Ngumbi!! I would like to acknowledge the land on where my teaching, learning & research is undertaken - Wurundjeri Land, part of the Kulin Nations. I would like to pay respects to the Wurundjeri Elders & my Elders, Tharawal & Yorta Yorta, past and present. #JusticeCOVID
I would also like to acknowledge that I will be spending the next 15 minutes tweeting about Children & Young People & recognise that many children, since colonisation, never made it home & the ones that did make it home or still trying. We see you and we love you! #JusticeCOVID
My name is Robyn Oxley. I am Tharawal and Yorta Yorta woman. I grew up in Minto, NSW and my family still live on country. I am a lecturer at Western Sydney University in Criminology. #JusticeCOVID
My research areas include but are not limited to: Aboriginal affairs within the CJS. My Masters thesis examines pre/post release support for Aboriginal people who are in prison or about to leave. Self-determination as opposed to inclusion within the CJS! #JusticeCOVID
@croakeynews @croakeyvoices have taken the time to establish this Twitter festival. Today I want to share my involvement with the CJS as an Independent Visitor (IVP) under the Commission for Children & Young People. #JusticeCOVID
Being part of the Independent Visitor Program, I am usually able to physically visit the youth prisons each month, at Parkville & Malmsbury, to check in on the #Aboriginal children & young people. #JusticeCOVID
Since #COVIDVic19 #Lockdown this has only been able to be completed by Zoom. Not only are we able to check in, make sure they have access to legal representation, their human rights met, access to family & enough things to keen them busy. #JusticeCOVID
Parkville & Mamsbury have not been able to have any outside visitors - which means NO FAMILY - since March. That’s 7 months with no physical contact with family. No hugs, no kisses, no contact. #JusticeCOVID
#Prisons are no place for anyone, let alone Children & Young People. These children have been in lockdown, far worse than any Melbournian could ever even imagine, for 7 months. #JusticeCOVID #AbolishPrisons #PrisonAbolition
When they ‘arrive’ at either Malmsbury or Parkville, they begin their 14 day isolation. As a child outside prison, it impacts mental health, significantly. My 10 yr old is suffering re: lockdowns so I cannot imagine what it would be like for any child in prison #JusticeCOVID
Isolation has been used as a behavioural tool in prisons & now we see it being used in relation to a health response. It simply is not good enough that these children are kept in prison #JusticeCOVID #PrisonAbolition #AbolishPrisons
Today, the @SACvic released a report into children held on remand in prisons. These statistics are damning & prove that over-policing is a contributing factor in constant surveillance https://twitter.com/sacvic/status/1310704761507725313?s=21 #JusticeCOVID
Please take the time to read this whole thread - it explains the impact of prisons & young people’s social connection, the expense of youth prisons & the fact that locking children up simply causes more crime! https://twitter.com/sacvic/status/1310704764292706304?s=21 #JusticeCOVID
There were many calls to release people in prison as there were positive tests from workers of youth prisons, exposing children & young people to #COVID19, in a confined space that could spread through every Unit quite easily & quickly. #JusticeCOVID
The response should have been to release young people. Not allow them to be exposed to a deadly virus & continually isolate children from family & the time of disconnect they have endured since #MelbourneLockdown began #JusticeCOVID #FreeThemAll
These children have been punished enough. They have been exposed to the violence of prisons at such an early age. It is not only time to raise the age of criminal responsibility. It is time to release these children & let them be kids. #JusticeCOVID #RaiseTheAge
We need to be thinking about what it means to be locking kids up! How it impacts their life now & in the future. We need to ask ourselves are we ok with this? & if you are ok with this - why? #JusticeCOVID
What is a child ‘offender’? Even the word ‘offender’ leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It doesn’t exist for children or adults who are in prison. They are not offenders they are people. #JusticeCOVID
We need to be very careful with the language we use to ‘describe’ or ‘title’ people. We know the damage of using psychologically demeaning words has on the mental health of people so why do we do it to people in prisons? #JusticeCOVID
This country is obsessed with punishment. There is an unhealthy relationship with prisons in the form of over-reliance, overfunding & overuse of prisons. It is not the only way to address ‘crime’! #JusticeCOVID #PrisonAbolition
We have seen curfews enforced re: #COVID19, with no real use & no explanation as to why they were imposed. Just the acceptance of society that it be done. No questions asked! #JusticeCovid #DefundThePolice
So why do we continue to allow children in prisons with a real threat of #COVID19 spreading in an institution that punishes & has continued to punish when there should have been a health response to a health issue. #JusticeCOVID
If you want to listen to a seminar on “The ‘myth’ of a child ‘offender’” please click on this link https://twitter.com/crimsonchat/status/1307575142156042240?s=21 #JusticeCOVID #PrisonAbolition #AbolishPrisons #RaiseTheAge
I would like to thank @Croakeynews for hosting this #TwitterFest & @tessryan1 for moderating such an incredible event! #JusticeCOVID
I hope to continue the conversation to ensure that policies & legislation aren’t established & masked behind #COVID19 that continue to the overrepresent #Aboriginal people within the CJS! #JusticeCOVID
We must continue to talk about the impact #COVID19 has had & will continue to have, on everyone in Australia. No matter where you were locked down! It always must be a health response as opposed to constant punishment. #JusticeCOVID
You can follow @Robyn_Oxley.
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