Pivotal safety conversations are a two-way street
As adults, it’s our responsibility to talk with children and young people, not just about them, and to take seriously what they tell us about their lives and the decisions that shape them.
We can’t have a comprehensive conversation about increasing safety in our communities without having regard for the views of children and young people as citizens in their own right.
While it’s heartening that in the wake of the Commission of Inquiry vital conversations with young Tasmanians about child safety are being taken seriously, in part encouraged by the Tasmanian Government’s recently released draft Change for Children Strategy and Action Plan, there is more work to do.
I want to draw attention to two, timely examples that illustrate how conversations with children and young people can be two-way dialogues, including a genuine focus on listening to and considering their views.
I recently had the privilege of steering a significant event during which the Voices for Tasmanian Youth, a consultative council established by the Commissioner for Children and Young People, presented their pivotal report, Speaking Out for a Safer Tomorrow: Our Messages for Change, to the Premier and Minister for Children and Youth.
The Council’s report captures their shared vision for a safer tomorrow – “a Tasmania where every child and young person feels safe, supported, and empowered to speak out”.
Members of the Voices for Tasmanian Youth are aged 10-18 and represent diverse identities, backgrounds, and experiences from communities across Tasmania with a shared commitment to influencing change for their peers.
Council members have been supported to produce original creative and written content primarily to influence the further development of the Tasmanian Government’s draft Strategy and Action Plan.
Their report is imbued with their voice and vision, which emerged from a series of often tough conversations about child sexual abuse and children’s safety in government institutions, in our communities, and online. Through this project, the Voices for Tasmanian Youth discussed just how often children and young people feel unsafe and unheard, and identified several key messages for change.
Council members spoke directly to the Premier and Minister, presented both with their considered report and hosted a roundtable conversation that included other key decision-makers.
This event, co-designed with the Council, became a platform for them to share their views and to be seriously listened to by those with power to make decisions about their lives, as is their right under Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In a second recent example of Article 12 in action, I was pleased to see the voice of a young person with recent experience of Ashley Youth Detention Centre highlighted in the Custodial Inspector’s latest Youth Health Care Inspection Report and subsequent media coverage.
The report included a letter to the Premier courageously written by a young person with support from the Office of the Commissioner for Children and Young People. The letter outlined the young person’s experience of life at Ashley, including their understandable despair about extended periods of isolating lockdowns during 2023 triggered by ongoing staff shortages.
Though filled with apparent pain, through their letter the young person approached the Premier with a sense of optimism for positive change, writing of the youth justice system:
“I think it’s really sad that… young people don’t have the support and guidance they need. I understand the world is not perfect but there has to be a better way through the system and through the community than what we have now, that can help kids a bit more and have better support.”
This young person bravely shared their views and they were heard, as demonstrated through their inclusion in the Custodial Inspector’s report, as well as the receipt of a written response from the Premier.
I urge all policy and decision-makers, as well as the wider Tasmanian community, to take the time to read both of the recent reports shared by the Voices for Tasmanian Youth and the Custodial Inspector. It is vital that we provide time, space and support for children and young people to safely express themselves about issues important to them, listen to their voices and ensure that what they say has a genuine influence in shaping future policies and practices that affect their lives
Isabelle Crompton,
Acting Commissioner for Children and Young People
Media Contact:
Mark Thomas, M&M Communications
0422 006 732