The headlines have been hard to miss over the last few weeks:
- Children as young as 14 years old being transferred to a maximum security adult prison in WA;
- Sky rocketing rates of suicide attempts and self-harm incidents in youth prisons in the Northern Territory;
- Children being locked in their cells in solitary confinement in Tasmania
- … and the list goes on.
John Michael, this is a national crisis in our youth ‘justice’ system and it’s time governments acted.
We are preparing to hand over the thousands of petition signatories we have collected to state and territory Attorneys-General and call on them to take urgent action to #RaiseTheAge to at least 14 years old – and we need your help.
Can you boost our final petition push to your family and friends to get as many signatures as possible before we present the petition to Attorneys-General?
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Or, forward this email to 5 friends and ask them to sign the petition today.
In Victoria 46,334 people have already signed the petition. Thank you. But we’re confident that together we can get a few more people on board and reach 50,000 before we present the petition to the Attorney General.
John Michael, will you spread the word?
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No child belongs in prison. Children belong at home and in school and in our communities. Raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old will not fix all the injustices in the criminal legal system. But, raising the age is a vital first step in protecting the health and wellbeing of very young children who need care and support in the community, not in prison cells.
Thank you for being part of this campaign, please encourage your friends, family and colleagues to join the movement too: http://raisetheage.org.au
Yours,
The Raise The Age Team
