Medical and legal problems in the treatment of delinENT GIRLS IN Scotland. I. Girls in custodial institutions.

Whereas young persons of either sex may be brought to the juvenile courts for suspected promiscuity, in practice it is mainly girls over whom legal control may be sought on this account (West, 1967). Promiscuity, sexually-transmitted disease, and pregnancy, are of common occurrence among girl delinquents (Epps, 1951; Keighley, 1957; 1963) but endeavours to ensure effective medical care have been mainly restricted to the small proportion of delinquents committed to custodial institutions. Girls from these institutions are frequently referred to venereologists for investigation and it is necessary to examine the system which has been developed for their supervision.