Responding to the Queensland Liberal National Party’s proposal to introduce mandatory solitary confinement for children in youth detention who use violence against staff, Amnesty International Indigenous Rights spokesperson Kacey Teerman says;
“Amnesty International is alarmed by the LNP’s proposal to introduce mandatory isolation periods for children in youth detention. Many of these children already spend far too much time locked in their cells due to staff shortages, and because Queensland’s detention centres are simply not fit for purpose.”
“Solitary confinement should never be used on children for any period of time, for any reason. It’s inhumane and highly dangerous to subject children who are suffering complex PTSD or who live with cognitive disabilities to such cruel and traumatising treatment in the name of behaviour management.”
“Prolonging their isolation will not solve any problems; it will only deepen the trauma they are experiencing and increase the likelihood of reoffending. These children, many of whom have complex needs, are being punished with isolation rather than receiving the education, healthcare, and support they desperately need. This is a clear violation of their human rights. Locking them up in solitary confinement will entrench disadvantage and harm, not prevent problematic behaviour.”
“Amnesty International joins with other human rights organisations, including the Australian Human Rights Commission, to urgently call for national leadership to align Australia’s youth justice system with its international human rights obligations, including a complete ban on the use of solitary confinement against children.”
It is the Commonwealth’s responsibility to ensure Australia complies with our obligations for the treatment of children within the justice system under international law. These obligations, including Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) are designed to ensure that children are treated with dignity, respect, and fairness at all stages of the justice process.
Earlier this year the Queensland Family and Child commission found that the tragic deaths of an Aboriginal boy and a Torres Strait Islander boy in youth detention came after they were each forced to spend extensive time in solitary confinement. Both boys had disabilities.
The Commission’s Child Death Review Board’s extensive inquiry into the deaths of these two boys, which reported in March 2024 found that “their experiences in detention served to cause further trauma, disconnection, and hopelessness.”
