Hamilton County Commission focuses on women’s issues and works on a court program for girls
CINCINNATI – On Tuesday night, the Hamilton County Commission on Women & Girls celebrated welcoming a new group of ladies to keep their mission alive.
Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus was the first woman elected to the Board of Commissioners in 2016. She founded the Hamilton County Commission on Women & Girls after learning about community concerns during the election campaign.
“I have often heard from women and girls who said, ‘We feel like we are not being listened to in the district. We don’t feel like our problems are being addressed,'” Driehaus said.
The commission is now putting together a group of diverse women and girls to look for solutions in their own communities.
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“The commission will spend the period from August to May identifying these needs and conducting interviews with the community to better understand these needs,” said Mary Maune, program coordinator for the Hamilton County Commission on Women & Girls.
On this basis, the commission then develops guidelines for local and even federal governments in the hope of creating lasting solutions.
“We were very influential in passing a state law that provides access to free menstrual products to all schools in the state of Ohio, both private and public,” Driehaus said.
And one of their latest possible solutions?
“A girls’ court that designs more wellness treatments instead of going straight into juvenile detention centers,” said Eleanor, a student at the Hamilton County Commission on Women & Girls. “So it’s more like the attorneys are women, the judge is a woman, it’s run by women for women, and girls can be addressed more directly.”
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The commission stated that the girls’ court also operates in other states and has a zero percent recidivism rate.
“If we can address these traumas or their basic needs like housing or mental health support, we may ultimately be able to prevent them from returning,” Maune said.
The girls’ field is still being planned in Hamilton County, but Maune said they hope to have the field ready by the end of the year.
