The police data, obtained under freedom of information laws by the Redfern Legal Centre and seen by SBS News, shows 96 children were strip-searched in 2019-20, representing 2.5 per cent of the total number of people searched during the year.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 20 per cent of all children searched, up from 13 per cent the previous year.
Seven strip searches were conducted on children aged between 11 and 14 years old, which a police spokesperson said “were reviewed and found to comply with policy and legislative requirements”.
“The disproportionate number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that have been strip-searched is definitely a standout issue,” said Sam Lee, a solicitor with Redfern Legal Centre specialising in police accountability practices.
“And also the ongoing strip-searches of children, which is always a big problem because of the impact it has on them psychologically and physically.”
Redfern Legal Centre has teamed up with Slater and Gordon Lawyers to look into a potential class action for people who have been unlawfully strip-searched by NSW Police.
The legal action seeks to obtain compensation for potentially thousands of people who may have been unlawfully searched by NSW Police over the past six years.
Read the full article here (SBS News, 2 November 2020)
RLC in the Media: SBS News - Indigenous children as young as 11 disproportionately targeted by strip-searches in NSW
Date published
Indigenous children continue to be disproportionately targeted with strip-searches, making up about 21 per cent of all people aged between 10 and 17 years old strip-searched in the past financial year.
Maani Truu reports for SBS News
