In some Australian states, children can legally be detained from the age of ten years old. This has led to over-policing and over-incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. First Nations children represent 50% of youth incarcerated during 2021.
Incarcerating children can cause irreparable harm, particularly for those who have complex health and social needs. Children who are removed from their families and communities during crucial stages of development and placed in youth detention are exposed to a form of social control, stigmatisation and criminalisation that in many cases inflicts lifelong harm.
Indigenous voices are seeking not just to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years, but to implement an Indigenous-led model of care that provides culturally appropriate early childhood holistic care. In addition, addressing social issues of poverty, employment and access to health and housing would help provide stable lives for otherwise at-risk children.
