Kids in the "Box”: Solitary Confinement Is Just Government-Sanctioned Child Abuse

Imagine a young teen locked in a cement cell for days on end, with a concrete slab for a bed. The cell has no windows, and is so small the youth can almost touch both walls with his outstretched arms. He is denied personal possessions, including books, clothing, or bedding. Except for the person who stops outside the solid steel door to deliver food, he is cut off from all human interaction. He receives one hour each day for recreation or exercise, but receives no mental health or educational services.

Solitary confinement causes permanent, irreversible psychological and developmental damage to children and youth - many of whom are often already suffering from mental health issues, including PTSD related to childhood trauma. Indeed, solitary confinement exacerbates the trauma already at the center of so many of these children’s lives.

When parents lock their own children in windowless, empty rooms, it is considered child abuse and we surround the family with social services. Yet states routinely engage in this abusive practice, confining youth in small cells, alone, for 22 to 24 hours a day for weeks or even months at a time. Where is the outrage? 

Upon learning of the widespread abusive practices inflicted on children and youth in the U.S. justice system, award-winning photographer Richard Ross developed a unique way to express his outrage.

In partnership with Juvenile Law Center, and InLiquid, photographer Richard Ross presents Juvenile In Justice: End Solitary Confinement, a collaborative, multi-site exhibition of photographs, audio recordings of detained youth, and an interpretive replica of a solitary confinement cell. The exhibit opens with a free reception and panel discussion beginning at 5:30 on July 21^st. Panelists include: photographer Richard Ross; Juvenile Law Center Deputy Director and Chief Counsel, Marsha Levick; and Urban Justice Center Mental Health Project advocate, Johnny Perez. The event is free and open to the public.

National outcry to ban solitary confinement

In January 2016, President Obama issued a ban on solitary confinement of youth in federal facilities and highlighted the physical, emotional, and social harms that solitary confinement inflicts on youth. The President’s ban echoes a growing plea to immediately end the practice nationwide, not just in federal facilities, but in state and local correctional facilities as well. While many  of those state and local facilities claim they use solitary for “the youth’s own safety,” research shows that solitary confinement  does far more harm than good and does not reduce the levels of violence. In fact, it greatly increases the probability of suicide.

A report issued by the Attorney General’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence noted that, among suicides in juvenile facilities, half of the juveniles were in solitary at the time of their suicide. In one instance, a juvenile requested crisis counseling after experiencing auditory and visual hallucinations and suicidal thoughts while in solitary confinement. Instead of providing treatment or ending the youth’s confinement, the staff told him the request would only justify keeping him in isolation longer. 

Learn more and lend your voice to the national movement

Please join us and be a part of the national movement to end the solitary confinement of children! The main exhibit at the Free Library of Philadelphia opens July 21 and will run through September 4, 2016. Satellite installations are on display at Eastern State Penitentiary, University of Pennsylvania Law School, and the African American Museum in Philadelphia.