Youth Focus has proudly joined the campaign alliance to #RaiseTheAge.
We stand alongside Social Reinvestment WA in urging the State Government to change the laws so that children under 14 cannot be sent to prison.
Right now, across Australia, children as young as 10 can be arrested by police, charged with an offence, brought before a court and locked away in a prison.
We know these laws are harming children at a critical time in their lives. When children are forced through a criminal legal process, at such a formative time in their development, they can suffer lifelong harm to their health, wellbeing and future.
The #RaiseTheAge campaign was born to change this. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, organisations and activists have been pushing for the age of criminal responsibility to be changed for decades, having seen firsthand how locking away young children and removing them from their communities and families only does more damage.
The campaign is now supported by over 100 organisations in every state and territory, with new groups signing up every week.
Together, we have written thousands of letters and emails, lobbied politicians, built a powerful and diverse alliance, held press conferences, events and rallies, written op-eds, run social media actions and used every opportunity possible to speak out against this injustice across Australia.
Find out more and sign the petition here: Raise The Age WA Campaign — Social Reinvestment WA