Australia: Stop locking up 10-year-old kids

23.10.2017: Petition von Amnesty International

www.amnesty.org.au/act-now/australia-stop-locking-up-kids/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20171023_CIE727_10yrold&utm_content=20171023_CIE727_10yrold+CID_5bfdcf913eac91ac75f971994d37f912&utm_source=CM&utm_term=ADD%20YOUR%20VOICE
Right now, states and territories across Australia are locking up kids as young as 10. Act now and help give kids a brighter future.

Every kid deserves to enjoy the freedom of childhood, surrounded by their family and community. No child should be behind bars, in brutal conditions. They should be #FreeToBeKids.

Four out of five 10 and 11-year-olds in Australian prisons are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. The justice system is stacked against Indigenous kids, many of whom experience disadvantage and discrimination in their lives.

Young children are less likely to know their rights when approached by police. Yet once they are in the quicksand of the justice system, it’s very difficult to get out.

Globally, child rights experts agree that the age of criminal responsibility should be at least 12. By locking up 10-year-olds, Australia’s laws are in breach of the UN’s minimum age of criminal responsibility. You can stand up for the rights of young kids today.

Join our call to raise the age of criminal responsibility in Australia to at least 12 years of age. This will protect all children and form part of a national plan of action to end the over-representation of Indigenous children in detention.