The road to juvenile justice

The over-representation of Indigenous young people in detention remains high. In 2006, Indigenous young people were 21 times more likely than non-Indigenous young people to be in detention in Australia. Research suggests the key issues that contribute to young Aboriginal people being involved in crime are: child abuse and neglect, parental psychiatric problems (particularly maternal depression), family dissolution and violence, poor school performance, early school leaving, drug and alcohol abuse and youth unemployment (National Crime Prevention 1999).

This paper will be addressing associations between health, education and child protection, and contact with Juvenile Justice among a cohort of Indigenous children living in Western Australia.  The paper will be a component of the Workshop: “The Health of Indigenous Children: an international perspective and will provide novel and comprehensive information regarding the antecedents and risk and protective factors to contact with Juvenile Justice. These data have not been presented previously and will provide stimulating data to inform the workshop debate. The study will thus explore and identify the protective factors that prevent a child from coming into contact with the justice system. Secondly, the study will identify factors or interventions that are effective in diverting children away from juvenile delinquency.

Aboriginal youth participants in this research use Photovoice, a participatory action research method, to describe their life experiences. The Aboriginal youth participants use photos to represent significant life events or particular environments that have impacted on their lives and or influenced pathways into contact with or away from juvenile justice. This paper will provide a unique insight into the life experiences of Aboriginal youth, highlighting significant life events or turning points in their lives that have impacted on their life trajectories.