Position Paper 2023

Transdisciplinary Research for Youth Justice – Position Paper 2023 25 relationships. This includes a range of schemes developed for young people that offer interventions in circumstances reflective of Charlie’s story. for example, in areas such as supported housing (Hobson et al, 2021); social work with families, children, and young people (Roche, 2006); and, importantly, in schools (Bevington 2015) . In the case of Charlie, it is possible that the support on offer through a restorative school would have enabled him to address some of the problem behaviours and relationships that were characteristic of his early life and which shaped his ongoing patterns of behaviour and relationships. Such person-centered and trauma-informed restorative schools have been shown to have significant benefits for young people struggling with behavioural and emotional problems; a study in a South Wales restorative secondary school found a 93% reduction in exclusions, 73% reduction in referrals to the Youth Offending Service, and 48% reduction in anti‑social behaviour attributable to young people (Hopkins 2015). For Charlie, who has struggled with dysfunctional relationships, educational instability, and conflict with the law, restorative approaches offer the potential for interventions across the life course. The broader value of such approaches in the context of youth offending is significant, providing transformative opportunities for young people though supporting them to have a voice, providing the opportunity for greater inclusion in the decisions that impact on them, and increasing their agency. 4.6 From a law perspective Charlie has experienced multiple traumas in his life. From a young age, Charlie has witnessed and experienced violence and abuse, homelessness and alcohol and drug dependency. Charlie has engaged in offending behaviour and experienced breakdowns in relationships with his family and in intensive fostering. Section 3 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 recently expanded the definition of domestic abuse to include seeing, hearing or experiencing the effects of domestic abuse between parents, those with parental responsibility (as defined by section 3 of the Children Act 1989; the 1989 Act)) and/or relatives (as defined by section 63(1) of the Family Law Act 1996). Both domestic and international law impose obligations upon state actors to embed safeguarding and the best interests of the child in their practices with children, to promote children’s development of a pro-social identity, to engage with a diversionary ethos and to ensure all work with children is constructive and future-