Children in prison aren’t coping - but nobody seems to care

Most young people in English jails feel isolated and take drugs to deal with stress, grief and anger – it’s a ticking time-bomb

Children’s jails are places we all wish didn’t exist. In this country we lock children up at 10, the minimum legal age for criminal responsibility. In secure children’s homes, young offender institutions and secure training centres, children are detained for committing crime but also for their own protection from abuse. This means some are detained having done nothing wrong. They can be locked up for any amount of time, including for the majority of their childhood.

Recently, User Voice, the organisation I founded, gave some of them an opportunity to tell the world about their lives. We spoke to 200 out of the approximately 1,000 children in jails, through focus groups, interviews and surveys. These voices are rarely heard, so this is probably the most in-depth consultation of incarcerated 10- to 17-year-olds in recent history.

Related: Segregation of young offenders rising in institutions, says report

Related: Let’s not forget the plight of children in custody | Letters

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from Children | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2OwlstB