JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT: Condemning the state sanctioned abuse and mass incarceration of First Nations children with disability

JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT: Condemning the state sanctioned abuse and mass incarceration of First Nations children with disability

Thursday, 25 July 2024

This month horrific footage has emerged of the abuse of a First Nations child with intellectual disability, who was incarcerated in a Queensland adult watch house and suffered extreme distress and physical injury when custodial officers forced them into solitary confinement.

The First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN), National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS) in Queensland, and SNAICC – National Voice for Our Children strongly condemn these actions which are in no way justified or necessary. It is crucial that we recognise that the conduct of the custodial officers shown, while unacceptable, is not an isolated or unpredictable incident – it is just another horrific example of the institutional violence that First Nations people with disability face in a variety of forms every day.

The significant over-representation of First Nations children in custody, especially those with cognitive or intellectual disabilities, is an ongoing and well-documented national crisis. First Nations children with disability in youth detention have complex needs, are likely to have experienced trauma and remain at an increased risk of violence and abuse while in detention. No child should ever be subjected to the treatment experienced by the child in the video footage.

Prohibition of solitary confinement in youth justice settings for any purpose was a recommendation (8.3) of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. Despite this First Nations children with disability continue to be routinely subjected to solitary confinement for over 22 hours a day, by officers that are not adequately trained.

This incident is a direct result of the Queensland Government’s harmful pro-prison policy agenda and their decision to suspend the operation of the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) to permit children to be held in facilities designed for adults. As at May 2024 the Queensland Government’s “Taskforce Guardian” operations had charged almost 1,200 young people with more than 4,000 offences, enabling the mass incarceration of First Nations children through targeted policing and incarceration for even the most minor of bail condition breaches. This is occurring at the same time that youth detention centres are overcrowded beyond any functional capacity. Condemning children to prison just creates more crime. This is not a milestone to be celebrated, this policy agenda is a national disgrace and yet another step towards the increasing criminalization of disability.

The Queensland Government has a duty to uphold the human rights of First Nations children with disability in the criminal justice system, recognising Australia’s international obligations under the United Nations Conventions of the Rights of the Child, Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Based on statistics tabled in the Queensland Parliament, First Nations children make up 62% percent of youth in detention and 84% of those placed in solitary confinement. Approximately 80% of those children have not yet been convicted or sentenced. Meanwhile data collection, screening and diagnostic practices for First Nations youth in custody are so poor that there is no accurate way of knowing the true extent of disability amongst these children.

FPDN, NATSILS, ATSILS and SNAICC call upon the Queensland Government to:

• Immediately reinstate the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) in relation to children detained in police watchhouses
• Abolish the practice of solitary confinement for children
• Improve intersectional disability data collection in custodial settings
• Implement effective screening and supports for First Nations children with disability
• Mandate disability rights informed training for all custodial staff

These are urgent and critical first steps to addressing the mass incarceration of First Nations children and people with disability which inflicts lifelong trauma, disadvantage and leads to recidivism.

FPDN Media Contact: Luke Briscoe 0407 773 259 or email: [email protected]

NATSILS Media Contact: Alyssa Robinson 0427 346 017 or email: [email protected]

ATSILS Media Contact: Joshua Herd (07) 3025 3888 or email: [email protected]

SNAICC Media Contact: Charlie Bowcock 0417 042 308 or email: [email protected]

Image features the logo of four First Nations organisations that have provided the Joint Statement.