Full Description
Canvassing the socio-legal context for youth detention in Australia with a focus on international human rights law and legal frameworks within Australian states and territories, this book examines the recurring children's rights-violations of recent years, and puts forward strategies for reform.
Providing a comprehensive national picture of juvenile detention legislation, policy and practices using a children's rights framework, this book is a detailed synthesis of investigatory reports, judicial decisions and inquiries by both Royal Commissions and parliamentary committee inquiries that together establish an evidence base for assessing the compliance of youth detention with Australia's international and domestic human rights obligations. It also proposes nine pillars for reform to help Australia move towards children's rights compliance.
A Children's Rights Assessment of Juvenile Detention in Australia provides an invaluable resource for policy-makers, lawyers and criminologists, as well as for students of law and criminology.
Contents
Introduction
PART I: Socio-Legal context for youth detention in Australia
1. Detention of children in Australia: hyperincarceration and over-representation
2. Australia's international human rights law obligations
3. Legal and policy framework for youth detention in Australia
4. Monitoring and oversight of youth detention in Australia
PART II: Children's rights violations in youth detention in Australia
5. Low minimum age of criminal responsibility
6. Failure to separate children from adults
7. Degrading treatment / failure to treat children humanely
8. Insufficient health services, standard of living, and connections with family, community, and culture
PART III: Strategies for reform
9. Towards children's-rights compliance
