Ensuring the right to health care for detained adolescents: cross-sectoral strategies and policy innovations

Abstract This presentation will draw attention to the health concerns of adolescents deprived of liberty, stressing that incarceration of minors should be a last resort. Notwithstanding, when governments allow for incarceration of minors, they must guarantee this does not translate into deprivation of basic human rights and that international treaties are respected, including access to high quality healthcare. This talk outlines the development of a policy brief based on data from the UN global study, which identifies essential health interventions for minors in various forms of detention-migration, youth detention, and adult detention where children reside with their parents. Using case studies from Greece, India, and the United States, shortcomings in existing health systems in detention contexts are stressed. A more recent policy brief focusing exclusively on children detained in the context of migration will be used to provide good practice case studies, where appropriate actions such as changes in legislation were put in place, namely in Canada, South Africa, Ukraine and Ireland. A key focus of the presentation will be the importance of cross-ministerial collaboration, as healthcare in the criminal justice system frequently falls under the jurisdiction of ministries other than health, complicating health policy implementation. The speaker will discuss integrated approaches that involve various sectors to ensure the health rights of detained youth are addressed. The presentation aims to illuminate the systemic changes needed to protect the health of detained adolescents, urging policymakers, healthcare providers, and advocates to adopt holistic and inter-sectoral strategies. The talk will also refer to policy actions and recommendations for Member States to support them in addressing challenges so they may achieve the principles of equivalent care and continuity of care that reflects the recommendations of the United Nations Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty.