Abstract
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) establishes provisions and protections to which under-18s are entitled; establishing state obligations to ensure the realisation of children’s rights for all, including ‘disadvantaged’ or ‘vulnerable’ groups. This article focuses on children in England and Wales deprived of their liberty in secure care for their own or others’ protection or in custody as a result of criminal justice proceedings. It explores the proposition that secure care and custody exacerbate the existing vulnerabilities of detained children, especially in custodial settings where violence is institutionalised. Demonstrating consistent breaches of international standards, it considers the actions required to ensure the implementation of rights and effective accountability through policy and practice grounded in social justice priorities.
Highlights
Both in popular and academic discourse, ‘childhood’ is a relatively recent and contested concept (James and Prout 1997), usually applied from birth to puberty when a transition is made to ‘youth’
Focused on the vulnerabilities experienced by children detained in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs), Secure Training Centres (STCs) and Secure Children’s Homes (SCHs), the article draws on ‘official’ sources to reveal significant levels of violence within custodial institutions alongside egregious rights violations
Of the youth custody population, 70 per cent is detained in five YOIs—four in England are run by the Prison Service and one in Wales is privately run
Summary
Both in popular and academic discourse, ‘childhood’ is a relatively recent and contested concept (James and Prout 1997), usually applied from birth to puberty when a transition is made to ‘youth’. Focused on the vulnerabilities experienced by children detained in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs), Secure Training Centres (STCs) and Secure Children’s Homes (SCHs), the article draws on ‘official’ sources to reveal significant levels of violence within custodial institutions alongside egregious rights violations. In reframing priorities it proposes more effective institutional accountability, with responses to harmful and ‘offending’ behaviours grounded in social justice objectives and operational practices consistent with children’s rights standards
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