KIDS AS YOUNG AS 10, SUFFERING BEHIND BARS

Right now, the Australian Government is locking up kids as young as 10 in conditions that are too horrifying to believe.

Young kids locked up without sunlight for weeks and months, only to be found innocent of any crime. Kids forced to choose between clean clothes or a phone call with mum. Kids with fingertips cut off by cell doors being slammed on their fingers.

No child should ever have to live this nightmare.

HELP END THIS ABUSE OF CHILDREN

Please add your name to the petition and call on the government to raise the age of imprisonment so that no child under 14 ends up in prison.

By locking up young children, politicians are neglecting their duty to keep kids safe. Countries like China, Russia, Germany, Cambodia, Spain and Rwanda have already taken the step of raising the age and Australia must do the same.

They are ignoring proven solutions like community-led support programs that help nurture kids to reach their full potential. There is just no reason to keep kids locked up.

ADD YOUR NAME TO RAISE THE AGE

Turning ten should be something to celebrate, not fear.

By taking action today, you are joining a powerful movement of people just like you, who believe that kids should be with their family, friends, in school and in playgrounds - not in prison cells.

And people power works. The ACT has finally committed to raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14. Australia is out of step with the rest of the world. Now it's time for the rest of the country to follow so that all kids have the chance to grow up happy and safe.

Together, we can force the government to act. Sign the petition and demand governments across Australia raise the age of criminal age of responsibility to 14.

Add your name

Our Petition

To my State Premier or Chief Minister,

Right now in our state children as young as 10 are in prison. The figures from the 2021 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report into youth detention highlighted that 98% of children in detention on an average day were unsentenced. That children are being sent to prison without having been convicted of a crime is horrific.

There is an overwhelming amount of medical and psychological evidence that shows us children’s brains are still developing, especially the parts that regulate judgement, decision-making and impulse control. This means that kids cannot foresee the consequences of any action and cannot fully understand the criminal nature of their behaviour. Whether sentenced or unsentenced, children can not navigate the full weight of their actions and do not belong in prison.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has called on countries to raise the age to at least 14 years old. China, Russia, Germany, Spain, Sierra Leone, Azerbaijan, Cambodia and Rwanda have taken this step and we must do the same for Australian kids.

It is not good enough that we are subjecting children in this country, largely First Nations children, to the terrible depths of prison. Raising the age to 12 is not sufficient, I call on you to immediately and urgently raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old.

Yours sincerely,
[Your name]

State Premiers and Chief Ministers

Dominic Perrottet, Premier of New South Wales; Annastacia Palaszczuk, Premier of Queensland; Peter Malinauskas, Premier of South Australia; Peter Gutwein, Premier of Tasmania; Daniel Andrews, Premier of Victoria; Mark McGowan, Premier of Western Australia; Natasha Fyles, Chief Minister of the Northern Territory; Andrew Barr, Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory

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