Hope Instead of Handcuffs, the children’s human rights campaign led by Serenity Welfare founder Emily Aklan, is gaining significant political support and will be hosting a parliamentary event on Wednesday November 17.
The campaign is fighting to end the practice of handcuffing and physically restraining children in care during secure transportation by private providers.
Aklan said: “For too long, private companies have been allowed to use handcuffs on the children they are hired to transport from locations such as to and from care homes, foster placements, schools, hospitals: innocent children who have not committed nor been suspected of committing a crime.
“The law currently states that handcuffs and other such physical restraints can be used if necessary as a last resort, at the discretion of the adult working with the child – however the reality is that handcuffs are used as a go-to option any time a child shows any sign of resistance. Rather than treating a young person who has already been traumatised and dealing with extremely stressful and life-altering situations with care, kindness and respect, they are treated like animals.”
Aklan believes that the reason behind the issue being allowed to spiral lies within a loophole in the children’s social care system. Unlike within residential care homes or youth justice centres, there is no requirement for providers of transport to report any instances of handcuffing – meaning that there is no official record, and no way to monitor its prevalence.
In Aklan’s eyes, the issue is becoming an all-too common scenario in a world where one child being unnecessarily handcuffed and treated like a criminal should be seen as too many.
“I have seen children as young as ten years old show me red marks around their wrists, terrified of getting into a car for fear of more inhuman treatment,” she said.
“Not only is the use of handcuffs utterly cruel, but we’ve also proven that it’s wholly unnecessary. Since founding Serenity Welfare five years ago, not once have we had to resort to physical restraint.
“Does it sometimes take longer to work calmly with a child to de-escalate a highly charged situation? Yes. Is it normal for a young person to feel frightened and distrustful of authority? Of course. Is it worth every extra minute to ensure that we are not caging children like animals? No doubt.”
The Hope Instead of Handcuffs campaign has been gaining momentum over the last year, with the launch of a new report quantifying the cost of failing children in care, national media coverage and political support from 25 MPs who have signed an Early Day Motion calling on the government to ban the practice of handcuffing on children and young people.
As the campaign moves forward, Aklan and Serenity Welfare will be hosting a drop-in event in Parliament to talk to MPs and peers directly about the issue on November 17.
Aklan explained that the session will provide an ideal opportunity for parliamentarians to ask questions about the campaign and understand more about how they can help.
Readers who have experienced being placed in handcuffs by a private transport provider while in the care system can contact the Hope Instead of Handcuffs campaign team via email at scarlett.lawson@whitehousecomms.com
