The Disproportionate Impact of Isolation on First Nations Children

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are warned that this article mentions people who have passed away.

It is no secret Indigenous youth are over-criminalised and over-incarcerated in Australia. The AHRC’s ‘Left Alone’ Report into Solitary Confinement in youth detention showed that despite Indigenous children making up just 6.6% of youth aged 10-17 in Australia, they account for an overwhelming 65% of youth in detention. The AHRC’s Help Way Earlier Report also emphasised this in their report last year, showing that Indigenous children were not only over-represented at younger ages, but also were more likely to return to youth justice supervision within 12 months. The over-criminalisation and imprisonment of Indigenous youth in Australia means that they are disproportionately subjected to harmful and traumatic youth justice practices, such as solitary confinement and other isolation practices.

The placement of children into youth detention centres, away from their families and communities, is incredibly traumatic for all children in detention, but has an especially large impact on Indigenous children. The removal of Indigenous children from their families into youth detention draws significant parallels to the historical trauma of the Stolen Generation and colonisation, and perpetuates the social disadvantage experienced by Indigenous communities. Placement into youth detention means that Indigenous children are once again being isolated from their families, community and country, all of which is inherently damaging to their culture and sense of identity.

This kind of cultural and familial isolation, and the trauma experienced as a result, is only worsened by the use of solitary confinement in youth detention. In an interview with us, Katie Kiss, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, emphasized a crucial cultural perspective of the dangers of solitary confinement for Indigenous children. When Indigenous children are placed in detention, they are potentially being held in institutions where members of their families may have passed away in. When they are then placed into solitary confinement and denied access to support services, such as elders groups that visit detention centres, they are “being removed from every part of their cultural support network”. This contributes to Indigenous communities’ intergenerational trauma of over-incarceration, and exacerbates the already significant psychological and physical harm resulting from solitary confinement.

The impacts of isolation on Indigenous youth is well-documented, yet these harmful practices continue, despite the horrific consequences on First Nations children and communities. The Human Rights Watch highlighted a Queensland report into the deaths of two Indigenous boys, both of whom had disabilities. These children had both been subjected to substantial solitary confinement and isolation while in detention; one boy was estimated to have spent 78% of his detention isolated in his cell, the other had spent 55 days in his cell alone for over 22 hours and on 3 days had spent the entire 24 hours alone. Although the deaths occurred after release from detention, the report found that the psychological harm experienced in detention contributed to “further trauma, disconnection, and hopelessness”, and that the youth justice system’s attempt to rehabilitate young people had failed. The tragic death in custody of Cleveland Dodd, a 16 year old Indigenous boy, is yet another example of the severe impact of solitary confinement on Indigenous youth. Cleveland had been locked in a cell for over 22 hours for 74 out of his last 87 days in custody and subjected to horrific conditions including lack of running water, denial of education or meaningful social interaction. Further, his cell was located in Unit 18, a supposedly temporary measure to house youth detainees which was located in a maximum-security adult facility. This was a clearly unfit and unsafe facility to detain children, but it went ahead anyway, with disastrous consequences.

The youth justice system is failing children, and Indigenous youth are experiencing the worst of it. National standards and safeguards are needed now to make sure that children are protected and cared for while in detention. Prohibiting solitary confinement is the first step in this process, as well as ensuring that facilities are adequately staffed and resources to prioritise the safety and dignity of youth detainees. For Indigenous children, culturally safe and rights-based alternatives to punitive practices are crucial to ensuring that they are supported in their rehabilitation and can maintain access to their families and communities. The youth justice system should not be another source of trauma and disadvantage for First Nations communities. Ending the cycle of incarceration requires immediate reform, and immediate action.