The federal government has tabled the long-awaited Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) report into children held in immigration detention. The report, which recommends a royal commission be held into the issue, has been subject to intense politicisation. This has included the AHRC and its president, Gillian Triggs, coming in for criticism from government MPs and media commentators.
The report found that children in immigration detention had been involved in nearly 300 instances of actual or threatened self-harm between January 2013 and March 2014. It also revealed that more than one-third of children detained have developed a mental illness requiring psychiatric care.
The Conversation’s experts assessed the report’s implications for asylum seeker law, policy and health. Their responses follow. Please follow this link to view the full article.