Children, Young People and the Criminal Justice System

Children, Young People and the Criminal Justice System

Convenors
Dr. Faith Gordon
Monash University and the International Youth Justice Network
Faith.Gordon@anu.edu.au

Dr. Shelley Turner
Monash University
shelley.turner@monash.edu

Dr. Emma Colvin
Charles Sturt University
ecolvin@csu.edu.au

Description
It is evident that there are extremely challenging and significant issues existing in relation to children, young people and the criminal justice system. For example, in Australia the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory (2017), the Office of the Public Guardian in Queensland’s investigations into the treatment of children detained in Watch houses (2019) and the urgent issues outlined by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (2019) during its examination of Australia’s children’s rights record, paint a clear picture of youth justice and child protection systems in crisis.

The proposed thematic group will bring together members in Australasia and globally who are undertaking research, advocacy and practice in the areas of youth justice, young people experiencing out-of-home care, children’s rights, social work and health. The ultimate goal is to foster working relationships to disseminate existing research, generate new research and support advocacy, in order to secure better outcomes for children, young people and their families.

Aims and Objectives

• Further grow and develop the working relationships and connections between scholars, practitioners and advocates working in Australasia and internationally.
• Develop collaborative and supportive relationships across a variety of academic institutions and NGOs, in order to promote knowledge exchange, communication, sharing of information, dissemination of research findings, as well as mentoring support for Early Career Scholars.
• Continue to build and forge links and connections between researchers, industry partners, NGOs, practitioners and advocates working in Youth Justice, Child Protection, Social Work, Policing, Public Health, and related disciplines.
• Provide a yearly thematic panel at the ANZSOC Conference on: Children, Young People and the Criminal Justice System
• Organise events and maintain an active website.

Members
In addition to the three convenors, the following ANZSOC members (in alphabetical order) have agreed to be members of this thematic group:

Professor Thalia Anthony, UTS
Dr. Susan Baidawi , Monash University
Jennifer Bargen, UTS
Professor Chris Cunneen, UTS
Dr Phillipa Evans, UNSW
Dr Natalie Gately, Edith Cowan University
Dr Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Monash University
Professor Alison Gerard, University of Canberra
Dr. Diana Johns, University of Melbourne
A/Professor Marg Liddell, RMIT
Dr Claire Loughnan, University of Melbourne
A/Professor Nessa Lynch, Victoria University, Wellington
Dr. Catia Malvaso, University of Adelaide
Dr. Sarah Monod de Froideville, Victoria University of Wellington
Robyn Oxley, Monash University
Dr Nina Papalia, Swinburne University of Technology
Associate Professor Kelly Richards, QUT
Professor Lizzy Stanley, Victoria University of Wellington
Dr Masahiro Suzuki, Central Queensland University
Professor Rob White, University of Tasmania