Equality is a fundamental principle, also in youth justice. Nevertheless, children from ethnic minorities, children with disabilities and children from low socioeconomic backgrounds are vastly overrepresented in youth detention populations across the globe. This article combines interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives and empirical findings from interviews with practitioners from two English youth courts to explore the meaning, perceptions and implications of the principle of equality in the specific context of the youth court. Ultimately, this article presents the first contours of a conceptual model of equality in the youth court, which aims to inform policy, practice and future research.

平等是青年司法中的一项基本原则。然而，在全球的青年拘留人口中，少数民族儿童，残疾儿童和社会经济背景较低的儿童的人数过多。本文结合了跨学科的理论观点和来自两个英国青年法院从业人员访谈的经验发现，以探讨在青年法院的具体情况下平等原则的含义，看法和含义。最终，本文介绍了青年法院平等概念模型的最初轮廓，旨在为政策，实践和未来研究提供信息。