Steven
There is a huge debate throughout the
country at the moment as to whether or not the criminal age of responsibility
in Australia should be increased. While some say that the age needs to be
brought up – there are those that argue it is already too high. At what age
does a person stop being a child and start being an adult? We looked at the
debate in more detail to see if a logical conclusion can be reached.
What is the Minimum
Age of Criminal Responsibility?
The minimum
age of criminal responsibility in Australia is currently set to 10 years
old. Various organisations are trying to have this increased, even involving
the Royal Commission. The average age of criminal responsibility across the
globe is just over 12 years of age.
What’s the Problem?
The problem is several-fold. The UN
Convention of Child’s Rights specifies that children need to be protected until
the age of 18. They provide 180 statutes that must be met as part of the
international agreement between countries. As early as article 3 of the same
document states that all acts concerning children, inclusive of court action,
needs to consider the wellbeing of the child as a primary consideration…
If we are trying children at the age of 10
as criminals, can we truly say that the Australian government has the rights of
the child at heart? If you are interested, you can read the full UN report here,
courtesy of UNICEF.
International Pressures
Back in September of 2019, a meeting in
Geneva brought to light that the UN is not entirely happy with the way we do
things down under. Several member states brought up the fact that our age of
criminal responsibility effectively punishes children as adults. Other models
of criminal ages include 16 years of age in the UK and America. In the US,
criminal responsibility might even be wavered until 18, depending on the
circumstances. In the UK, a separate court system exists to prosecute children
– inclusive of separate facilities to hold anyone under the age of 18 that has
committed a serious crime.
In short, groups like Amnesty International
have begun adding their voices to the UN’s. They wish the criminal age of
responsibility in Australia to be raised to 14. We can’t say that we disagree.
Ethically speaking, the rest of the world is out-performing us in this area. As
one of the most progressive civilizations in the world – we really have no
choice but to catch up.
Adding Your Voice
to the Argument
If you think that it is time we stopped
trying children in the same way that adults are punished; then you can add your
voice to the argument. The more voices, the more likely the Australian government will make the change.
To add your voice to making children,
children, you can find your state or local government through this website. You
can find your local representative and write to them. Even a phone call will be
sufficient to add your voice to the masses who now realise the age of criminal
responsibility needs to be raised.
It's high time we stopped assuming a ten-year-old
knows the full consequences of their actions. No other country in the western
world does this and frankly, we need to catch up.
