9th September 2010
This report by Medical Justice is the first large scale exploration, in the UK, of the physical and psychological harms caused and aggravated by the detention of children for immigration purposes.
Despite recent statements by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government that the detention of children will cease, there has been confusion about exactly when, and in what circumstances, this will take place. There are also very real concerns that detention may continue, and be joined with other measures such as continued dawn raids, taking children into temporary care, and the separation of families in order to force them to leave the UK.
This report sets out in detail why the detention of children must be abolished immediately, and subjects to scrutiny measures which may be used to forcibly harm children in the future.
See the report here.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.