Community Practice Approaches: Case Study on Child Detention

This case study delves into the critical issue of child maltreatment in Australian detention centers, particularly highlighting the situation in the Northern Territory. It references a report exposing severe mistreatment, including tear gas usage, deprivation of basic necessities, and instances of forced stripping and restraint. The study cites research indicating that these practices resemble torture and disproportionately affect indigenous youth. The project proposes the closure of the Don Dale youth center and raising the age of criminal responsibility. It also emphasizes the need for public apologies from government officials, comprehensive overhauls of the youth justice framework, and increased engagement with aboriginal organizations. Furthermore, it highlights the UN's concerns regarding human rights violations and the mental health impacts on detained children, advocating for improved medical facilities and an end to harsh disciplinary measures. The study underscores the importance of adhering to international treaties and developing comprehensive domestic laws to prevent torture and mistreatment of children in detention.

Running Head: COMMUNITY PRACTICE APPROACHES
Community Practice Approaches
Student’s Name
University Name
Author’s Note

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Table of Contents
1. Research Issues and Community Context...................................................................................3
2. Project Proposal...........................................................................................................................4
2.1 Statememt of Problem............................................................................................................4
2.2 Project Delivery Recommendations.......................................................................................4
3. Literature Overview.....................................................................................................................6
3.1 Reiteration of the Human Rights Commission......................................................................6
3.2 Children's rights regarding safety in detention centres..........................................................8
3.3 Resolution on children in detention.......................................................................................8
3.4 Development of the royal Commission.................................................................................9
4. Significance of Proposal............................................................................................................10
Reference List................................................................................................................................11

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1. Research Issues and Community Context
This researech study will highlight at the cinstant issues of maltreatment of children in
detention in Australia. A report by the Four Corners has highlighted that in the detention centres
for the youth in Northern Territory of Australia, children have been severely treated.
Infrormation of children in detention centres being tear gassed within the cells, deprived of
sunlight or running water has been resonating over the Australian media. In fact news of further
vulgarity have been reported where the detainees have been stripped naked forcibly, strapped to
the restraining chains have come up. As highlighted by Fleay (2016), the ways in which these
children are being treated, resembles torture, as per the directives of the UN.
Isaacs (2016), denotes that the problem of abusal of the detainees are actually graver.
Chilren aged under 14 and sometimes even under 10 are locked to insidius cells. In fact Nethery,
A., & Holman (2016), informs that the specialists who are appointed for takimg care of them so
that they can be abosred in to the mainstream of the society, inflicts further harshness on them.
They indulge in to bullying and brutalising them to the maximum extent. As reported by The
Four Corners reporters, about 95% of the juvenile detainees in Australia are indegenous. In this
context, the researhers like Berger and Miles (2016), have highly criticised the “stop the boats”
policy of the government of Australia. The 102 minors detaimed at Nauru are called as unwilling
trophies of steely enforcement, bearing the globval emblem of capacity of brutality as well as
unfairness of Australia. Nunez and Copeland (2017), argues that under the name of border
protection, Australia have been abusimg youngsters. Famous psychologists like Rivas and Bull
(2018), have reasoned that confrontation to severities in detention accounts for the “resignation
syndrome” among the children. This is psychological disorder that desesrts a chid from all hopes
of leading a better life in future. This tragedy is further heightened by the reports of suicides that

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have been attempted by the young detainees. Many of them who could be rescued after such
attempts, reported that they felt that suiccide was the only means of escapaing the ghastly
treatment and the ghouslish cells.
2. Project Proposal
2.1 Statememt of Problem
The news of severity caused to the detained children of Australia has been well aierd over
the media, already. There was a huge controversy raised when the video of boys undergoing a
spread of tear gas and wearing spithoods was released and aired by media houses all over
Australia. Other reports about crime at the detention centres have also highlighted the name of
the Done Dale youth centre for detention (Rimkeviciene, O’Gorman & De Leo, 2017).
2.2 Project Delivery Recommendations
The first step towards the reduction of crime towards detaimed children in Austalia is to
set an example by closing down the Don Dale centre for youth detention.
The recommended time period for the closure of the entire detention centre is 3 months,
at the most. In support of the decree from the Royal commission of Australia it can also be
recommended that the age at which individuals are liable to be charged for criminal
responsibility is to be brought up from 10 to 12 years.
Based on the report published by The Four Corners, an external enquiry was carried out at the
Don Dale Youth detention centre (Woodhead, 2016). Analysing the reports of the enquiry, it can
be prompted that along with the Don Dale Detention Centre, other youth detention centres in the

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Northern territory are also lying in the same condition. The condition of atrocities against
Juvenile criminals is the same everywhere.
The enquiry of the Don Dale detention centre was prompted by the highlights of bullying and
torture of Dylan Voller, who was seen to be sitting on a restraint chair in the child detention
centre.
The news spread all over Australia making people more investigative about the happenings at the
youth detention centres of the country. After that the media also took interest in this issue and the
recent exposures of the severity and crime conducted against children in detention centres I have
put the coalition party and the labour party of Australia into commotion.
In this situation, the people the country might lose faith on the legal structure and judgement
process. This is why it is recommendable that the chief minister of Northern territories, Michael
Gunner should apologize in public for the failure of the government to stop the atrocities on
children. Mini public forum and human right commissions have raised the voice, protesting that
the government was well aware of the situation at the detention centre. This is giving the
common people a perception that whatever crime has been done against children in the detention
centres, were advocated by the government. In this situation it is recommended that the Chief
Minister publicly announces a comprehensive overhaul for the entire Youth justice Framework
including all detention centres of Northern territory.
The union government of Australia have to take up some serious steps to prevent the fallacy of
children in the detention centres including Don Dale Youth Camp. Firstly it is recommended that
the government should declare that children who are below 14 years of age, are to be detained in

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the detention only if they are found to commit serious crimes including Murder, physical
violence high level of treason or other such crimes.
The actions taken against children for their disciplinary purpose are extremely harsh. Therefore,
it is recommended that the government should at least ban the use of restaurant chair, brutal
Force for real gas for taking disciplinary action against children. Another recommendable change
in the equation of the extension of periods in isolation for Juvenile criminals under 14 years age,
over 24 hours. However, it will be better if the government obliterates the isolation punishment,
absolutely.
It has also been observed that the role of youth justice pictures are critical in the detention
centres. They are often the people to decide the mode of punishment that the children are
supposed to go through. That is why, it is recommended that the unit of government for
protection and detention of children in local as well as Central governments should select the
youth justice officers very wisely. Most preferably, the officers who have prior experience of
working with youth criminals should only be given the opportunity of detaining children in the
detention camps. A 10 years generational strategy have to be developed also for addressing Child
Protection as well as prevention of harm towards children. Lastly, it is recommendable that the
government should increase their engagement which the aboriginal organisations and work
towards involving them in child protection practices, youth justice and criminal detention of
children.
3. Literature Overview
3.1 Reiteration of the Human Rights Commission

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United Nations Human Rights Commission reiterated their demand towards Australia and
Nauru to stop the alleged violations against the Juvenile criminals most of whom are migrants.
As stated by Ravinashamdasani the UN high Commissioner's spokesperson, the United Nation
has received several reports about allegations of violence, degraded treatment self harm as well
as sexual assault on the young detainees of Australia.
the United Nation has also discovered that several migrants, refugees as well as Asylum seekers
are transferred to Nauru from Australia, particularly on purpose to inflict torture upon them. In
this context, Brooker et al. (2017), praises a significant step taken by the United Nation to stop
the somatization and exploitation of offshore criminals aged under 18. According to latest
releases by the United Nations, is called upon to conduct regular invigilation of the processing
centres for the young criminals, alleging that the situation for the children detain is in the
processing centres have become increasingly dire as well as untenable, excavated by the
punishment of keeping them in isolation for indefinite periods.
The United Nation has also demanded allocation of proper medical facilities for children in the
detention centres, suffering from severe mental health problems because of the harsh treatment
they receive there. The OHCHR has constantly reflected on the issue of mental health problems
that the Juvenile criminals are facing so that it can catch the attention of the governments of
Nauru as well as Australia. In this context, Conlon and Hiemstra (2016), reflects that mental
illness and dramatization plaguing the children detainees of Australia is a lifetime impairment.
Hence, it is equivalent to crime conducted against them as the purpose of detention of children is
to make them fit for reabsorption into the mainstream of life. On the contrary, Mares, P., &

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Mares (2001), observes that the treatment they receive there, make them further more aggressive,
pessimistic and negatively biased towards life.
3.2 Children's rights regarding safety in detention centres
The convention on the rights of the child is obliged to protect the children in detention in
Australia from all sorts of mental as well as physical violence. This is why the concerned
authority has requested the state governments Australia to undertake all forms of Administrative,
social as well as educational measures for protection of the child from the severe physical and
mental violence including negligence, maltreatment as well as sexual abuse that is going on
against them. One major recommendation from the CRC is that the state parties should
immediately arrange for legal guardian(s) or parental care for individual child. Mares et al.
(2002) alao supports the fact that the Government of Australia is also responsible for
arrangement and establishment of social programs for providing the necessary support to the
detained children which involves medical check-up, nutrition Care, Education and other similar
care provisions. This is evident in the article 19 of the convention on the rights of the child,
Australia.
3.3 Resolution on children in detention
The AEU Victorian Council has recently condemned the role of Federal government for
continuing to detain the insidious as well as Refugee children in the detention centres. The
draconian Border force act has also been despised by the Council and the Federal government
has been condemned for not taking any action to amend the act which advocates that the teachers
can leave their ethical and legal responsibilities behind when they enter into the detention
centres.

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Steel et al. (2004), are of the the opinion that it is impossible and unconscionable to straighten
the teachers every time from the end of the general public so that they conduct their duties
towards the children in detention centres. No long term damage to young children can be stopped
in this way. On the contrary the government needs to come up with an act making the teachers
aware of their duties as professionals and remind them that they are supposed to speak on the
behalf of the children and take care to the issues so that the children do not receive any long-term
health or well being concerns.
3.4 Development of the royal Commission
The royal Commissionhas emphasized on the need to develop a comprehensive domestic laws in
order to give respect towards the international treaties that requires the Federal Government of
Australia to ensure that torture doesn't occur to the children in detention. As McLoughlin and
Warin (2008), informs, the recommendations of the royal Commission includes the optional
protection to the convention against torture and other cruel as well as in human or degrading
treatment or punishment.the enforcement to these kinds of laws will allow the officials from
United Nation to come for inspection in the youth detention centres of Australia. The royal
Commission has also recommended that to stop the children from facing cruelty in detention
centres, the government should take serious steps that would prevent the children from ending up
into the detention centres. In this context, researchers like Nethery, Rafferty-Brown and Taylor
(2012), has also recommended that for doing the above state it, Australia needs to address factors
like education gaps, substance misuse, family violence, unemployment, negligence towards
children and so on. In fact, Mares and Jureidini (2004), also puts forward that the criminal justice
system of Australia is not able to provide a solution for these social and economic issues. This is

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why the intervention of the government is more needed in the early lives of the aboriginals and
the Torres strait islander children.
4. Significance of Proposal
The Chief Minister of Northern territory, Michael Gunner dropped a formal apology
accepting that sever harm have been done to the children detained in the Don Dale detention
centre. This is why this project proposal calls for shutting dowm the high security unit of youth
etention centre of Don Dale. The Royal Commission which was facing comtroversies for not
being able to pass the decree of stoping the operations at the high security detention centre of
Don Dale, have finally permitted to do the same. Based on a report of Royal Commision, it can
be easily recommended that the Dom Dale centre should be closed down. Based on the
guidelines of this decree, the project can be launched.

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Reference List
Berger, D., & Miles, S. H. (2016). Should doctors boycott working in Australia’s immigration
detention centres?. Bmj, 352, i1600.
Brooker, S., Albert, S., Young, P., & Steel, Z. (2017). 11. Mental health care in an invalidating
environment: the case of immigration detention in Australia. Challenging Immigration
Detention: Academics, Activists and Policy-makers, 195.
Conlon, D., & Hiemstra, N. (Eds.). (2016). Intimate economies of immigration detention:
Critical perspectives. Routledge.
Fleay, C. (2016). Bearing witness and the intimate economies of immigration detention centres
in Australia. In Intimate Economies of Immigration Detention (pp. 88-104). Routledge.
Isaacs, D., 2016. Are healthcare professionals working in Australia's immigration detention
centres condoning torture?. Journal of medical ethics, 42(7), pp.413-415.
Mares, P., & Mares, P. (2001). Borderline: Australia's treatment of refugees and asylum seekers
(Vol. 204). Sydney: UNSW Press.
Mares, S., & Jureidini, J. (2004). Psychiatric assessment of children and families in immigration
detention–clinical, administrative and ethical issues. Australian and New Zealand journal
of public health, 28(6), 520-526.
Mares, S., Newman, L., Dudley, M., & Gale, F. (2002). Seeking refuge, losing hope: parents and
children in immigration detention. Australasian Psychiatry, 10(2), 91-96.

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McLoughlin, P., & Warin, M. (2008). Corrosive places, inhuman spaces: Mental health in
Australian immigration detention. Health & place, 14(2), 254-264.
Nethery, A., & Holman, R. (2016). Secrecy and human rights abuse in Australia’s offshore
immigration detention centres. The International Journal of Human Rights, 20(7), 1018-
1038.
Nethery, A., Rafferty-Brown, B., & Taylor, S. (2012). Exporting detention: Australia-funded
immigration detention in Indonesia. Journal of Refugee Studies, 26(1), 88-109.
Nunez, L. P., & Copeland, A. (2017). Solitary confinement within juvenile detention centres in
Western Australia. The International Journal of Children's Rights, 25(3-4), 716-735.
Rimkeviciene, J., O’Gorman, J., & De Leo, D. (2017). Suicidality in detention centres: a case
study. International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, 13(1), 106-118.
Rivas, L., & Bull, M. (2018). Gender and Risk: An Empirical Examination of the Experiences of
Women Held in Long-Term Immigration Detention in Australia. Refugee Survey
Quarterly, 37(3), 307-327.
Steel, Z., Momartin, S., Bateman, C., Hafshejani, A., Silove, D. M., Everson, N., ... & Mares, S.
(2004). Psychiatric status of asylum seeker families held for a protracted period in a
remote detention centre in Australia. Australian and New Zealand journal of public
health, 28(6), 527-536.
Woodhead, M. (2016). Australian doctor challenges government over child detention “torture”.

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