Victorian Government continues to dodge scrutiny of youth prisons
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, human rights, social services, health, youth, religious and legal advocates have expressed deep concerns in an open letter about the mistreatment of children in the state’s youth prisons, given the Victorian Government’s ongoing failure to enact the safeguards that Australia has signed up to under international human rights law.
20 January 2024 marks one year since the Victorian Government missed the deadline to meet Australia’s obligations to the United Nations anti-torture protocol, the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT). Aimed at preventing torture behind bars, OPCAT requires the designation of independent oversight and monitoring bodies to carry out inspections of all places of detention, including in youth prisons.
The Victorian Government’s mistreatment of children has been under the spotlight over the past year, after reports of human rights abuses have emerged from youth prisons. This has included the rampant use of solitary confinement on children, and the use of spit-hooding, a dangerous practice which has caused deaths in custody, on a 17-year old Aboriginal child detained in an adult prison.
This is set against the backdrop of systemic failings by the Victorian Government over years, with calls for greater scrutiny of the human rights abuses occurring behind prison walls backed by the Yoorrook Justice Commission, numerous inquiries and Ombudsman reports.
With the Victorian Government set to pass long-awaited youth justice reforms this year, any reform must include OPCAT-compliant regular inspections and independent oversight of youth prisons.
Quotes attributed to Nerita Waight, CEO at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS):
“Victoria is continuing to fail to protect the basic human rights of Aboriginal children, young people and adults who are incarcerated. The extent of the abhorrent abuse, mistreatment and corruption in prisons is on the public record and yet the government continues to ignore these significant breaches of human rights, nor undertake the measures required to address them.
“VALS calls for the implementation of OPCAT and the establishment of a culturally safe independent detention oversight body. As we approach the 12 month anniversary of the Coronial Inquest into Veronica Nelson, which highlighted shocking evidence about the treatment of people in prison and the poor quality of healthcare in custody, it’s clear the current oversight system is not working, and Victoria must show leadership to establish independent detention oversight, rather than spend more money on building new prisons.”
Quotes attributed to Dr Jill Gallagher AO (HonLLD), CEO at Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO):
“Contact with the criminal justice system further exacerbates the intergenerational trauma and cycles of disadvantage that undermine the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in Victoria.
“In Victoria we have seen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 12 and 13 locked up when they should be thriving at school and playing sport on the weekend. OPCAT must be implemented in full - as a society in 2024 we must not allow our Boorai to be left behind.”
Quotes attributed to Monique Hurley, Managing Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre:
“Right now in Victoria, children as young as 10 years old are growing up in prison cells and at risk of being locked away in solitary confinement for up to 22 hours a day. The Victorian Government has had years to implement anti-torture mechanisms to increase transparency and accountability pursuant to the UN’s anti-torture protocol, and has continuously failed to enshrine these bare minimum protections in law.
“The Allan Government must stop giving the cold shoulder to children subjected to human rights abuses in prisons, implement OPCAT and end brutal prison practices - like solitary confinement - once and for all. Beyond this, the Victorian Government must work towards a future where no child is locked away in prison in the first place.”
Quotes attributed to Julie Edwards, CEO at Jesuit Social Services:
“Jesuit Social Services has long held concerns about the treatment and welfare of young people in Victoria’s prison system, and has advocated for an end to the use of solitary confinement to ensure that all young people who have contact with the justice system are treated in a humane manner and in a way that upholds their human rights.
“We had hoped that Australia’s meeting of its OPCAT obligations would improve oversight mechanisms and practices within all places of detention - including prisons. It is deeply disappointing that Australia failed to meet the deadline for these obligations 12 months ago, and we urge our political leaders to commit to regular inspections and independent oversight of our prison systems.”
Quotes attributed to Mark Zirnsak, Senior Social Justice Advocate at the Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania:
“The Victorian Government should always be acting in the best interests of children. Children and young people that end up in detention are usually from highly vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds. Fulfilling the OPCAT obligations would be a way of the Victorian Government demonstrating its commitment to the well-being of children and young people regardless of their backgrounds.”
Signatories to the open letter:
Change the Record
Victorian Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Organisation (VACCHO)
Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS)
Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY)
Federation of Community Legal Centres (FCLC)
Human Rights Law Centre
Humanists Victoria
Jesuit Social Services
Law and Advocacy Centre for Women
Liberty Victoria
Melbourne City Mission
Rights Advocacy Project
Smart Justice for Young People (SJ4YP)
Uniting Church Vic/TAS
Victorian Mental Illness Advisory Council (VMIAC)
WestJustice
Youth Affairs Council Victoria (YACVic)
Youthlaw
Media Contacts:
Thomas Feng, Media and Communications Manager, Human Rights Law Centre, 0431 285 275, thomas.feng@hrlc.org.au
Patrick Cook, Head of Policy, Communications and Strategy, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, 0417 003 910, pcook@vals.org.au