The crisis inside WA’s youth detention system…
Since July 2022, the WA Government has placed children inside maximum-security adult prison, in a facility called ‘Unit 18’.
The children inside have faced appalling conditions, and subject to ongoing lockdowns amounting to solitary confinement.
In September alone, children spent an average of 22 hours and 14 minutes in their cell each day. That’s just 1 hour and 46 minutes outside of their cell a day.
Between its opening and September 2023, Unit 18 saw 20 suicide attempts and more than 350 instances of self-harm.
Experts repeatedly warned of the dangers of Unit 18. Open letters from 100+ organisations were sent to the Premier and Ministers; The Prisons Inspector, Commissioner for Children, and WA Children’s Court all called for action; The Supreme Court ruled that confinement in cells for over 20 hours a day was a violation of our law.
And on 20 October, we heard the news we’d all been dreading. A 16-year-old had passed away in hospital one week after attempting to take his own life in that very unit.
Our hearts break for him and his family. He never should have been there. This death was preventable. Children should never be housed in an adult prison.
We must close the disastrous Unit 18 and end the horrific conditions within youth detention in Western Australia. The children in detention need change.
This must never happen again. Join us to demand better for children, and help us hold the WA Government to account.
Experts have been warning about Unit 18 for years:
Read the Open Letter signed by 130 organisations and individuals in August 2023 - calling to overhaul youth justice and close Unit 18.
Read the Open Letter signed by 136 organisations and individuals in November 2023.
Our Key Asks and Recommendations to end this crisis.
Read the Open Letter signed by 106 individuals and organisations in December 2022.
Read the Open Letter signed by 76 organisations opposing Unit 18 in July 2022.
But we need your help to take action.
Our system is in crisis - but it doesn’t have to be. There is a better way.
The answers lie in investing in communities to help families thrive, to provide effective services to children and families to address the underlying causes of offending, and by providing effective rehabilitative care to de-escalate behaviour and help children return to community.
Help us take action, and call on the WA Government to invest in the programs that work.
Email your MP
Show your support for the campaign and ask your local MP to stand up for a better future for children.
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Join our mailing list
If you’re passionate about building futures where our children thrive, we’d love for you to join our mailing list. We’ll be hosting public events, in partnership with local communities, and there will be opportunities for you to be involved in our campaigning.
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Host a local community screening of ‘In My Blood It Runs’
Interested in getting your community involved with our Raise The Age campaign? You can host a local community screening of In My Blood It Runs, in partnership with Social Reinvestment WA, where there will also be an opportunity to learn more about our work to end the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in WA’s justice system.
Follow and share our social media
Help us raise awareness of the crisis in detention - and the solutions. By following and sharing our social media posts, you can contribute to the growing movement of people demanding better for WA children.
Read our Blueprint for a Better Future
Released in August 2022, our Blueprint sets out Social Reinvestment WA’s vision for reform of the entire youth justice system. It is a comprehensive evidence-based blueprint outlining a vision for a more effective, and connected youth justice system in Western Australia. A whole-of-system approach that responds to the underlying causes of offending to reduce crime, ensures the wellbeing of children and young people, and delivers safer and better futures for our most disadvantaged communities.