CAN KIDS IN DETENTION HEAR?

Banksia Hill is the only detention centre for offenders aged 10 to 17 years in WA.

Recent media spotlight on Banksia Hill and juveniles detained by the WA justice system begs the question of how many of these young offenders can hear?

The 2010 Senate Inquiry, 'Hear Us', pointed to the causal pathway between hearing loss and the juvenile justice system: it is clear that young students who disengage from education are at great risk. We should all be concerned about children being on a pathway to lifetime engagement with the justice system.

Of 4,000 children in detention, around 75% are Aboriginal. This astonishing and troubling over-representation backs up Emma Garlett’s recent article in The West Australian about the normalisation of incarceration for Aboriginal families.

Social problems have causes. Ear disease and hearing loss contribute to Aboriginal children falling behind in school, disengaging from education and becoming truant on their way to first engagement with the juvenile justice system. Earbus Foundation works to help children get their ears fixed so they stay in school and learn what they need to have a decent future as productive and happy citizens.