Why is Australia locking up so many First Nations kids? | Amnesty Australia

First Nations kids in Australia are 26 times more likely to be incarcerated than other kids. But why?

All of the experts agree – prison is no place for a child. It doesn’t address the causes of their behaviour, and it doesn’t reduce recidivism.
Instead, when a child comes into contact with the criminal justice system they enter a never-ending cycle of trauma, harm and violence. This shameful reality is even greater for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, who are 26 times more likely than their peers to be incarcerated. So what’s the alternative?

It’s called justice reinvestment.

Justice reinvestment is led by the community, for the community. Instead of failed punitive approaches, justice reinvestment is evidence-based. It embraces therapeutic and rehabilitative methods that address the underlying causes of problematic behaviour in children, in order to improve it – diverting them away from the criminal justice system.

Call on the Australian government to fund justice reinvestment programs:
https://action.amnesty.org.au/act-now/australia-fund-justice-reinvestment

#humanrights #massincarceration #australia #firstnations

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