Page 4139 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 22 October 2019
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from many women, but particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, that they do not want their families to be torn apart and they do not want to leave an abusive relationship; they just want the violence and abuse to stop. Kids growing up in these families are learning the same lessons of violence, abuse and victimisation that will continue into future generations. If we got better at working with families, working with men to stop the violence, we would have fewer kids in the system. Of that I have no doubt.
It is a common trajectory for children involved in the care and protection and out of home care systems to end up in the youth justice system and then, unfortunately, in the adult system. Both here in the ACT and across the globe, the concept of justice reinvestment is taking hold. That has to be part of the solution. Through justice reinvestment initiatives, sustained outcomes can be achieved through diverting funds from adult prison and youth detention towards preventative, diversionary and community development initiatives that address the underlying causes of offending behaviour.
Investing in young people and their families before they end up in any system makes not only economic sense; it just makes plain and simple sense. That is how we can help families to be healthy and how we can help keep them together. While I applaud the government’s commitment in this area, I would like to see more youth-focused justice reinvestment introduced.
One of the fundamental needs for any young person—actually, all of us—is to feel loved and to feel that we belong. This is an essential building block for young people to reach their full potential. Children, youth, adults and families need to be supported to build healthy families with strength and independence, resilience and reduced contact with the justice system.
Kids who have resorted to using drugs and alcohol or who have developed mental health issues must be supported and assisted to keep their lives on track. Very often the solution to these issues lies in understanding the underlying causes, particularly where drugs or alcohol are being used to self-medicate, to numb against the pain of the reality of their lives. If the underlying causes are not addressed, then the offending behaviour will continue.
Ideally, it would be great if we could invest to the extent that the reality of young people in the youth justice system or youth detention did not exist, but it would be naive to believe that this can occur. And it is unclear whether government investment, solely, can solve these problems. Realistically, what we can do is hope to significantly reduce young people’s engagement with youth justice. I do not think we are going to be able to eradicate it entirely.
This is where we come to the role of youth detention centres such as Bimberi. Once young people are in Bimberi, they need to be given all the supports and education they need to be rehabilitated. The aim should never be punishment; it should be to never to see them again. This is an opportunity to help young people to change their life trajectory. Treat them with respect and dignity. Treat them in the way that we all want to be treated. Give them the opportunity to flourish.
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