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Manx: 12-year old girl remanded to jail

01 May 1997

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A 12-year old girl, who has spina bifida, was held on remand for 7 days at an annex on the Isle of Man's only prison before being released into the care of a children's home in June. The girl, who was charged with - and later found guilty of - assaulting a social worker and criminal damage had been heard crying and shouting while at the Victorian prison in the island's capital, Douglas. She escaped further imprisonment after her conviction when she received a conditional discharge and returned to a children's home where she will be under 24-hour supervision from social workers.

The island, which is a Crown Dependency of the UK, and is neither a part of the UK nor the European Union, has a reputation for intolerance. It was forced to change its repressive laws on corporal punishment and homosexuality by the European Convention on Human Rights. Hanging was abolished in 1993 although birching is retained. Under Manx law children as young as 10 can be sent to the special annex at the adult prison. In the UK child offenders aged under 15 are kept in local authority secure accommodation.

The Manx Council for Civil Liberties condemned the girl's imprisonment as "outrageous" and said that they would be asking the Manx government to reconsider their policy. In the past 3 years there have been 31 juveniles under 16 jailed - the youngest was 12 years old, five were under 14 and the rest were 15-16.

Observer 8.6.97; Independent 11 & 12.6.97.

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