The Kids Research Institute Australia is supporting calls for the urgent release of the Murugappan family from held detention.
Institute Director, Professor Jonathan Carapetis, says there is overwhelming evidence that the health and emotional wellbeing of children cannot be met in a held detention environment.
“We wish Tharnicaa a speedy recovery but acknowledge that her mental health and that of her detained sister is paramount. It is untenable to think that this three-year old with her family would be sent back to held detention.
“Children of any age should not be in detention, and children should not be separated from their family. There must be more humane alternatives for all refugee and asylum seekers as these complex legal matters are decided.”
Professor Carapetis cited the 2015 statement from the Royal Australian College Physicians as a blueprint for a more effective approach.
It outlined unacceptable risks to children’s health, development and mental health:
These risks are particularly high for infants and toddlers in held detention and for women in the pregnancy or post-partum period. Risks to children include deteriorating parental mental health and function, institutional policies that undermine parenting and family life, and cumulative adverse environmental and safety risks, amplified by family separation. …Despite these risks, there is no clear or consistent child protection framework in place for children in Australian held detention. Children’s restriction of liberty and lack of access to equitable health, education and recreational opportunities are in contravention of Australia’s international obligations as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
RACP Refugee and Asylum Seeker Health Position Statement 2015
“This statement was published 6 years ago, yet the policy to detain children continues to put vulnerable children at significant increased risk at a critical time in their physical and mental growth, education and development.
“I would hope for a compassionate response in this case, and importantly a re-think on this policy that is destructive for children and families.”