The Young Advocates share children and young people’s experiences of the youth justice system in new report
This is the first report from the Young Advocates Project, which has been co-produced by children and young people with first-hand experience of the youth justice system.
The Young Advocates project is led by children and young people aged 14–20 who have lived experience of the youth justice system and want to be part of a movement to drive positive change, delivered in partnership between the AYJ and Leaders Unlocked with the generous support of BBC Children in Need.
The report presents findings and recommendations from engagement with over 120 young people across England and Wales, and focuses on the three priority topics of stereotypes, education and warning signs, and jail (custody). The aim was to identify patterns that run through society, and the education and justice systems overall, to find out what young people feel increases the chance of entering the justice system. Key findings include:
Stereotypes
Young people and their issues are misunderstood
Stereotyping was associated mostly with policing, but it is seen across all systems and about many characteristics
Policing is seen as overwhelmingly racist, untrustworthy and inconsistent. It is as though stereotyping is in the job role of a police officer
Young people associate the courts with injustice and their experience of court are very different
Education and Warning Signs
Mainstream education is not consistently meeting the needs of children and young people
School exclusion is harmful, particularly considering the strong link with criminalisation and going to prison
Young people see teachers have the most responsibility to pick up on the warning signs, but feel they are not equipped to respond to them
Jails (custody)
Jail impacts different young people in different ways, partly because treatment is not consistent across sites
Racism and abuse in jails are major issues and the media shows no or an unrealistic version of children in custody
The children’s secure estate does not consistently treat children as children or reflect the ‘Child First’ principle
In response to the findings, the Young Advocates developed a series of recommendations for decision-makers to address these challenges. The Young Advocates are now actively seeking collaboration with policy-makers, organisations and other changemakers to drive their recommendations forward.
The Young Advocates, AYJ, and Leaders Unlocked would like to thank BBC Children in Need for their ongoing support for the Young Advocates project, enabling its growth and impact.
Read the full Young Advocates Report here.