First a strip-search goes too far, then a boy is isolated in a cell … the former detainees who tell all-too-similar stories
News Source
•Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:00:21 GMT
📰 What Happened
Guardian Australia spent five months talking to former youth detainees, their lawyers and advocates. The men and women allege rape, sexual assault and bashings inside detention centres across the country. Many say they were strip-searched in ways that went too far.
They describe being locked alone in cells and assaulted while being taken to the toilet. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are over-represented. Some survivors say they were never believed when they spoke up.
🔍 The Backstory
Australia has looked into this before. A 2008 South Australian inquiry heard from 792 people who said they were abused in state care. A 2023 Tasmanian inquiry found widespread sexual abuse at the state's only youth detention centre.
The national royal commission into child sexual abuse led many survivors to speak. Detainees say they are still less likely to be believed. Class actions are running in Western Australia and Victoria, and last month a 73-year-old man was charged over abuse at a South Australian centre.
🎯 Why It Matters
Children held in state care should be safe. These claims show a system that failed them, and survivors are still fighting for justice years later.
Guardian Australia spent five months talking to former youth detainees, their lawyers and advocates. The men and women allege rape, sexual assault and bashings inside detention centres across the country. Many say they were strip-searched in ways that went too far.
They describe being locked alone in cells and assaulted while being taken to the toilet. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are over-represented. Some survivors say they were never believed when they spoke up.
Australia has looked into this before. A 2008 South Australian inquiry heard from 792 people who said they were abused in state care. A 2023 Tasmanian inquiry found widespread sexual abuse at the state's only youth detention centre.
The national royal commission into child sexual abuse led many survivors to speak. Detainees say they are still less likely to be believed. Class actions are running in Western Australia and Victoria, and last month a 73-year-old man was charged over abuse at a South Australian centre.
Children held in state care should be safe. These claims show a system that failed them, and survivors are still fighting for justice years later.