Surveys that have examined self-reports of criminal behavior suggest that official crime statistics provide a limited and class-biased portrayal of the "real" rates of illegal behavior. Most girls in the general population engage in "at least one and usually more delinquencies"; only a small minority of these instances ever enter the official record. Explanations of female offending must be based in the distinctiveness of the female experience and the realities of patriarchal social relations. The police and courts of Canada have long been rooted in a patriarchal tradition. The problem of female juvenile offenders is connected to the general problems of patriarchy and social inequality. Ultimate solutions to the problem of female criminality depend on dismantling the oppression and victimization that helps to create offenders. Within families, traditions of patriarchal privilege, including male violence and sexual abuse, must be eradicated. Further, parental rights must be balanced by children's rights, and opportunities must be created for children to escape from abuse and neglect into supportive, protective environments. 11 notes and 32 references