IT'S TIME TO RAISE THE AGE

Do you remember what you were doing at 10 years old? Or do you have a child of your own that age, or a niece or nephew perhaps? What are they like?

Chances are they’re running around outdoors, kicking balls, playing in nature, playing games, maybe playing with dolls or lego or pokemon (or whatever new craze there is). And so they should be.

They are searching for their independence and finding their voice, they’re learning more about the world around them and trying to understand their place in it. They’re also full of energy and fun to be around but they’re also fiercely sensitive and fragile.

They’re not babies or toddlers and they’re not yet teens. They’re children.

They’re not deemed old enough to have a Facebook account - but they are deemed old enough to go to prison.

So why are children as young as 10 being arrested, charged and locked up in prison (juvenile detention, if you will) in Australia? This is far below international standards.

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PLEASE SHARE AND SIGN! On 27 July, the Australian Governments will consider whether to #RaisetheAge of criminal responsibility to 14 years, the median age for the rest of the world. Right now, across Australia, kids as young as 10 are being charged, hauled before a court and imprisoned. Some for just stealing bread of a chocolate frog. 70% of these kids between 10 - 12 yrs are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. Children deserve care and love to reach their potential. Not thrown behind bars. Growing up, I was considered one of the “lucky ones” but “luck” shouldn’t decided whether a kid has a future. We do. That’s why I ask you call upon the Australian government to #RaiseTheAge of criminal responsibility to 14 years, like the rest of the world, so children aren’t treated like criminals. Go sign the petition at raisetheage.org.au (link in bio)

A post shared by Nakkiah Lui (@nakkiah) on Jul 21, 2020 at 4:02pm PDT

Children need to feel nurtured and supported and loved. Not abandoned.

“Children who come in contact with the criminal legal system are more likely to die an early death, to reoffend and to stay in the criminal legal system - including as adults,” Cheryl Axleby, the co-chair of Aboriginal-led justice coalition Change the Record told SMH. “It’s a quicksand that traps these kids and their families for the rest of their lives.”

We’re setting them up to fail.

According to the Raise The Age website:

In just one year across Australia close to 600 children aged 10 to 13 years were locked up and thousands more were hauled through the criminal legal system.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are disproportionately impacted by these laws and pushed into prison cells at even higher rates, accounting for 65 per cent of these younger children in prisons.

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We need your help to stop Australia locking up 10-14 year olds says Rodney Dillon, the Indigenous Rights Advisor for @amnestyaustralia in today’s @sydneymorningherald article. “I am so tired of keyboard warriors saying things like “Indigenous people should look after their kids so they don’t get locked up” or that “It’s just a fact that Indigenous people get into trouble with the law more... I can’t help but think if some of those people stopped and listened to the experience of someone like Dujuan, the young subject of the film In My Blood It Runs, they would understand that given the same opportunities as non-Indigenous people, First Nations People can live happy and healthy lives free of the justice system, and connected to culture and country. *** Next Monday, the National Council of Attorney Generals are meeting at NSW Parliament. They have has an incredible opportunity to make a positive change for Indigenous people in Australia for generations to come by finally committing to raise the age from 10 to 14. I only ask that we approach this problem with compassion and logic rather than anger and outrage. These are kids, not hardened criminals. In locking them up and not supporting them to flourish we’re setting them up to fail.” *** We want your support and this is how. In the lead up to the meeting, from now until next Monday, can you Tweet/insta/fb post a photo of yourself under 14 (preferably 10) saying what you were doing at that age - tag your State, Territory or Fed Attorney General and MP. Sample copy: “Hi XXX, Kids should be should be (insert what you are doing in your photo), not locked up behind bars. #raisetheage @inmyblooditruns Here’s the AG tags: Federal = @christianportermp NSW = @speakman.mark WA = @johnquigley.mla VIC = @jillhennessymp NT = @fylesnatasha SA = @vickiechapmanmp

In 2019 the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that the minimum age of criminal responsibility be increased to 14. But Australia has failed to raise the age despite increasing pressure both locally and internationally.

A report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that children who have early contact with the criminal justice system are significantly more likely to experience supervision in their later teens.

“There is, therefore, evidence to suggest that raising the age of criminal responsibility (particularly to 14 years) has the potential to reduce the likelihood of life-course interaction with the criminal justice system,” the AIHW report noted (via news.com.au)