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Age of criminal responsibility challenged in new report
A new Victorian-based report has reinforced calls for state governments to conduct a major reform of the youth legal system and raise the age of criminal responsibility.
Naomi Neilson
The Victorian Commission for Children and Young People’s report “Our Youth Our Way” recommended major legislative change to prohibit children under the age of 16 from being sentenced to, or remanded in, youth prisons and to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years without exception.
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In conducting the report, the commissioner drew from the systemic inquiry from the Koori Youth Justice Taskforce that examined the cases of 296 Aboriginal children and young people in the context of ongoing impacts of colonisation, removal of children and family violence. It found that a youth justice system that is driven by self-determination would be preferable, as would a focus on children’s human rights.
The recommendations have been largely welcomed by the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC), with spokesperson Meena Singh commending the Office of the Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People for working closely with the community “to make sure our voices are heard” throughout the entire process.
“We need to build our youth legal system from the bottom up, with the experiences of those most affected by it. We need our decision makers, those with power, to listen to these voices of young people and truly understand what it takes to support a child into adulthood,” Ms Singh commented in a recent statement.
Ms Singh said it was “incredibly exciting” to see ideas such as a self-determined youth justice system being brought into the report on the back of extensive research and engagement. For Aboriginal children and the wider community, Ms Singh said this change would mean “centring culture and connectedness”.
“The Andrews government, and governments in other states and territories, must take note of the leadership shown in this report and acknowledge the significant rethinking required to reimagine our legal system as rehabilitative and not simply punitive,” Ms Singh said. “We cannot continue to treat children who offend in the same way as adults and expect they will not continue to offend into adult years.”
