Legislation banning the practice of routine strip-searching of children and young people in custody has passed both houses of parliament in the Australian state of Tasmania.
The Youth Justice Amendment (Searches in Custody) Bill 2022 is designed to protect further the wellbeing and dignity of children and young people in detention facilities. It comes in response to the Commissioner for Children and Young People’s May 2019 Memorandum of Advice on searches of children.
The memorandum states that there is no justification for routine strip-searching of children and young people, and therefore the practice should cease.
In addition, it stressed that alternative strategies or technologies such as body scanners should be employed wherever possible to avoid the need for strip searches and that invasive searches should be conducted “only when reasonable, necessary and proportionate to a legitimate aim and should be developed by agencies in consultation with stakeholders.”…