Australia will throw children as young as 10 years old behind bars

In Australia's Northern Territories, children as young as ten years of age will again be prosecuted. In particular, they will be able to put them in prison. About this writes the BBC.

It is indicated that this is not a novelty for these territories. Previously, there was already such a norm here. However, under pressure from human rights organisations, the age of criminal responsibility was raised to 12 years. Now, the Agrarian Liberal Party, which came to power in August this year, has said that in the interests of combating juvenile delinquency, the age should be lowered again to 10.

By criminalising children at such an early age, it will help deter them from committing crimes in the future, politicians are convinced.

According to the newspaper, the most frequent cases of children being imprisoned are in the Northern Territories of the country. And more often these are representatives of the indigenous population.

In turn, the Australian government points out that in 2022 - 2023, about 4, 4 thousand children aged 10 to 17 years were in prison in the country, with the Northern Territory issued 273 such sentences. At this time, 41 children between the ages of 10 and 13 continue to be behind bars.

However, the portal adds, citing research by human rights groups, that incarceration of children increases the likelihood of recidivism and often has a detrimental impact on young people's health, education and employment.