Investigating the Rights of Youths Introduction In this edition, Students in Action takes you inside the U.S. justice system, the worldwide workplace, and your neighborhood video arcade to look at issues involving the rights of youths. In Equal Justice? Girls in the Juvenile Justice System, you'll look back at the treatment of young girls in the justice system starting about the turn of the twentieth century, when the Illinois first established a juvenile court. Since then, there are distinct differences in the types of criminal offenses with which young males and young females tend to be charged: the justice system, at least historically, has been used to "safeguard" young girls in an attempt to control their sexual behavior. (Activities related to this article.) In Child Labor: An International Challenge, you'll read about a report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) that details the alarming status of many young people in the world today. The ILO found that one in every eight children—about 179 million persons aged 5 to 17—is exposed to the worst forms of child labor. Read about the causes of this troubling situation as well as some solutions that may help minimize if not eliminate it. (Activities related to this article.) Finally, Federal Courts at Odds: Should Minors Have Access to Violent Video Games? will introduce you to a First Amendment case in which a federal judge ruled that a community has the right to prohibit young people from playing violent video games. And you'll read about another court that came to the opposite conclusion. As studies link the viewing of violence in games and other forms of entertainment with increases in violent behavior, the outcome of this contradiction in the courts will affect both the rights of youths and the interests of the society in which they live. (Activities related to this article.) Completing the Take Action! activities at the end of each section will help you begin to participate in and influence the public debate surrounding these issues, which your generation is encountering today and which you will encounter in the future as parents and other caretakers of the next generation of Americans. Student Central | Students in Action | Investigating the Rights of Youths Equal Justice? Girls in the Juvenile Justice System Child Labor: An International Challenge Federal Courts at Odds: Should Minors Have Access to Violent Video Games?