| PUTTING children into custody is effectively “state-inflicted violence” against them, and violates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a study of four European countries has concluded.
The report, from the Howard League for Penal Reform and Defence for Children International, condemns England and Wales for “repressive” policies towards children who are in conflict with the law, describing them as “one of the very worst in Europe”. Only the Russian Federation and the Ukraine send more children to prison, the report finds. It notes that on a single day in 2006, England and Wales imprisoned 440 juveniles. Since then, the number of under-18s in custody in the two countries has regularly reached 3000.
Juvenile justice systems in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France remained officially directed at assistance, education, and reintegration, the report found.
The director of the Howard League, Frances Crook, said: “This study makes it clear the juvenile justice in England and Wales continues to shame what is a supposedly civilised society.
“The children we jail are overwhelmingly from chaotic backgrounds with histories of abuse and neglect. The majority have committed relatively minor crimes and need help to overcome the problems they face.” She described the numbers in custody as outrageous, and highlighted the report’s assertion that placing a child in custody could itself be an act of violence.
“Whereas other countries emphasise that a child is a child first and foremost, requiring support and education to mend their ways, we are happy simply to demonise and punish. . . Considering that more than three-quarters of children leaving custody are reconvicted, most likely for more serious and frequent offending, our failing and barbaric juvenile justice system should shock all of us.”
The two organisations that produced the report have identified 12 indicators on violence against children deprived of liberty. They include the number of child deaths in detention, the percentage of children who are victims of self-harm or sexual abuse, and the percentage of those who have experienced solitary confinement.
www.dci-is.org
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