Raising the Age of Criminal Responsibility w/ Lisa Woods: August 22, 2022

Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand is calling on the New Zealand Government to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to at least 14 years old. This is one of the many changes needed to improve Aotearoa New Zealand’s youth justice system.

Lisa Woods, Campaigns Director for Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand, mentions, "When a child does something seriously wrong, it is often because they have been seriously let down by society. What we then risk is using the criminal justice system to respond to issues caused by, for example, trauma and a lack of health and mental health support. This means that instead of solving problems caused by a lack of resources and services, our current laws are funnelling children into a system that can trap them for the rest of their lives. This does irrevocable damage to the child, their whānau, and to the rest of society."

Joe spoke to Lisa Woods on the matter