Law reform
24.85 The present Inquiry follows an extensive body of work by law reform commissions[113] and other government bodies[114] on reform of the law and procedure relating to sexual offences. Since the 1970s, there have been successive rounds of legislative and procedural change across Australian jurisdictions.Focus of reform 24.86 In relation to the substance of sexual …
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Read moreGuiding principles and a human rights framework
7.8 Definitions form only one limb of an interpretative framework—principles form another.[10] The Model Domestic Violence Laws Discussion Paper was criticised by Hunter and Stubbs for failing to include a set of guiding principles.[11] Most family violence legislation does not set out guiding principles or address the specific features of family violence. This section discusses …
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Read moreOther Policing Problems
868. Aboriginal/Police Relations. The Commission has received a number of submissions giving examples of poor relations with the police. These range from misunderstandings due to the lack of police understanding of Aboriginal society through to the abuse of police power and authority. They come from both city and country areas. The House of Representatives Committee …
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Read more10. Children in education
37 Guidelines on national best practice for student participation in school decision making should be developed. The guidelines should include material that assists students to understand their rights and responsibilities in the context of school decisions affecting them. A handbook for teachers and students explaining the guidelines should be prepared and distributed to all schools …
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Read more5. Responding to children: advocacy and action
1 A National Summit on Children should be convened as a matter of priority. The Summit should be attended by Heads of Australian Governments. Areas requiring particular attention to promote co-ordination include assistance to children from broken families, child abuse, causes of offending and crime prevention, youth suicide and youth homelessness.Implementation: The Prime Minister should …
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Read moreRehabilitation through detention
Introduction20.13 The current operation of juvenile detention centres is being subjected to two different pressures. First the centres are being subjected to increasing scrutiny through government inquiries and external reviews to address deficiencies in their operations in the interests of rehabilitation.[15] Second there has also been a strong push for the increasing use of punitive …
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Read morePublic spaces
18.67 The relationship between police and young people is particularly difficult when they are interacting in public spaces. Children are highly visible on the streets because they tend to spend their time there socialising in groups.[155] The majority of young people in the focus groups stated that young people are regularly hassled and harassed by …
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Read moreJuvenile justice models
18.33 Historically, the two most influential theoretical models of juvenile justice have been the welfare model and the justice model. The welfare model emphasised the rehabilitation needs of the offender. The justice model emphasised due process and accountability.[73] In recent years the divisions between these models have become blurred.[T]he debates over the welfare versus justice …
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Read moreInvestigations and pre-trial processes
Introduction14.26 Although children can give reliable accounts of events that they have witnessed, they should not be treated as miniature adults when they become involved in the legal process. Children face significant pressures from the moment they become involved in the legal process as witnesses, such as multiple inter-views and lengthy delays between the incident …
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Read moreCivics education and participation
Introduction10.6 Children are often disadvantaged in their dealings with institutions and adults because they have little understanding of their rights and responsibilities, of the government services or complaints mechanisms available and of the roles and functions of different participants in the legal system.[7]10.7 In partnership with families, schools should play a central role in teaching …
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