Article: NPY Women’s Council calls on government to stop imprisoning children

NPY Women’s Council calls on government to stop imprisoning children

It is alarming that children as young as 10 can be arrested, charged and imprisoned in Australia. Every year, 600 Australian children between the ages of 10 and 13 are locked up in prison and sadly 65% of these children are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

NPY Women’s Council Directors support the #RaiseTheAge campaign and stand with other Aboriginal leaders to advocate to raise the age. NPY Women’s Council agrees that Australia’s minimum age of criminal responsibility should be raised to at least 14 years to align with the recommendation by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

_{NPY Women’s Council Director, Yanyi Bandicha at 10 yo}

“They are learning and they are too young to be locked up, they have a long way to go before they know what is right or wrong and what is good for them,” – NPY Women’s Council Director, Maimie Butler

In July 2020, Australian lawmakers at the Council of Attorneys-General failed to make a decision to raise the age, deferring this to 2021. The ACT government are the first jurisdiction to agree to align its laws with the UN’s recommendation. NPY Women’s Council Directors call on the Commonwealth, state and territory governments to follow the footsteps of the ACT government and protect Australia’s next generation.

Director Yangi Yangi Fox at 10yo (left)

The 2017 Royal Commission into the Detention and Protection of Children in the Northern Territory found that a hard-line approach would not reduce crime, hence one of their key recommendations was to raise the age of criminal responsibility. Research has found that children jailed before the age of 14 are three times more likely to re-offend.

“Governments have been locking kids up for a long time, and yet youth crime is on the rise… There is plenty of evidence that supports a different approach to tackling crime,” – NPYWC Youth Service Manager, Christine Williamson

NPY Women’s Council Youth Service works within research and evidence based frameworks that acknowledge school attendance and reducing family violence are key influencers in reducing youth anti-social and criminal activity. NPY Women’s Council believes that the best place for a child is on country, with family and culture not in jail.

“They shouldn’t be locked up, they need the chance to sit with their family and learn more about what is right or wrong. If they are locked up at that age (10yrs) all they know is how to obey the security guards and live in jail, it is not right,” – NPY Women’s Council Director, Maimie Butler

Christine Williamson, Manager of NPYWC’s Youth Service, calls on Australians to “sign the petition, write to your local member, educate yourself about the issues and what works and share this with others in a way they will understand,”

Actions:

o Show your support and sign the petition: https://www.raisetheage.org.au/#petition

o Write to your local member

o Donate to NPYWC Youth Service

NGAPARTJI NGAPARTJI: WORKING & LEARNING TOGETHER

As a lead Aboriginal service provider and employer, NPYWC has developed a formal framework that equally acknowledges and values both western professional disciplines and Anangu cultural and contextual knowledge within the workplace.

NPYWC is leaving traditional employment paradigms to better engage staff in Central Australia’s cross cultural context.

Ngapartji Ngapartji is the first edition of NPYWC’s Workforce Development & Capability Framework and is a holistic and evidence based approach to Aboriginal employment at NPYWC.

The framework is unique to NPYWC’s context, and importantly, requires Anangu cultural skills and knowledge to be embedded in all areas of practice. It believes that both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal employees are essential to the operation of the organisation to ensure the right mix of values, knowledge and skills.

During conversations with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff, members and clients, it became clear a traditional approach to Aboriginal workforce development would not sufficiently address the values and aspirations of the organisation. Relationships, language and culture, growing through work and empowerment were all strong themes that people felt needed to be acknowledged and included in this document.

The Workforce Development and Capability Framework places the responsibility on everyone to be constantly learning and developing, whilst contributing to the shared goals of the organisation.

The framework focuses on deeper learning in the areas of cultural safety, cultural awareness, knowledge exchange (both ways’ learning), malparara way and trauma-informed practice.

These areas contribute to a working environment that we feel, sustainably and realistically improves Aboriginal employment. It was important to NPYWC that the framework aligned with similar models and philosophies of work already created in the organisation.

Download Workforce Development & Capability Framework 1 & 2

Child & Family Wellbeing

Create Heroes not Villains

Jail can cause great harm to children. In Australia 10 yo children can be arrested, charged and jailed. We know incarcerating children does not reduce crime, is extremely costly and increases the chances of children re-offending x3. Is there a better way? Read more about why children are in jail and what alternatives exist. NPYWC Directors ask the Australian Government to #RaiseTheAge of incarcerated children from age 10 to 14 in line with UN recommendations.

Who are the children in jail?
65% of children in jail (aged 10-13) are Aboriginal. Research shows children in jail are already struggling with a range of life situations and health issues, that have not been adequately addressed.
We know that incarcerated children are more likely to have:

intellectual disabilities
low levels of education
poor mental and physical health
engage in substance abuse
been exposed to violence and other mistreatment
been placed in foster care

_{NPYWC Director, Wanatjura Lewis at 10 years old (check dress)}

In Australia it costs $1579 / day per child or $539 million dollars annually to keep in youth detention (2018/19, Productivity Commission). Is there a more effective way of reducing crime and increasing children’s welfare that are cost effective?

When we invest early on in children, families and communities reap the rewards.
Investing in the welfare of children and families is good for everyone. Holistic and community based programs that work with the complex issues causing children to fall through the cracks, can prevent a children heading down the terrifying path of detention and jail.

A good start is growing preventative programs that provide support for:

families to care for children with intellectual disabilities
boys/young men to better understand and manage their violent behaviour, and support for families and men to deal with domestic violence
programs like NPYWC’s Walytjapiti team that work with families to prevent children being removed from their family and culture
appropriate resourced and culturally relevant mental health and well-being programs.

“It’s not a matter of ignoring that behaviour and doing nothing, it’s a matter of rethinking how we approach those problems in a way that’s more constructive,” University of Technology Sydney criminology professor Chris Cunneen.

NPYWC Chairperson, Yanyi Bandicha at 10 years old

“When they take young people to jail, they think oh well I will just do bad things again, I have been to jail before and I know I can go again. They will keep doing the wrong things and go back to jail then more bad things will grow in them over and over again.” Yanyi Bandicha NPYWC Chairperson.

Read more about NPYWC’s plea to raise the criminal age of children here

You can show your support by:

signing a petition: https://www.raisetheage.org.au/#petition
Writing to your local member
supporting preventative programs and donate to NPYWC Youth Service or Child & Family Wellbeing Service

NPY Women's Council is grounded in, and continues to live and work on, the sovereign Lands of the Arrernte people, and the Aṉangu and Yarnangu people - the rightful custodians of the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Lands.