By FRASER BARTON
A youth advocacy group is considering legal action against the Queensland government, accusing it of failing to protect children in state watch houses.
Youth Advocacy Centre is calling on the State Government to take urgent action, saying children have been sexually and physically assaulted in police watch houses.
Youth Advocacy Centre (YAC) CEO Katherine Hayes has accused the Queensland government of lacking a plan to deal with the issue.
The organisation is considering legal action on behalf of the “children and young people who have been mistreated while held in adult watch houses in Queensland”, Ms Hayes said in a statement.
“The incidents of mistreatment include sexual abuse by other child inmates, physical harm by guards and other children, and long term harm to their mental health from being detained for long periods – up to 30 days – in small watch house cells with no fresh air or sunlight.”
Katherine Hayes says youths are being abused by other child inmates as well as guards. (Youth Advocacy Centre/AAP)
In a letter to the State, Ms Hayes said assaults on children in watch houses had been raised “numerous times” in meetings with the government, along with a lack of mental health support.
A lack of mental health support for children had been raised, amid claims children as young as 13 had expressed “suicidal ideations while in the watch houses”.
Ms Hayes said First Nations children made up 70 per cent of young people in adult watch houses and accused the government of failing to provide sufficient cultural support.
Two 14-year-old Indigenous boys have been in watch houses for 28 and 30 days respectively while a 13-year-old First Nations boy has been held for 15 days, she said.
An 11-year-old First Nations boy and four, 13-year-old children were in adult watch houses.
A total of 56 Indigenous children were incarcerated in Queensland watch houses.
“This is 70 per cent of the total number. This alone should be cause for immediate action,” Ms Hayes said.
A lack of access to fresh air and children being re-arrested after release were among the many issues facing children in adult detention.
There was a lack of rehabilitation support for children after they were arrested, she said.
“The watchhouses and detention centres have now been operating beyond capacity for months,” she said.
“The system is not coping, and there is no indication that the government has any coherent plan to address the root causes of offending.”
The advocacy group also called for further support for young people after release, an increase to the fast-track sentencing program and a review of bail refusal for people under 14.
Contingencies allowing children to be kept in police watch houses and adult prisons were controversially passed by the Queensland Government in 2023.
The changes that override the sSate’s own human rights act raised serious concerns with advocates who said children in the youth justice system were being denied basic rights.
The government also came under fire after the Child Death Review Board last month said Queensland had the most children behind bars in the country and its youth detention system was failing “significantly”.
13YARN 13 92 76
Aboriginal Counselling Services 0410 539 905
Lifeline 13 11 14
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)
AAP
