Children don’t belong in prison.
Right now, our laws allow children as young as 12 years old to be arrested, put through the court system, and locked up in prison.
The government should urgently raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years of age.
First Nations organisations, medical, legal and human rights bodies have called repeatedly on the Government to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old. The United Nations Committee Against Torture has condemned the cruelty of Australia’s youth detention system and urged the government to raise the age, as well as immediately end the practice of solitary confinement for children.
Victorian Labor had said they would raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 in 2027 – but then caved to tough-on-crime rhetoric and abandoned this important reform. That’s a betrayal of the First Nations groups that worked so hard with the government on these reforms, and it’s not good enough.
Right now, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children represent more than 60% of all children in detention in Australia. Decades of research has demonstrated that when children have contact with the criminal justice system the damage to them, their families and their communities is devastating and lasting.
The younger a child is when they’re sentenced, the more likely they are to reoffend violently, to continue offending and to end up in prison as an adult. Whereas, according to Victoria’s Sentencing Advisory Council’s 2016 report, for every year older a child is when they encounter the criminal courts, there is an 18% decline in the likelihood of reoffending.
Will you add your name to our open letter to show your support?
Together, we can build pressure on the Victorian Government to make this crucial change that will give children a fair chance to thrive – and set a positive example for other states around Australia to follow.
The ACT have already committed to raising the age to 14, thanks to the leadership of the ACT Greens – now it’s Victoria’s turn.
