Australian Bureau of Statistics
Celebrating the International Year of Statistics 2013

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LAW AND JUSTICE

This article is part of a comprehensive series released as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing: A focus on children and youth.

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Note: In this section, 'youth' and 'young people' refer to people aged 15–24 years. Data presented are from the ABS National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2008 (cat. no. 4714.0).

KEY MESSAGES Of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in 2008: 93% felt safe home alone during the day and 75% felt safe home alone after dark 69% reported one or more neighbourhood/community problems 26% felt that they had been discriminated against in the 12 months before the survey because they were of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin 31% had experienced physical or threatened violence in the 12 months before the survey 17% reported that they had been arrested in the last five years.

Law and justice issues have a significant impact on the lives of victims, offenders and their families and communities. For children and young people, the right to grow up in a safe environment free from violence and discrimination has been recognised internationally (Endnote 1). The Framework for Measuring Wellbeing: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, 2010 (cat. no. 4703.0) identifies children and young peoples' experiences of the law and justice system as a major domain that can influence Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing.

The topics covered in this article include:

• Safety and security
• Experiences of discrimination
• Experiences of violence
• Contact with the law and justice system
• Other resources.

Note: In the 2008 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS), questions on law and justice were asked of people aged 15 years and over. Only a small number of questions about experiences of violence and crime were asked of children.ENDNOTES

1. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 1989, Convention on the Rights of the Child, General Assembly resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989, Geneva, <www2.ohchr.org>.

This section contains the following subsection :

Safety and security

Experiences of discrimination

Experiences of violence

Contact with the law and justice system

Other resources about law and justice

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