#RaiseTheAge
Children belong in school yards, not in prison cells. It's time for action. Join the campaign to #RaiseTheAge.
Why we need to #RaiseTheAge
Children do their best when they are supported, nurtured and loved; when they can go to school, play with friends and sleep in their own bed each night.
Yet right across Australia, children as young as 10 are arrested, charged with an offence, hauled before court and locked away in prison cells.
In just one year almost 600 children aged 10 to 13 years were locked away in Australia, and thousands more were hauled through the criminal legal system. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are disproportionately impacted, and Australia is grossly out of step with international standards.
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The evidence is clear
Locking up children doesn’t make our communities safer. Instead it sets many children on a path to further offending and the adult criminal justice system.
It’s time for the federal, state and territory governments to change the laws so that children are given the help they need to heal, grow and thrive - instead of being locked away in prison cells
Children belong in classrooms and playgrounds, not in handcuffs, courtrooms and prison yards.
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What’s the solution
Raising the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years of age should be an immediate priority for the federal, state and territory governments. But it’s not enough on its own.
Right now there are hundreds of alternatives to prison across Australia that are already in place, and working. Instead of jailing children, governments should be investing in prevention, early intervention, and diversionary programs and services that help set at-risk young people on a brighter path.
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Alternatives to prison
Prisons only cause harm to children; they never help. The criminal legal system takes children away from their families, communities and other support, and pushes them down a path that often leads to adult prison.
But there are hundreds of community-led alternatives to prison around Australia that are already in place, and working. View the Map of prison alternatives around Australia.
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How you can get involved
Sign the petition
Email Your MP
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Sign the petition
Join the call to #RaiseTheAge of criminal responsibility from 10 years old to at least 14 years old.
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