Kimmie's Case: Childhood Trauma

she is deterred from any future convictions and offending behaviours. Risk factors that Kimmie displays start from before the age of twelve. This is through her experience of witnessing the deaths of her three uncles and her father, the trauma of being gang-raped with her mother by soldiers, and the trauma of experiencing genital mutilation. There is a great quantity of research that has validated the relationship between women that have experienced childhood trauma and the association with neurological issues and the outcome of criminal activity into adulthood (Grella, Stein & Greenwell, 2005). Kimmie is considered an offender under this categorization of having neurological issues that can lead to offending and aggressive behaviours due to
This would allow her to avoid being incarcerated as this is likely to put her in a downward spiral within the justice system because of her vulnerabilities. The importance of getting the appropriate resources and support to help Kimmie deal with the trauma she has witnessed and experienced is critical in deterring her from reoffending, as she has never had the opportunity to heal. Entering an institutional facility would expose Kimmie to the trauma of experiencing further abuse and elude her from dealing with her untreated emotional pain (Simkins & Katz, 2002). An appropriate case plan to implement for Kimmie would begin through a Judge that was court-ordered because of her most recent Aggravated Assault convictions. Kimmie would be ordered to have a professionally completed assessment on her psychological and mental health through a medical personnel. Not only would this assessment help the Criminal Justice system with understanding why Kimmie is continuing her aggressive behaviours but also gives her evidence so that her family can begin understanding and supporting her instead of suppressing and marginalizing her. Although data is limited, there is a reality of the Criminal Justice System criminalizing abused girls without there being appropriate mediations and interventions to understand why these violent behaviours have occurred (Simkins & Katz, 2002). The Criminal Justice System tends to focus on young girls’ aggressive and violent behaviours as just a crime rather than focusing on the possible trauma that these young girls have experienced. The trauma experienced by these young girls often have a very strong connection to the crimes they are being convicted of (Simkins & Katz, 2002). The psychological and mental health assessment Kimmie will undergo will allow the professionals involved to address her risk factors more appropriately