Children don't belong in WA's Prisons, let's Raise the Age!

Children and young people need help not harm.

The minimum age of criminal responsibility in Australia is 10 years old, one of the lowest in the world. This goes against medical and scientific evidence, and is against the international standards.

For the past year and a half, the state government has failed to commit to raising the age and ending incarceration of children in WA.

Let's call on the WA Government to raise the age to at least 14 years old and reform the youth justice system to prioritise the happiness and well-being of all children.

You can find out more here.

Children and young people need help not harm.

The minimum age of criminal responsibility in Australia is 10 years old, one of the lowest in the world. This goes against medical and scientific evidence, and is against the international standards.

For the past year and a half, the state government has failed to commit to raising the age and ending incarceration of children in WA.

Let's call on the WA Government to raise the age to at least 14 years old and reform the youth justice system to prioritise the happiness and well-being of all children.

You can find out more here.

Email Your Local MP!

Right now, the WA government and police arrest, put on trial and imprison children as young as 10 years old.

The minimum age of criminal responsibility must be raised to at least 14, with no exceptions.

Every child should be free to go to school, have a safe home to live in and be supported to learn from their mistakes.

Use our easy template tool to send an email to your local MP and Premier Roger Cook and urge them to Raise the Age to at least 14 years old.

Find your local rep

Subject:

I am writing as a concerned constituent in your electorate to urge you to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 with no exceptions.

The Raise the Age campaign delivered over 200,000 signatures to the Commonwealth Government demanding federal, state and territory governments raise the age to at least 14 years old, without exceptions.

More than 15,000 West Australians supported these calls in a petition handed over last year.

WA Labor passed a motion to raise the age from 10 to 14 years old back in October 2021.

Every child should be free to go to school, have a safe home to live in and be supported to learn from their mistakes.

As a society, we clearly understand children don’t have the same decision-making capacity as adults. In Western Australia, children under the age of 18 can’t get a driver licence, vote or purchase alcohol - yet primary school children can be arrested, taken from their families and schoolyards and locked behind bars.

Statistics show children in prisons are likely to be victims of family violence, come from impoverished neighbourhoods and have neurological impairments. In our criminal legal system these children can be subjected to solitary confinement, denied their rights to fresh air, education and exercise, and given criminal records, setting them up for life-long disadvantage.

We can, and we must change this trajectory. These children deserve our care and support, not to be locked up.

We need to invest in alternatives that work. Right around the country, community-driven solutions, intensive family support programs, trauma-informed mentorship and on-country learning are supporting children to learn from their mistakes instead of locking them away.

We should be supporting children to develop and thrive, not putting them behind bars.

Please, raise the age to at least 14 without exceptions and ensure Western Australian children have the opportunity to start high school and build a bright future.

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