The national children’s commissioner says interviews with more than 150 young people about their experiences in the criminal justice system have revealed “evidence of the most egregious breaches of human rights in this country”.
Commissioner Anne Hollonds released a landmark report on Tuesday titled Help Way Earlier, which calls for the establishment of a national taskforce to reform child justice systems.
It also recommends raising the age of criminal responsibility, a cabinet minister for children, and a ban on the use of solitary confinement.
The report details the experiences of several young people and their families, including accounts of brutal treatment by police and in youth detention. Last month, Guardian Australia revealed footage showing children held in isolation cells in Queensland police watch houses, including a 13-year-old girl with severe intellectual disabilities.
The report includes an account from Ashley (a psuedonym), a young person with severe mental health issues, who was arrested for assaulting police.
“I was … held in a watch house for a week and not told why and was very confused,” Ashley said.
“I was just covered in bruises and carpet burns on my wrist and arms.
“I was on suicide watch because of my mental health history but they did not follow the protocols and check on me. I pressed the call button in the watch house but they turned off my call button for five days straight. I was cold, I didn’t have a blanket. They didn’t give me breakfast. I assume that’s because I assaulted officers.”
The report says one child “described being strip-searched by police at the age of 12”. Others detailed “physical mistreatment” by officers.
Hollonds said the research showed that failures in Australia’s social services, health and education systems had created an “epidemic of unmet needs” that funnelled vulnerable children into police cells and detention centres.
The report’s findings include that children who come into contact with justice systems are living with poverty, insecure housing, family violence, mental health problems, disabilities, systemic racism and intergenerational trauma. Many are also in state child protection systems.
Elijah (a psuedonym) said: “I ended up having to raise my [siblings] by myself with my grandparents.”
“I don’t know if you’ve ever seen your brothers and sisters in one room together, hungry … but it’s a bad, bad feeling,” he said.
“I started getting into crime to make money and support my family. If we stole a car, it was to sell it – it wasn’t for nothing, it was to feed your family.”
Hollonds said the children’s accounts were “heartbreaking”.
“These vulnerable children who end up in the justice system told me they feel shunned by society, and currently we are leaving them behind every single day,” she said.
“What I saw and heard is evidence of the most egregious breaches of human rights in this country. I want this report to be a catalyst for evidence-based reform of child justice and wellbeing systems across Australia.”
The report found that media “sensationalism” about youth crime demonises children, “hardens” sentiments, and encourages politicians to take “populist ‘tough on crime’ solutions which do not work to keep children or our communities safe”.
Last week, the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, announced her state would backtrack on long-held plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility. Queensland promotes a “toughest in the nation” approach that locks up more children than most other states combined.
Hollonds said current state-led approaches were not working, and that a coordinated federal response – similar to the recent plan to address gendered violence – was needed to address the underlying causes of youth offending.
“All of the jurisdictions need to recognise the need to work together,” Hollonds said.
“So when I see these egregious breaches of the rights of children, when I see things like [Guardian Australia’s reporting on Queensland watch houses] … and I see the Commonwealth say ‘it’s not our problem’, then you have to ask the question who is accountable? Who is in charge here?
“Our communities will not be safer if we just keep punishing and locking up children who have complex needs.”
• In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
