Ana Tosouni

This article discusses findings from a subsection of data collected through qualitative interviews and observations inside a juvenile detention facility for girls. The analysis of incarcerated girls' and their correctional counselors' narratives reveals a contradiction between the rhetoric of rehabilitation and the actual behavior of staff encouraged within juvenile institutions. This paper discusses the impact such culture has on young women's consciousness and prospects. It further contributes to the existing literature by revealing that the ideology of deprivation as intervention in contemporary juvenile correctional contexts systemically fosters an atmosphere of counter-rehabilitation that may be resistant to top-level reform legislation and programing.