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx...
August 13, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Vote to bring our panel to SXSW!
We’re honored to be joined by Rachel Barkley (they/she)—a fierce advocate and legal strategist with the Battered Women’s Justice Project.
participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx...
We’re honored to be joined by Rachel Barkley (they/she)—a fierce advocate and legal strategist with the Battered Women’s Justice Project.
participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx...
What happens when survivors of sexual violence are treated like suspects? Our SXSW panel, Arresting the Innocent, discusses the film Victim/Suspect and how the justice system punishes those it should protect.
We need your vote to help us bring this conversation to the stage at SXSW: buff.ly/11V27Yv
We need your vote to help us bring this conversation to the stage at SXSW: buff.ly/11V27Yv
August 11, 2025 at 1:40 PM
What happens when survivors of sexual violence are treated like suspects? Our SXSW panel, Arresting the Innocent, discusses the film Victim/Suspect and how the justice system punishes those it should protect.
We need your vote to help us bring this conversation to the stage at SXSW: buff.ly/11V27Yv
We need your vote to help us bring this conversation to the stage at SXSW: buff.ly/11V27Yv
Vote to bring our panel to SXSW!
Meet our ED, Rebecca Epstein, the moderator for our proposed session, Arresting the Innocent: Punishing Sexual Assault Survivors. Rebecca has spent over 10 years fighting adultification bias against Black girls and the criminalization of survivors.
buff.ly/11V27Yv
Meet our ED, Rebecca Epstein, the moderator for our proposed session, Arresting the Innocent: Punishing Sexual Assault Survivors. Rebecca has spent over 10 years fighting adultification bias against Black girls and the criminalization of survivors.
buff.ly/11V27Yv
August 8, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Vote to bring our panel to SXSW!
Meet our ED, Rebecca Epstein, the moderator for our proposed session, Arresting the Innocent: Punishing Sexual Assault Survivors. Rebecca has spent over 10 years fighting adultification bias against Black girls and the criminalization of survivors.
buff.ly/11V27Yv
Meet our ED, Rebecca Epstein, the moderator for our proposed session, Arresting the Innocent: Punishing Sexual Assault Survivors. Rebecca has spent over 10 years fighting adultification bias against Black girls and the criminalization of survivors.
buff.ly/11V27Yv
Please help us get to SXSW 2026! Survivors of sexual violence are being punished—not protected. Our panel, Arresting the Innocent, discusses the film Victim/Suspect and the unjust criminalization of sexual assault survivors.
Vote by Aug 24 to help us bring this conversation to SXSW: buff.ly/11V27Yv
Vote by Aug 24 to help us bring this conversation to SXSW: buff.ly/11V27Yv
August 6, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Please help us get to SXSW 2026! Survivors of sexual violence are being punished—not protected. Our panel, Arresting the Innocent, discusses the film Victim/Suspect and the unjust criminalization of sexual assault survivors.
Vote by Aug 24 to help us bring this conversation to SXSW: buff.ly/11V27Yv
Vote by Aug 24 to help us bring this conversation to SXSW: buff.ly/11V27Yv
Alexis Martin is finally free.
She was a survivor of child sex trafficking. But at the age of just 15, she was sentenced to 21 years for a crime rooted in her attempt to escape.
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
She was a survivor of child sex trafficking. But at the age of just 15, she was sentenced to 21 years for a crime rooted in her attempt to escape.
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
Alexis Martin, prominent antitrafficking activist, released from prison
The case signals a shift in how victims of trafficking are treated when they commit crimes related to their abuse.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 5, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Alexis Martin is finally free.
She was a survivor of child sex trafficking. But at the age of just 15, she was sentenced to 21 years for a crime rooted in her attempt to escape.
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
She was a survivor of child sex trafficking. But at the age of just 15, she was sentenced to 21 years for a crime rooted in her attempt to escape.
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
Happy 53rd Anniversary to Title IX. Since 1972, it has protected pregnant students and survivors, opened doors for girls and women in sports, and affirmed queer and trans students. We cannot go backwards. #ProtectTitleIX
June 23, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Happy 53rd Anniversary to Title IX. Since 1972, it has protected pregnant students and survivors, opened doors for girls and women in sports, and affirmed queer and trans students. We cannot go backwards. #ProtectTitleIX
The Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law, in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, invites you to a special virtual event on adultification bias and its impact on Black girls in the juvenile justice system.
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
May 29, 2025 at 6:23 PM
The Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law, in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, invites you to a special virtual event on adultification bias and its impact on Black girls in the juvenile justice system.
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Adultification Bias exists across all public systems, including healthcare. In this month's issue of Pediatrics, our Executive Director, Rebecca Epstein, shares insights into the unique health disparities that Black women and girls face in the U.S., and the urgent need to build solutions.
May 21, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Adultification Bias exists across all public systems, including healthcare. In this month's issue of Pediatrics, our Executive Director, Rebecca Epstein, shares insights into the unique health disparities that Black women and girls face in the U.S., and the urgent need to build solutions.
The Center is proud to release a bench card on adultification bias against Black girls. The bench card provides judges with digestible information on adultification bias that they can quickly refer to while on the bench. Download it today. genderjusticeandopportunity.georgetown.edu/resource/cen...
April 30, 2025 at 9:14 PM
The Center is proud to release a bench card on adultification bias against Black girls. The bench card provides judges with digestible information on adultification bias that they can quickly refer to while on the bench. Download it today. genderjusticeandopportunity.georgetown.edu/resource/cen...
🎥We are co-hosting a screening of the documentary “You Think You Grown? Dismantling Adultification” on Monday, March 24, at 5 pm. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with the filmmaker and Georgetown Law professors. Join us! RSVP here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
March 20, 2025 at 3:35 PM
🎥We are co-hosting a screening of the documentary “You Think You Grown? Dismantling Adultification” on Monday, March 24, at 5 pm. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with the filmmaker and Georgetown Law professors. Join us! RSVP here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
📽️Spotted: Our Executive Director Rebecca Epstein at the Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance’s Annual Convening last December. We remain committed to creating a more equitable world for girls & gender-expansive youth alongside these incredible leaders. www.instagram.com/reel/DFqry36...
February 5, 2025 at 6:57 PM
📽️Spotted: Our Executive Director Rebecca Epstein at the Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance’s Annual Convening last December. We remain committed to creating a more equitable world for girls & gender-expansive youth alongside these incredible leaders. www.instagram.com/reel/DFqry36...