I stole some Tic Tacs when I was a kid. My dad was rifling through some magazine at the newsagent and the owner’s head was turned, so I reached over counter, lifted the pack from one of those little plastic stands, and shoved it into my pocket.
It was the perfect heist – until dad heard that telltale rattle coming from the back seat. He turned the car around and marched me in front of the shopkeeper, a man whose face flashed from boredom, to confusion, to total contempt.
The most severe punishment I copped that day was a stern talking-to. Not every kid in Australia is so lucky.
Stars including Miranda Tapsell and Adam Briggs have lent their voice to the Raise The Age petition, a new push from peak medical and legal groups to lift the age of criminality in Australia from 10 to at least 14.
As it stands, children as young as 10 can be incarcerated in Australia. The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) states that every year, some 600 children in that age bracket are kept behind bars.
Of that number, the HRLC states 65% are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
Taking to social media last night, Top End Wedding star Tapsell asked punters to sign the Raise The Age petition, which urges Australian lawmakers to lift the age of criminality.
“The conversation shouldn’t be around whether a kid stole a chocolate frog or a loaf of bread, but back to the fact that a minor can be sent to jail,” she said.
The petition was originally started by Noongar woman, human rights lawyer and Aboriginal rights activist Roxy Moore, with stars like Tapsell helping to amplify the petition using their social media platforms after Moore kicked it off.
When I was 10, my sis & I spent hours finding treasures on the beach. All our kids should grow up on country, connected to community & culture, but all Australian governments lock up 10 yos in prisons, mostly Aboriginal kids. We need to #RaisetheAge to atleast 14! @MarkMcGowanMP pic.twitter.com/b02nr1yEyt
— Roxy Moore (@Roxy_Moore_) July 24, 2020
Citing the disproportionate rate of youth incarceration for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids, rapper and TV gun Briggs said, “prison is no place for a child.”
Children don’t belong in prison. In Australia, children as young as 10 can be arrested, brought before a judge and sent to prison. It’s time to Raise the Age. Better preventative engagement with communities & family is paramount. https://t.co/WYmuuktaep #RaiseTheAge pic.twitter.com/Jw3b3gME1K
— Senator Briggs (Biblically Accurate) (@Briggs) July 23, 2020
The campaign pivots around a few key points: the first, perhaps obviously, is that kids under 13 are still undergoing critical brain development, and lack the mental and emotional maturity of older adolescents and adults.
Campaigners argue that incarcerating kids is dire for their development.
Advocates also point to the fact that locking kids up doesn’t address the underlying factors and disadvantage associated with children who face Australia’s criminal justice system.
To get all of that across, organisers and supporters have shared piccies of themselves at ten years old, to express how pre-teens really shouldn’t be subject to incarceration.
This is me (about age 10) mucking around with my cousin Mia.
Currently kids this young can be locked up in prison cells.
Time is long overdue for governments to #raisetheage of legal responsibility to at least 14.
Kids belong in schools and playgrounds, not prisons cells. pic.twitter.com/tbHWTkgwJG
— Monique Hurley (@monique_hurley) July 23, 2020
https://twitter.com/jaimeloma/status/1286257624875376640
I really hated school but loved gymnastics when I was 10. Kids should be free to get in trouble, do cartwheels and follow their dreams. Children should never be behind bars.
It’s well past time that our governments #RaiseTheAge so that all kids can be safe. pic.twitter.com/BK1eIAKz3d
— Ruth Barson (@RuthBarson) July 23, 2020
Here’s a photo of me at age 10. Kids should be allowed to spend holidays with their family and wear their brother’s hand-me-down clothes if that makes them happy.
10 years olds should never be locked up behind bars. It’s time to #RaiseTheAge of criminal responsibility. pic.twitter.com/QHk1ot0Iiu
— Lee Carnie (@LeeJCarnie) July 23, 2020
It’s a disgrace that this country jails children.
Who were you at age 10, 11, 12, 13?
At 12 I still loved playing with barbies.
At 13 I hadn’t started puberty.
At 13 you’re not old enough to be employed, how are you old enough to be gaoled?!
It’s time to #raisetheage pic.twitter.com/59CF2bRSIK
— Dr Amy Thunig (@AmyThunig) July 23, 2020
This is me at 10. No doubt my privileged life would have turned out much worse had I made a mistake & gone to prison.
Kids don’t belong in jail. All state governments must #RaiseTheAge of criminal responsibility to 14 & make sure no 10 yr old lives behind bars @JillHennessyMP pic.twitter.com/Io8WVd3An5
— Mat Tinkler (@TinklerMat) July 23, 2020
The Council of Attorneys-General – that is, the top legal officials appointed in each state and territory – is working on a review of the age of criminality in Australia.
The group is slated to discuss those findings at a meeting on Monday, July 27, and Raise The Age’s organisers have asked Aussies to have their say with the petition before then.
You can check out the campaign here.
