The Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass has recommended the state government prohibit solitary confinement. She said the practices were damaging, rather than rehabilitating, the children in the facilities.
In response, Amnesty International Indigenous Rights Manager Tammy Solonec said:
“Locking kids up in a cell by themselves without human contact, without support, and without hope is irreparably damaging and against international standards – it must be banned immediately.
“The Victorian Ombudsman joins the Western Australian Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services, and the Northern Territory Royal Commission in calling for this barbaric practice to be outlawed. The Northern Territory has legislated for it stop, but there are still reports of it being used, and the Western Australian Government has lumped the recommendation into a review that won’t be finished until mid-2020.
“Every state and territory need to immediately take note of the Ombudsman’s report and apply it to their own youth justice system immediately.”
“Kids being harmed by being thrown into isolation or solitary confinement isn’t a Victorian problem, it’s an Australian embarrassment.
