Our submission supports the Bill, which seeks to prohibit the strip searching of children under the age of 18. We endorsed the submission and recommendations put forward by Redfern Legal Centre, who argued that strip searches are ineffective, improperly discriminatory, often misused and extremely harmful and traumatic to the children who are subjected to them.
We expressed concern that the strip searching of children likely contravenes Australia’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. We also noted the inconsistency of the practice with international standards like the Havana Rules and the Mandela Rules.
In order to comply with Australia’s obligations under international laws and ensure consistency with international standards, we recommended that the Commonwealth Parliament use its constitutional powers to legislate to introduce a prohibition against the strip searching of children.
If the Bill does not pass, we recommended that the Commonwealth Government coordinate a national reform process with State and Territory Governments to amend strip search laws, as well as a national effort to incorporate child-protection principles in police powers legislation, including specific safeguards for strip searching children.
