tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/incarcerated-youth-30850/articlesincarcerated youth – The Conversation2020-09-28T12:23:49Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1428862020-09-28T12:23:49Z2020-09-28T12:23:49ZHow even a casual brush with the law can permanently mar a young man’s life – especially if he’s Black<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/359890/original/file-20200924-14-1qemu6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=176%2C142%2C5431%2C3589&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Even a minor arrest and no conviction can be devastating. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Doug Berry/Photodisc via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/6/1/21276957/george-floyd-protests-coronavirus-police-brutality-racism">George Floyd’s death</a> highlighted how even a minor alleged infraction – in his case, over a fake $20 bill – can lead to a fatal interaction with law enforcement. </p>
<p>As a result, a coalition of advocacy organizations, criminal justice reform advocates and everyday citizens <a href="https://www.vox.com/21312191/police-reform-defunding-abolition-black-lives-matter-protests">have called for cities</a> to take a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/28/us/police-out-of-schools-movement/index.html">wide range of actions</a> to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/08/13/at-least-13-cities-are-defunding-their-police-departments/#71497cd629e3">reduce the power and authority</a> of local police departments. </p>
<p>But loss of life isn’t the only potential consequence of a brush with the law. Even a single arrest, without conviction, can be devastating to the rest of a young man’s life – especially if he’s Black – particularly in terms of employment and earnings. And African American men are much more likely to get arrested than their white counterparts. </p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Cb-z1MwAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">My own recent research</a> has been exploring what employers can do to help overcome the barriers associated with arrests and the stigma of incarceration. </p>
<h2>Devastating consequences</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Americans-with-Criminal-Records-Poverty-and-Opportunity-Profile.pdf">One in three Americans</a> has been arrested by the age of 23, but the stats get a lot worse if you are a Black man. </p>
<p>A young African American <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-019-00618-7">is seven times more likely</a> to get arrested than a white peer. By the time they are 23, Black men are at a <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1007/s10560-019-00618-7">49% risk of getting arrested</a> and six times more likely to be incarcerated than white men. As of 2010, <a href="https://www.sentencingproject.org/news/5593/">one-third of African American adult males</a> had a felony conviction on their records, compared with 8% of all U.S. adults.</p>
<p>While the data on the system’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/black-americans-are-bearing-the-brunt-of-coronavirus-recession-this-should-come-as-no-surprise-137587">disproportionate impact</a> on Black men are bad enough, it doesn’t end there. Any interaction with the justice system, even for a misdemeanor or arrest without conviction, can have devastating consequences for the individual. </p>
<p>More than 60% of formerly incarcerated individuals <a href="https://www.nelp.org/publication/reentry-and-employment-for-the-formerly-incarcerated-and-the-role-of-american-trades-unions/">remain unemployed one year after being released</a>, and those who do find jobs make 40% less in pay annually.</p>
<p>Research shows that a criminal record of any sort – including arrest without conviction – <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1177/0002716208330793">reduced the likelihood of a job offer by almost 50%</a>. The impact is substantially larger for Black job applicants. </p>
<p>And while Black men are affected most by these problems, it’s a national problem that affects many young men and women across the United States. More than <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/07/29/amid-coronavirus-outbreak-nearly-three-in-ten-young-people-are-neither-working-nor-in-school/">10 million young adults</a> age 16-24 were neither working nor in school in June. While it’s unclear how many of them are “disconnected” as a result of an arrest record – the pandemic <a href="https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/young-lockdown-generation-suffering-severe-job-losses-covid-19">has certainly put many of them out of work</a> – research <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4192649/">suggests an arrest</a> is <a href="http://www.justicepolicy.org/news/12816">a key factor</a>. </p>
<p>The effect on the U.S. economy as a whole is significant, with the underemployment of formerly incarcerated individuals <a href="https://cepr.net/images/stories/reports/employment-prisoners-felonies-2016-06.pdf">leading to a loss</a> of US$78 billion to $87 billion in gross domestic product in 2014.</p>
<h2>Finding solutions</h2>
<p>Local and state agencies <a href="https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-is-a-ban-the-box-law.html">have passed legislation</a> designed to prevent hiring practices that discriminate against individuals with criminal records. </p>
<p>These efforts include “<a href="https://www.nelp.org/publication/ban-the-box-fair-chance-hiring-state-and-local-guide/">ban the box</a>,” which removes the question asking about a criminal record from job applications, and other <a href="https://www.goodhire.com/blog/understanding-the-fair-chance-act-and-fair-hiring-laws/">“fair chance” hiring</a> policies aimed at preventing employers from explicitly asking about an applicant’s criminal history.</p>
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<p>However, <a href="https://www.nelp.org/blog/ban-the-box-statistical-discrimination-studies-draw-the-wrong-conclusions/">research has shown</a> that these policies are not a panacea and <a href="https://psmag.com/social-justice/how-ban-the-box-can-lead-to-even-more-racial-discrimination-by-employers">can even lead to more</a> discriminatory and racist hiring practices as some employers switched to making certain assumptions based on racially distinctive names.</p>
<p>My team of researchers has been working with <a href="https://www.leadersup.org/about-us">LeadersUp</a>, a nonprofit that targets high youth unemployment in America, to identify more inclusive hiring practices for young adults who have interacted with the criminal justice system, including everything from a singular arrest to incarceration for felony offenses.</p>
<p>Our findings suggest that while there is strong support for the concept of fair chance hiring among employers, practices that would lead to more of these people being hired have not yet been widely adopted. </p>
<p>According to a soon-to-be-published survey of 39 employers so far, almost half reported trying to distinguish between an applicant’s arrest and an actual conviction, while 44% offered applicants an opportunity to explain a conviction.</p>
<p>One problem we encountered was that despite strong interest in proposing changes, human resources employees didn’t always feel they have enough authority to implement new initiatives regarding fair chance hiring. Additionally, when background checks are required, the burden often falls on the job applicant to take the initiative to review these checks for accuracy or to report employers who not are abiding by local hiring laws. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Hiring opportunities for young people who have an encounter with the justice system are further limited by compounding issues such as stigma, skill matching and a lack of education about what it means.</p>
<p>Employers play an important role in expanding inclusive hiring practices for individuals who have had involvement with the criminal justice system. But I believe a key first step toward more equitable hiring practices should be to expunge the criminal records of young adults who have been arrested but not convicted or have committed misdemeanor crimes. That will give more of them a clean slate to build their lives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142886/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary Painter receives funding from the Workforce Accelerator Fund (WAF 7.0) for the research referenced in this piece</span></em></p>Whether or not someone is eventually convicted, an arrest alone is enough to significantly impair a Black man’s job and earning prospects.Gary Painter, Professor of Public Policy, University of Southern CaliforniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1243382019-10-17T11:40:18Z2019-10-17T11:40:18ZA UN treaty guarantees youth rights everywhere on Earth – except the United States<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297352/original/file-20191016-98636-gyk83a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5246%2C1770&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Greta Thunberg speaks out alongside other youth plaintiffs at the UN.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/South-Sudan-Hunger-in-School/dbb9bdb9eb7944c0b4829440501f3924/19/0">AP Photo/Sam Mednick</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Fifteen kids from a dozen countries, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, recently brought a <a href="https://childrenvsclimatecrisis.org/">formal complaint</a> to the United Nations. They’re arguing that climate change violates children’s rights as guaranteed by the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx">Convention on the Rights of the Child</a>, a global agreement.</p>
<p>By petitioning the U.N. on behalf of the world’s children, their action <a href="http://opic.childrightsconnect.org/crc-pending-cases/">made history</a>. But it’s not the first time that kids have turned to this international accord in pursuit of social change.</p>
<p>As I explain in my book, “<a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479854509/the-kids-are-in-charge/">The Kids Are in Charge</a>,” the Convention on the Rights of the Child isn’t just a legal document. It also sends kids an important message: that they matter, that their voices are important and that they deserve to be heard. When countries join this agreement, which <a href="https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=IV-11&chapter=4&lang=en">took effect in 1990</a>, they pledge to work toward aligning <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2018.1558974">their own laws</a> with its principles.</p>
<h2>Banning corporal punishment</h2>
<p>The convention formally recognizes children as people with universal human rights and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2008.00585.x">specific rights because of their age</a>. It reflects <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139033312">a shift</a> away from seeing children entirely as the possessions of their parents to treating them as individuals with equal rights and their own interests.</p>
<p>Many countries have taken action to promote children’s rights and well-being based in part on its mandate. For example, <a href="http://www.capetalk.co.za/articles/277432/children-s-institute-gives-ban-on-corporal-punishment-the-thumbs-up">South Africa</a> recently became the 57th country to <a href="https://endcorporalpunishment.org/countdown/">prohibit corporal punishment</a> – any act intended to cause pain or discomfort, such as paddling and spanking – in all settings, including schools and homes.</p>
<p>Corporal punishment remains <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5766273/">legal in public schools</a> in <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-19-states-its-okay-to-hit-kids-with-a-wooden-board-47744">19 American states</a> and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/nfl-controversy/corporal-punishment-legal-common-n2044160">no state</a> has <a href="https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/142/6/e20183112">outlawed the practice for parents</a>.</p>
<p>In Ireland, a 2012 constitutional amendment gave kids <a href="https://doi.org/10.2838/45596">the right to be heard in custody hearings and other court proceedings</a>. And in Nigeria, the federal government <a href="https://www.unicef.org/children_1938.html">created a children’s parliament</a> and incorporated the perspectives of minors when drafting that country’s <a href="https://www.refworld.org/docid/5568201f4.html">Children’s Rights Act</a>.</p>
<p>President <a href="https://www.salon.com/2018/09/16/donald-trump-vs-international-law-overturning-the-legacy-of-eleanor-roosevelt/">Bill Clinton signed this convention in 1995</a>. But the U.S. Congress has never ratified this accord.</p>
<p>In fact, the U.S. is the <a href="https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CRC&Lang=en">only country</a> that has refused to embrace the world’s most-ratified human rights agreement. It has 196 signatories including all of the U.N. member states <a href="https://www.kidsrightsindex.org/Methodology/FAQs">except the U.S.</a> plus some U.N. observers and non-members, such as Palestine, the Holy See and the South Pacific territories of Cook Islands and Niue. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297358/original/file-20191016-98661-aghma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297358/original/file-20191016-98661-aghma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297358/original/file-20191016-98661-aghma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297358/original/file-20191016-98661-aghma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297358/original/file-20191016-98661-aghma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297358/original/file-20191016-98661-aghma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297358/original/file-20191016-98661-aghma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297358/original/file-20191016-98661-aghma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Indian children protested the 2017 chemical attacks in Syria that killed dozens of people, including children.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/India-Syria-Children/53f238e83d0b4b8b9796740168e46a6f/14/0">AP Photo /Tsering Topgyal</a></span>
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<h2>Empowering kids to advocate for kids</h2>
<p>Kids and their communities don’t necessarily have to know about the legal details of the treaty to embrace the idea of children’s rights and <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/reconceptualizing-childrens-rights-in-international-development/49090BE2C3C3889979761548B0D7984A">make it their own</a>. </p>
<p>Researchers working in different contexts around the world have found that learning about the convention and their rights increases children’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2010.506528">feelings of self-esteem and self-worth</a>, promotes <a href="https://utorontopress.com/us/empowering-children-4">social responsibility</a> and improves their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2011.572367">relationships with their schools, teachers and each other</a>.</p>
<p>According to a report from the Centre for Children’s Rights at Queen’s University Belfast and Save the Children International, a humanitarian nonprofit, it can also <a href="https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/enabling-exercise-civil-and-political-rights-views-children">motivate kids to stand up for themselves</a> and to defend their peers in the face of discrimination, violence or other rights violations. </p>
<p>In my own <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479854509/the-kids-are-in-charge/">research on working children’s activism in Peru</a>, kids shared how learning about their rights empowered them to speak out about injustices they encountered in their families, schools and communities.</p>
<p>A boy I’ll call Diego, for example, told me that knowing about the convention gave him the confidence to go to his school principal and complain about a teacher who was being verbally abusive toward students. Because of his involvement in an organization that talks about children’s rights, he told me he “knew about my right to a quality education, and I knew that we, the students, could defend that right.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/06/nearly-1000-stateless-children-forced-to-pay-uk-citizenship-fees">British kids</a> are drawing on the convention in their campaign to lower the fees for citizenship applications. At more than 1,000 British pounds – roughly equal to US$1,300 – fees are so high that some British-born children who are eligible for citizenship, and would otherwise become citizens, don’t apply.</p>
<p>Children in India have used the convention to persuade their local governments to create <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.18.2.0197">children’s councils</a>, where kids could be heard by adult political leaders. In the council in the small village of <a href="http://www.onefivenine.com/india/villages/Udupi/Kundapura/Keradi">Keradi</a>, children were concerned about alcoholism in their community because they saw it contributing to violence. They raised awareness of the problem and successfully pushed the local government to shut down unlicensed alcohol vendors.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297356/original/file-20191016-98653-1lvem3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297356/original/file-20191016-98653-1lvem3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297356/original/file-20191016-98653-1lvem3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297356/original/file-20191016-98653-1lvem3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297356/original/file-20191016-98653-1lvem3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297356/original/file-20191016-98653-1lvem3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297356/original/file-20191016-98653-1lvem3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297356/original/file-20191016-98653-1lvem3l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A 2018 protest against the separation of immigrant families on Capitol Hill in Washington.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Immigration-Separating-Families/01237ac5a9dd4efebbba28168ac74cad/191/0">AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin</a></span>
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<h2>Trying children and teens as adults</h2>
<p>If the U.S. were to finally ratify this convention, it could lead to changes in some national, state and local laws.</p>
<p>One notable children’s rights violation in the United States today is the <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/10/1023712">separation of migrant children</a> from <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2019/07/12/migrant-children-are-still-being-separated-parents-data-show/">their parents</a>. Others include the <a href="https://lbj.utexas.edu/news/2015/why-are-we-trying-kids-adults">practice of trying children</a> as <a href="https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatBB/structure_process/qa04113.asp?qaDate=2016&text=yes&maplink=link1">young as 10 years old as adults</a> in criminal courts and locking up minors convicted of crimes in <a href="http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/Children-USA.pdf">adult prisons</a> – <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/youth-solitary-confinement-continues-despite-health-and-civil-demands">at times</a> in <a href="http://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/states-that-limit-or-prohibit-juvenile-shackling-and-solitary-confinement635572628.aspx">solitary confinement</a>.</p>
<p>To be sure, the U.S. has made some strides toward strengthening childrens’ rights.</p>
<p>In 2005, for example, the Supreme Court removed one of the most significant differences between U.S. law and the convention when it <a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4518051">abolished the death penalty for minors</a>. And in 2012 the court ruled that the practice of handing children <a href="https://cas.uab.edu/humanrights/2018/11/19/childrens-rights-in-the-united-states/">mandatory life-without-parole sentences</a> is <a href="https://www.ap.org/explore/locked-up-for-life/Miller-v-Alabama-and-Jackson-v-Hobbs">unconstitutional</a>. </p>
<p>Because the international agreement encourages governments to include children’s voices in decisions that affect them, I believe that ratification would support efforts by U.S. kids to address the social, environmental and legal problems they care about most. Young activists fighting to advance climate justice, end gun violence and increase racial equity would all have the convention behind them when they speak out.</p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124338/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Taft has received funding from the American Sociological Association's Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline, the National Science Foundation, and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. </span></em></p>The Convention on the Rights of the Child is empowering children around the world by encouraging them to see themselves as important and valuable members of society.Jessica Taft, Associate Professor of Latin American & Latino Studies, University of California, Santa CruzLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/923362018-05-08T10:45:51Z2018-05-08T10:45:51ZEnding sexual assault in youth detention centers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217992/original/file-20180507-46338-1wpjwxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Juvenile residents sit in a classroom at detention center in Atlanta.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/David Goldman</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rampant violence and civil rights abuses in juvenile prisons are prompting <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/its-time-to-close-all-youth-prisons/2017/11/10/b74588f6-bf1c-11e7-8444-a0d4f04b89eb_story.html">calls to shut them down</a>.</p>
<p>In the wake of scandals in 2017 in <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-politics/2017/11/07/four-officers-facing-prison-time-sexual-misconduct-scandal-state-youth-lockup">Texas</a> and <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/special-reports/florida-prisons/article177887586.html">Florida</a> where correctional officers were accused of sexually assaulting youth in custody, the issue has drawn public attention. <a href="http://tjparsell.com/FISH.html">First-hand accounts</a> tell us that attacks of inmates by other inmates are also frequent occurrences, though they are notably absent from the news. </p>
<p>According to self-reported data collected by the government, about 10 percent of youth in juvenile detention facilities <a href="https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/pdca17.pdf">have been sexually assaulted</a> by other youths or staff. </p>
<p>My <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0886260518757226">recent research</a> shows that youth in juvenile detention facilities are at risk of sexual assault for different reasons than adult inmates. Policies and practices should recognize these differences.</p>
<h2>Data on assault</h2>
<p>At the turn of the 21st century, a <a href="https://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/prison/report.html">Human Rights Watch report</a> detailed the extent of the prison rape problem. Soon after, in 2003, Congress passed the <a href="https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=20">Prison Rape Elimination Act</a>. However, 15 years have passed, and the rates of sexual victimization in youth detention facilities, jails and prisons <a href="https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/pdca17.pdf">remain high</a>, particularly <a href="https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/svjfry12.pdf">among juveniles</a> compared to adults. </p>
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<p>The data collection mandated by the 2003 law and spearheaded by the Bureau of Justice Statistics has helped elevate the conversation about prison rape to the national level. However, adults remain the primary focus. </p>
<p>Historically, scholars have mostly used prison data on sexual assault from adult men, and more recently adult women. As a result, most of what we know about sexual assault in correctional facilities is about adult male inmates.</p>
<p>Part of what makes it difficult to gather data on juveniles in custody is that they are considered a vulnerable research population <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5151796/">both because of their age and because they are incarcerated</a>. This makes them less able to defend themselves from exploitation and coercion than adults in a free society. Researchers often must obtain youth assent, parental consent and institutional approval in order to collect information.</p>
<p>The lack of data is problematic. As my research and that of others shows, we cannot rely on the body of work among adults to develop measures for protecting youth.</p>
<h2>Violence against youth versus adults</h2>
<p>I obtained approval from the Department of Justice to access the 2012 National Survey on Youth in Custody data to determine risk factors of sexual victimization among juveniles. I then compared my findings to research conducted by other scholars who collected sexual victimization risk data among adults in prisons.</p>
<p>For example, adults who are “<a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0032885512439185?legid=sptpj%3B0032885512439185v1&patientinform-links=yes&">green</a>,” or <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2012.00282.x/abstract">new to prison</a>, are more likely to be victimized behind bars. But my research shows that the amount of time spent in a detention facility does not affect risk of sexual assault among youth. It is possible that “being green” is normal among youth in custody. Youth may have spent a similar length of time in custody compared to others in their facility. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.rienner.com/title/Prison_Sex_Practice_and_Policy">Gang affiliation</a> often protects adults from sexual assault by other inmates. By contrast, gang membership in a juvenile detention facility increases a young person’s chance of being sexually assaulted by a staff member. Such violence by staff against youth could be preemptive. In adult jails and prisons, gang members are more likely to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047235211000122">attack correctional officers</a>. Staff in youth facilities may <a href="http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/youth-prison-guard-i-am-afraid-of-getting-killed/article_b37ebaa6-cd7f-594a-9360-49a093a08beb.html">lack sufficient training</a> for deescalating situations and may strike first for fear of their safety.</p>
<p>Adult inmates who have a <a href="https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=7093&context=jclc">slight physical stature</a> are more likely to be victimized. Height and weight are not risk factors among youth in custody. We would expect youth who have <a href="http://adc.bmj.com/content/archdischild/67/5/632.full.pdf">smaller body proportions</a> to be more susceptible to victimization. It is interesting that this is not the case because youth develop at different rates and youth of varying builds are placed in the same facility providing opportunity for victimization.</p>
<p>At the same time, there are some similarities in risk among juveniles and adults. Youth and adults are at higher risk of sexual abuse while detained or incarcerated, if they have previously been sexually victimized in a facility or in the community prior to lock-up. People who have been victimized in the past are more likely to be <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1524838005275087">revictimized</a>. They may become priority targets and may be more vulnerable to attack because of <a href="https://www.girlsglobe.org/2015/08/04/the-repetition-compulsion-why-rape-victims-are-more-likely-to-be-assaulted-again/">trauma and fear of reporting</a> that can prevent help-seeking. </p>
<p>Also, members of the <a href="https://transequality.org/issues/resources/lgbt-people-and-prison-rape-elimination-act">LGBTQ</a> community are prone to sexual abuse in correctional facilities, regardless of age because of prejudice or discrimination.</p>
<p>When differences in supervision and rehabilitation needs between youths and adults were identified, the first juvenile court was created in <a href="https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1305&context=faculty_articles">1899 in Cook County, Illinois</a>. The same distinctions that led to a separate justice system for youth such as age and vulnerability can also explain differences in preventing sexual assault in correctional facilities. </p>
<p>The juvenile justice system is a model for all criminal justice institutions when dealing with youth. The majority of youth are processed through a different correctional system than adults. An evaluation of risk, independent from adults, could help shape our responses to sexual assault victimization among youth in custody.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92336/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eileen M. Ahlin receives funding from the National Institute of Justice, Department of Justice. </span></em></p>Research reveals that the factors that put youth at risk of sexual assault while in custody are significantly different from those that put adults at risk in prison.Eileen M. Ahlin, Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/825002017-09-19T02:42:48Z2017-09-19T02:42:48ZExcluding Indigenous youth from schools may severely increase their risk of incarceration<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186150/original/file-20170915-16273-jryvjv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For many young Indigenous children, schools are Eurocentric establishments offering minimal cultural connections.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many Indigenous children, particularly boys aged 10 to 17 years, <a href="http://www.childcomm.tas.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Student-Suspensions_A-Research-Review-November-2013.pdf">are receiving lengthy suspensions</a> from schools throughout Australia. Even more concerning is the over-representation of young Indigenous males incarcerated in Australia’s juvenile detention facilities.</p>
<h2>Indigenous youth in juvenile correctional facilities</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/youth-justice/youth-justice-in-australia-2015-16/contents/table-of-contents">Data</a> show Indigenous youth are incarcerated at 25 times the rate of non-Indigenous youth. </p>
<p>Young Indigenous people constitute 8% of Queensland’s population aged 10 to 17 years, but make up <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/b85be60c-9fef-436d-85df-82d8e5c5f566/20705.pdf.aspx?inline=true">53% of those under youth justice supervision</a> on an average day. This is higher than the national level at 45%. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/CICrimJust/2006/1.pdf">Research</a> suggests young Indigenous people are more likely to experience incarceration if they have limited educational opportunities, experience socioeconomic hardship or are dealing with an addiction. </p>
<h2>Educational contexts</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.rch.org.au/iyds/">International Youth Development Study</a>
found young people who were suspended or excluded from education were much more likely to develop anti-social behaviours and engage in criminal activity, which could eventually result in incarceration.</p>
<p>Despite these decisive factors, there is still a gap in the area of research related to the education of Indigenous Australian youth in mainstream schooling and their over-incarceration. This means we lack empirical evidence as to why Indigenous students are being excluded from education.</p>
<h2>Cultural disconnect</h2>
<p>For many young Indigenous children, schools are Eurocentric establishments offering minimal cultural connections. Many Indigenous students are acutely aware of the cultural disconnect between school and their home lives, which they must deal with every day.</p>
<p>Historically, there have been many political, social and economic decisions that have had a profound impact on the attainment of good educational outcomes for many Indigenous peoples. In the past, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were excluded and segregated from mainstream education. For many, this has resulted in trans-generational disadvantage. </p>
<p>Although there have been numerous policy documents addressing educational disadvantage for Indigenous children, over the past few decades little has changed systemically. For example, the ninth annual <a href="http://closingthegap.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/ctg-report-2017.pdf">Closing the Gap</a> report released in February this year indicates only one of seven targets is on track.</p>
<p>A lack of cultural knowledge about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within the educational and juvenile justice sectors hinders practical strategies for change. Many policymakers have little, if any, understanding of the historical disparities faced by Indigenous Australians. </p>
<p>The impact of policies that remove children from their homes and place them in confinement, whether in out-of-home care or incarceration, continues to be a complex issue not duly acknowledged by educators, policymakers or authorities. </p>
<h2>Indigenous-led strategies need to be heard</h2>
<p>There are many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who are willing to offer solutions to these complex issues. </p>
<p>However, according to <a href="https://www.amnesty.org.au/report-heads-held-high/">Amnesty International</a>, only two out of the 16 justice programs currently operating in Queensland are Indigenous-led. Community Elders have identified that many children who come into contact with the juvenile justice system should have an opportunity to reaffirm their spiritual and cultural connections to country. Governments need to listen to, work with and support local Indigenous community-led programs at a grassroots level.</p>
<p>One such positive, Indigenous-led strategy in Queensland is the forming of the new <a href="http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/corporate/business-areas/youth-justice/youth-justice-initiatives/youth-justice-first-nations-action-board">Youth Justice First Nations Action Board</a>. It is the first of its kind in Australia. The board’s representatives include Indigenous youth justice workers from throughout Queensland, who continue to work to support young Indigenous people at the local level. We are yet to see what difference this will make, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the challenge for policymakers, educators and communities in Australia is to achieve a significant reduction in the numbers of Indigenous students who receive lengthy suspensions or exclusions from school. This could very well have a direct effect on the high numbers of Indigenous youth incarcerated in juvenile detention centres.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82500/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Grace O'Brien does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Indigenous youth are over-representation in juvenile detention centres, and excluding them from education could make this worse.Dr Grace O'Brien, PhD Candidate, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/785282017-06-06T04:27:31Z2017-06-06T04:27:31ZFactCheck: are first Australians the most imprisoned people on Earth?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171568/original/file-20170531-25689-1gdbddm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cape York Partnership founder Noel Pearson, speaking on Q&A.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Q&A</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong>The Conversation fact-checks claims made on Q&A, broadcast Mondays on the ABC at 9.35pm. Thank you to everyone who sent us quotes for checking via <a href="http://www.twitter.com/conversationEDU">Twitter</a> using hashtags #FactCheck and #QandA, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/conversationEDU">Facebook</a> or by <a href="mailto:checkit@theconversation.edu.au">email</a>.</strong></p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Excerpt from Q&A, May 29, 2017. Quote begins at 1:49.</span></figcaption>
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<blockquote>
<p>We’ve made progress in the last 50 years but some of the profound indicators of our problems – children alienated from parents, the most incarcerated people on the planet Earth, and youths in great numbers in detention – obviously speak to a structural problem. <strong>– Cape York Partnership founder Noel Pearson, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s4655309.htm">speaking on Q&A</a>, May 29 2017</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>During a Q&A episode marking the <a href="https://theconversation.com/right-wrongs-write-yes-what-was-the-1967-referendum-all-about-76512">50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum</a>, Cape York Partnership founder Noel Pearson outlined some of the problems Indigenous Australians continue to face, including high incarceration rates. Pearson said Indigenous Australians are “the most incarcerated people on the planet Earth”. </p>
<p>Is that right?</p>
<h2>Checking the source</h2>
<p>When asked for sources to support his statement, a spokesperson for Pearson referred The Conversation to data from the US Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), and said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The US has the <a href="http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2012/us-incarceration.aspx">highest rate of imprisonment</a> (in number and by percentage of population).</p>
<p>In the US, the African-American people <a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/graphs/raceinc.html">are the most incarcerated</a> by percentage of their population (2,207 per 100,000).</p>
<p>Indigenous Australians <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4517.0%7E2016%7EMain%20Features%7EAboriginal%20and%20Torres%20Strait%20Islander%20prisoner%20characteristics%7E5">are the most incarcerated</a> by percentage of their population (2,346 per 100,000).</p>
<p>Therefore, the statement that Indigenous Australians are the most incarcerated people in the world is true.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What do the data say?</h2>
<p>It depends a bit on what you mean by “people”, which is a tricky term to define and will mean different things to different audiences. </p>
<p>For the purposes of this FactCheck, I have confined myself to checking Pearson’s statement on Indigenous Australian incarceration rates with the best available data on national incarceration rates in other countries. </p>
<p>I have also checked Indigenous Australian incarceration rates against the rate at which Indigenous populations are imprisoned in other countries, as well as the rate for African-Americans.</p>
<p>Let’s look at the facts.</p>
<h2>Which country has the world’s highest adult imprisonment rate?</h2>
<p>We can compare rates of incarceration in countries around the world using the <a href="http://www.prisonstudies.org/world-prison-brief-data">World Prison Brief</a>, an international database hosted by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research at Birbeck, University of London. It reports the number of adults incarcerated per 100,000 of the total population in 223 jurisdictions.</p>
<p>Pearson’s spokesperson was accurate to say the US had the highest overall rate of imprisonment in 2010, but things have changed since then.</p>
<p>The World Prison Brief now <a href="http://www.prisonstudies.org/country/seychelles">names Seychelles</a> as the country with the <a href="http://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison_population_rate?field_region_taxonomy_tid=All">highest adult imprisonment rate</a>. That’s based on data from 2014, which showed Seychelles had an imprisonment rate of 799 adults per 100,000 people.</p>
<p>The US is currently in second place, having reported <a href="http://www.prisonstudies.org/country/united-states-america">666 adult prisoners per 100,000 people</a> in 2015.</p>
<p>As a total population – including both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians – Australia currently ranks 93rd on the World Prison Brief list, with an imprisonment rate of 162 adults per 100,000 of the total population in 2016.</p>
<p>But, as Pearson highlighted on Q&A, we get a very different result when we look at the incarceration rate for Indigenous Australians.</p>
<h2>Comparing Indigenous Australia’s imprisonment rate to the World Prison Brief rankings</h2>
<p>The World Prison Brief <em>doesn’t</em> report the adult imprisonment rate for Indigenous Australians as a subset of the Australian population. But it is possible to calculate an estimate to compare to the international figures, using ABS data and population estimates. </p>
<p>In 2015, the Indigenous population in Australia was <a href="http://stat.data.abs.gov.au/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=ABORIGINAL_POP_PROJ">approximately 729,000 people</a>. In that year, there were <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4517.0%7E2015%7EMain%20Features%7EAboriginal%20and%20Torres%20Strait%20Islander%20prisoner%20characteristics%7E7">9,885 Indigenous adult prisoners</a>. That’s an imprisonment rate of roughly 1,356 adults per 100,000 of the total Indigenous Australian population.</p>
<p>So, Pearson’s statement that Indigenous Australians are “the most incarcerated people on the planet Earth” is correct if considering Indigenous Australian incarceration rates alongside incarceration rates in countries listed by the World Prison Brief.</p>
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<h2>Indigenous and marginalised groups’ incarceration rates in Canada, NZ and the US</h2>
<p>But how does Australia’s Indigenous imprisonment rate compare with those of other Indigenous and marginalised communities around the world?</p>
<p>Data on Indigenous imprisonment rates are not consistently measured or reported in many countries. So it’s difficult to gauge how Australia’s Indigenous imprisonment rate compares with Indigenous people or marginalised groups internationally.</p>
<p>But credible data are available for a number of groups in several countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US.</p>
<p>(Note: the following figures are reported per 100,000 of the <em>adult</em> population, not the <em>total</em> population as used by the World Prison Brief.)</p>
<p>Starting with the US, Pearson’s spokesperson accurately quoted US Bureau of Justice Statistics that showed African-Americans were the most imprisoned racial group in the US in 2010, with an adult imprisonment rate of <a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/graphs/raceinc.html">2,207 per 100,000 African-American adults</a>. In the same year, Indigenous Australians were imprisoned at a higher rate – <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/12CF5E952D0E70C6CA2577F3000F0AEC?opendocument">2,303 per 100,000 Indigenous adults</a>.</p>
<p>In 2015, the adult imprisonment rate of Indigenous Australians was still higher than that of African-Americans. In that year, <a href="https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p15.pdf">1,745 per 100,000 African-American adults</a> were incarcerated, compared to <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4517.0%7E2015%7EMain%20Features%7EImprisonment%20rates%7E14">2,253 per 100,000 Indigenous Australian adults</a>.</p>
<p>(By 2016, the Indigenous Australian incarceration rate had risen another 4%, to <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4517.0%7E2016%7EMain%20Features%7EAboriginal%20and%20Torres%20Strait%20Islander%20prisoner%20characteristics%7E5">2,346 adult prisoners per 100,000 adults</a>.)</p>
<p>The imprisonment rate for Indigenous Americans in the US in 2010 was <a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/graphs/2010rates/US.html">895 per 100,000 Indigenous American adults</a>. The imprisonment rate for Canada’s Aboriginal people in 2010-11 was estimated to be <a href="http://www.oci-bec.gc.ca/cnt/rpt/oth-aut/oth-aut20121022info-eng.aspx">1,400 per 100,000 Aboriginal Canadian adults</a>. </p>
<p>We can calculate the imprisonment rate for New Zealand’s Māori using statistics from the <a href="http://www.corrections.govt.nz/resources/research_and_statistics/quarterly_prison_statistics/December_2015.html">Department of Corrections</a> and <a href="http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/population/estimates_and_projections/MaoriPopulationEstimates_HOTPMYeDec15.aspx">Stats NZ</a>. In 2015, the Māori adult imprisonment rate was approximately 1,063 per 100,000 Māori adults.</p>
<p>So, Indigenous Australians were imprisoned at higher rates than Indigenous people in the US in 2010, in Canada in 2010-11 and in New Zealand in 2015, and than African-Americans in 2015. </p>
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<h2>Verdict</h2>
<p>Noel Pearson’s statement that Indigenous Australians are “the most incarcerated people on the planet Earth” is correct, based on the best available international data. <strong>– Thalia Anthony</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Review</h2>
<p>This is a sound FactCheck.</p>
<p>We do not have data for imprisonment rates of Indigenous, minority or marginalised groups in every country on Earth, so we cannot categorically state Indigenous Australians are the most incarcerated on the planet.</p>
<p>But for countries for which we do have data, this is an accurate statement. <strong>– Eileen Baldry</strong></p>
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<span class="caption">The Conversation FactCheck is accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network.</span>
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<p><em>The Conversation’s FactCheck unit is the first fact-checking team in Australia and one of the first worldwide to be accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network, an alliance of fact-checkers hosted at the Poynter Institute in the US. <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-conversations-factcheck-granted-accreditation-by-international-fact-checking-network-at-poynter-74363">Read more here</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Have you seen a “fact” worth checking? The Conversation’s FactCheck asks academic experts to test claims and see how true they are. We then ask a second academic to review an anonymous copy of the article. You can request a check at <a href="mailto:checkit@theconversation.edu.au">checkit@theconversation.edu.au</a>. Please include the statement you would like us to check, the date it was made, and a link if possible.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78528/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thalia Anthony receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eileen Baldry receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Cape York Partnership founder Noel Pearson told Q&A that Indigenous Australians were ‘the most incarcerated people on the planet Earth’. Is that right?Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/631702016-09-02T01:31:17Z2016-09-02T01:31:17ZHow civic intelligence can teach what it means to be a citizen<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136365/original/image-20160901-1018-1tuu5oc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What does it mean to be a citizen in today's world?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christopher Kennedy / Cassie Thornton</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This political season, citizens will be determining who will represent them in the government. This, of course, includes deciding who will be the next president, but also who will serve in thousands of less prominent positions.</p>
<p>But is voting the only job of a citizen? And if there are others, what are they? Who decides who will do the other jobs – and how they should be done?</p>
<p>The concept of “civic intelligence” tries to address such questions. </p>
<p>I’ve been researching and teaching the concept of “civic intelligence” for over 15 years. Civic intelligence can help us understand how decisions in democratic societies are made now and, more importantly, how they could be made in the future. </p>
<p>For example, my students and I used civic intelligence as the focus for <a href="http://www.sigeneration.ca/civic-intelligence-university-college/">comparing colleges and universities</a>. We wanted to see how well schools helped educate their students for civic engagement and social innovation and how well the schools themselves supported this work within the broader community.</p>
<p>My students also practiced civic intelligence, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13691180122844">as the best way of learning it</a> is through <a href="https://sites.evergreen.edu/ciral/">“real world” projects</a> such as developing a community garden at a high school for incarcerated youth.</p>
<p>So what is civic intelligence? And why does it matter?</p>
<h2>Understanding civic intelligence</h2>
<p>Civic intelligence describes what happens when people work together to address problems efficiently and equitably. It’s a wide-ranging concept that shows how positive change happens. It can be applied anywhere – from the local to the global – and could take many forms. </p>
<p>For example, civic intelligence was seen in practice when representatives of the world’s governments created and unanimously approved a global action plan last year in Paris. While climate change remains an immense threat, this global cooperation involving years of dedicated debate and discussion produced a common <a href="http://unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9485.php">framework for action</a> for worldwide reduction of greenhouse gases. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136343/original/image-20160901-1048-i4ft86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136343/original/image-20160901-1048-i4ft86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136343/original/image-20160901-1048-i4ft86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136343/original/image-20160901-1048-i4ft86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136343/original/image-20160901-1048-i4ft86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136343/original/image-20160901-1048-i4ft86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136343/original/image-20160901-1048-i4ft86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Civic intelligence describes when people work together to address problems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/takver/3622617318/in/photolist-6w7RVh-22rMwT-p6vQv5-fC94R9-dAiydt-LPF71-oTiK86-bDWXTo-hVJ9yu-pfefA5-paM5Yb-6PhbRy-oTjh2m-7dDPv9-paxq1B-6Pd2Yg-7cQo9g-7dzWk4-4DuHgU-FGYcjA-3igNze-bnTrMV-7ox1i4-eiwixk-cy9gio-beSdZv-qKtPES-papexP-6PcYXZ-6Pd1Y2-hE5oza-eiC5SU-beS8nX-7dzWkz-9vDcCg-6Phd3q-6PhbLW-dYfV7e-qJFKup-bnTaae-6PhaDo-phghQZ-pTQYNY-8XBPhB-7dDQuW-6PhcF5-7dzWqV-q2Fmvw-bnRN4F-pMRbgo#undefined">Takver</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another example is that of mayors around the world establishing networks such as the <a href="http://www.globalparliamentofmayors.org/">Global Parliament of Mayors</a> to bring elected officials together on a regular basis to discuss issues facing cities, such as housing, transportation and air quality. One of these networks, the <a href="http://www.c40.org/">C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group</a>, was launched when representatives of the world’s 40 largest cities wanted to collaborate to address climate change. </p>
<p>Similarly, millions of researchers, teachers, artists, other individuals and NGOs worldwide are working to <a href="http://beautifultrouble.org/">improve their cities and communities</a>. These efforts are amazingly diverse. </p>
<p>In one such case, groups of church members and others from the community in Olympia, Washington, worked for several years with homeless people and families to develop affordable <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/20/garden/small-world-big-idea.html">housing solutions</a>. And in Brooklyn, a group of young people started an experimental <a href="http://christopherleekennedy.com/portfolio/schoolofthefuture/">School of the Future</a> to develop their ideas on what schools could or should be.</p>
<h2>What’s the history?</h2>
<p>The term “civic intelligence” was first used in English in 1898 by an American clergyman <a href="http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/%7Eppennock/doc-JStrong.htm">Josiah Strong</a> in his book <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=fR6OAAAAMAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=Twentieth+Century+City+josiah+strong&ots=_BDpkUBaSj&sig=NEpjSoRe0onzLKwu9ET72alxSAI#v=onepage&q=Twentieth%20Century%20City%20josiah%20strong&f=false">“The Twentieth Century City”</a> when he wrote of a “dawning social self-consciousness.” </p>
<p>Untold numbers of people have been thinking and practicing civic intelligence without using the term. A brief look at some notable efforts reveals some historic approaches to its broader vision. Let’s take a few:</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136345/original/image-20160901-1054-ubr0h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136345/original/image-20160901-1054-ubr0h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136345/original/image-20160901-1054-ubr0h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136345/original/image-20160901-1054-ubr0h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136345/original/image-20160901-1054-ubr0h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136345/original/image-20160901-1054-ubr0h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136345/original/image-20160901-1054-ubr0h1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bluebike/3289684972/in/photolist-61GuJq-8N3NCi-8Kb4Jh-8N6Tjf-aywgMt-8N6T2Y-nAqd5g-amT8gk-8N6Szm-8N6RYJ-ieCYbh-8N6SJ7-8N3MrP-8N3P44-6bnMvX-8N6TrY-8N6SSG-8N3PcB-fkWi7L-eeoJ8r-nv4Gts-eZmYdw-eeusAf-cunx6S-cunzM7-cunCu7-8N3NVV-cunLVu-cunRy7-feRPRM-8N3NMi-8N6Rxs-fkWidh-cunyAG-cunJkL-cunwq3-cunGNy-8N6S8y-qpjmP-cunN3C-8N6RFS-cunNNL-e6ES4W-8N3NdR-cunEHs-eZmZ9d-abkUB4-eZmYs7-e95Cvz-eZaBMv#undefined">Laurie Chipps</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="http://www.iep.utm.edu/dewey/">John Dewey</a>, the prominent social scientist, educator and public intellectual, was absorbed for much of his long professional life with understanding how people pool their knowledge to address the issues facing them.</p></li>
<li><p>The American activist and reformer <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1931/addams-bio.html">Jane Addams</a>, who in 1889 cofounded the <a href="https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/progressiveera/hullhouse.html">Hull House</a> in Chicago, which housed recent immigrants from Europe, pioneered scores of civically intelligent efforts. These included free lectures on current events, Chicago’s first public playground and a wide range of cultural, political and community research activities.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Civic intelligence today</h2>
<p>There are more contemporary approaches as well. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Sociologist <a href="https://dusp.mit.edu/faculty/xavier-de-souza-briggs">Xavier de Souza Briggs’</a> research on how people from around the world have integrated the efforts of civil society, grassroots organizations and government to <a href="http://www.envisionutah.org/">create sustainable communities</a>. </p></li>
<li><p>With a slightly different lens, researcher <a href="http://ced.berkeley.edu/ced/faculty-staff/jason-corburn">Jason Corburn</a> has examined how “ordinary” people in economically underprivileged neighborhoods have used “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/street-science">Street Science</a>” to understand and reduce disease and environmental degradation in their communities.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economic-sciences/laureates/2009/ostrom-facts.html">Elinor Ostrom</a>, recently awarded the Nobel Prize in economics, has studied how groups of people from various times and places <a href="http://publicsphereproject.org/content/commons">managed resources</a> such as fishing grounds, woodlots and pastures by working together collectively to preserve the livelihoods’ sources for future generations. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Making use of civic intelligence</h2>
<p>Civic intelligence is generally an attribute of groups. It’s a collective capability to think and work together. </p>
<p>Advocates and practitioners of civic intelligence (as well as many others) note that the <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v497/n7447/full/nature12047.html">risks of the 21st century</a>, which include climate change, environmental destruction and overpopulation, are quantitatively and qualitatively unlike the risks of prior times. They hypothesize that these risks are unlikely to be addressed satisfactorily by government and other leaders without substantial <a href="http://www.sasquatchbooks.com/book/?isbn=9781632170446&becoming-a-citizen-activist-by-nick-licata">citizen engagement</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136347/original/image-20160901-1015-ee4s9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136347/original/image-20160901-1015-ee4s9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136347/original/image-20160901-1015-ee4s9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136347/original/image-20160901-1015-ee4s9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136347/original/image-20160901-1015-ee4s9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136347/original/image-20160901-1015-ee4s9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136347/original/image-20160901-1015-ee4s9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Civic intelligence reminds us that citizens assume responsibility.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gonzale/114789366/in/photolist-b9jT1-ssqFm-dbSRhN-9jfjhW-j7SAL-8aB4nm-afbvDL-rTDrN3-dbSRnw-eZkvSP-9eYtRd-ssqFi-8V9owj-9eVmcP-ekeRfq-6RxJ1-brER4X-eZwRS9-jz5AZ2-8Xzd7L-9TxxBq-fNzLYc-jFu2zx-pszrGP-eZwRR3-nBY34r-ssqFk-rRSuGc-9jZurN-cp9TC-6nQ7ci-agXH4R-dbSQrk-Ac71L8-9eYsUQ-9eVm2x-aAwsaz-eZkvNi-9jZyYo-iW5E8E-9jWvsD-p8TFs-Ac79Nv-eZkvP8-ji6ZM-dbSQXf-9jZyQo-bmjPDo-9eLbaM-cqGEJd#undefined">Gonzale</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>They argue that with or without formal invitations, the citizen must assume more responsibility for the state of the world, especially since in some cases the leaders themselves are <a href="https://www.transparency.org/what-is-corruption/">part of the problem</a>.</p>
<p>“Ordinary” people could bring <a href="http://ldm.sagepub.com/content/11/5/518.short">many civic skills</a> to the public sphere, such as innovation, compassion and <a href="http://publicsphereproject.org/content/everyday-heroism">heroism</a> that are indispensable to the decision-making processes.</p>
<p>That is what brought about changes such as <a href="http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic446176.files/Week_7/Keck_and_Sikkink_Transnational_Advocacy.pdf">human rights, overturning slavery and the environmental movement</a>. These were initiated not by businesses or governments, but by ordinary people. </p>
<h2>Twenty-first century civics</h2>
<p>The civics classes that are required in the public schools mostly focus on conventional political processes. They might teach about governance in a more conventional way, such as how many senators there are (100) or how long their terms are (six years). But self-governance needs <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-wrong-with-americas-civic-education-56854">more than that</a>.</p>
<p>At a basic level, “governance” happens when neighborhood groups, nonprofit organizations or a few friends come together to help address a shared concern.</p>
<p>Their work can take many forms, including writing, developing websites, organizing events or demonstrations, petitioning, starting organizations and, even, performing tasks that are usually thought of as “jobs for the government.” </p>
<p>And sometimes “governance” could even mean breaking some rules, possibly leading to far-reaching reforms. For example, without civil disobedience, the U.S. <a href="http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/chronicle_boston1774.html">might still be a British colony</a>. And African-Americans might still be <a href="https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/rosa-parks/">forced to ride in the back of the bus</a>.</p>
<p>As a discipline, civic intelligence provides a broad focus that incorporates ideas and findings from many fields of study. It involves people from all walks of life, different cultures and circumstances. </p>
<p>A focus on civic intelligence could lead directly to social engagement. I believe <a href="http://publicsphereproject.org/sites/default/files/SpandaJournal_VI,1_Schuler.pdf">understanding civic intelligence</a> could help address the challenges we must face today and tomorrow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63170/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Douglas Schuler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Civic intelligence describes what happens when people work together to address problems efficiently and equitably. It could help address many societal challenges.Douglas Schuler, Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies, Evergreen State CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.