The youth prison where hugs are banned
Canberra’s only youth prison has banned any physical contact during visits, with one boy having not been hugged by a family member for two years.
The banning of any physical contact during visits at Canberra’s only youth prison has been labelled “completely unacceptable and potentially unlawful” by the territory’s independent inspectorate.
The ACT Inspector of Custodial Services tabled its report based on inspections of the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre this week.
It found that the youth prison has continued a Covid-era policy of preventing incarcerated children from having any physical contact with family members and friends during visitations, long after restrictions were lifted in the community and other prisons around the country.
Following the onset of the pandemic, visits to the prison were changed to take place at two tables placed across from each other, making it physically impossible for there to be any contact. Access to outdoor play equipment for younger visits was also banned.
These rules have still not changed today, and children in the prison are only allowed to hug visitors, such as their parents, in exceptional circumstances.
The Inspector found that this is far more restrictive than the policies at Canberra’s adult prison, where physical contact such as a kiss and hug is permitted.
“This presumption against physical contact with loved ones is unacceptable and cannot be justified in a human rights jurisdiction,” the Inspector’s report said.
“Visits should be a place of support, connection and healing and limitation on contact should only ever be done on the basis of an individualised evidence-based risk assessment.”
The policy is having a “significantly negative impact on the ability of detained young people to maintain and rebuild positive relationships”, the report found, and was one of the most pressing issues identified.
The Inspector spoke to one young boy who said he had not been hugged by a family member in two years.
The Riverine Youth Justice Centre in New South Wales, which is nearby, does allow physical contact with family at the start and end of visits. The policy at the ACT youth facility “runs contrary to a therapeutic, rights-based, child-centred approach”, the Inspector said.
Physical contact is particularly important for First Nations children incarcerated in the prison, the ACT Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People said in the report.
“These forms of physical and emotional touch not only provide comfort and reassurance but also play a significant role in healing past traumas and building resilience,” the Commissioner said.
“For individuals who have often experienced a sense of disconnection and isolation due to historical injustices and ongoing systemic inequalities, these moments of contact can be transformative.
“The absence of meaningful contact within these settings perpetuates the cycle of trauma and disconnection, leading to devastating impacts on individuals’ mental health and sense of identity.”
The Inspector recommended that the prison return to the practice of allowing all young people to have physical contact with visitors, unless an individualised risk assessment has been undertaken which gives consideration to human rights.