In case you'd forgotten amid all the Munro excitement, today is the day the government promised the detention of children for immigration purposes would end. (Although progress on this promise, like so many of the coalition's, hasn't gone well).
And if there weren't enough reasons to end child detention, the Children's Society has today published new research warning of the on-going dangers of detaining children.
The report - which examined the experiences of 32 families detained prior to the coalition's May 2010 pledge to end child detention - evidences children's traumatic experiences while being detained, which the government should be at pains to avoid.
These include children witnessing hunger strikes, suicide attempts and the use of restraint on their parents. The majority of children also experienced emotional distress, including sleeplessness, nightmares and constant crying, and ongoing health problems post-release.
Although children will no longer be detained at the Bedfordshire-based Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre, it is not yet clear how they will be treated while detained in the UK Border Agency's new 'pre-departure accommodation' near Gatwick airport. (At which Barnardo's will, somewhat controversially, be running welfare services.)
Bob Reitemeier, chief executive of The Children's Society, said: "We will be paying particular attention to whether detention in pre-departure accommodation will be used as a genuine last resort, for the shortest time possible, and in the most exceptional cases. It is not yet clear if it will be just another form of detention that harms children.
He said the report highlighted how critical it is that "lessons are learned from the past and the needs and welfare of children in the asylum system are at the heart of the process."
Picture credits: smemon87 and DIAC Images
