A third protest in as many weeks has called for the spotlight to be put on the issues facing juvenile detainees inside Western Australia's Banksia Hill detention centre.
Supporters for a class action against the institution continued their passionate demonstrating on Wednesday outside Correctives Services' Perth office.
Banksia Hill is WA's only jail for children aged between ten and seventeen and is twenty minutes away from the maximum-security Casuarina Prison, where riots took place a fortnight ago.
Community advocate Marianne Mackay says Western Australia is failing inmates of all ages.
“You got people rioting at Casuarina... And then you've got kids rioting in Banksia Hill," she told NITV News.
“It just goes to show that the whole system is flawed, they're failing everybody."
The recent Casuarina rioting was blamed on understaffing.
"The system is flawed": Marianne Mackay Source: Supplied: Kearyn Cox
Gerry Georgatos, National Coordinator at the National Suicide Prevention Trauma Recovery Project, says Banksia Hill is experiencing similar problems.
“They've admitted their understaffing issues... they need 800 more staff according to the prison union across the state in Western Australia," he said.
“All prisons have many incidents because of the understaffing and also the lack of the appropriate personnel to nurture support and peer support and help people restart."
He also described what inmates are currently experiencing inside Banksia Hill.
“We know that there's children right now in what's known as 'the back of the cage'," Gerry said.
Desmond Blurton speaking to the crowd outside the corrective services building. Source: Supplied: Kearyn Cox
"In these cells you can touch both walls, and they are locked down just about 24/7. They got half an hour stretch on the outside in a wider cage... and they've got no utensils when they're eating. They're eating with their hands.
"It's morose. It's sad. It's gruesome."
Ramon Vida is a former Banksia Hill detainee and says guards would slam him to the ground.
“With the officers, there is no support. Some of the girl officers were alright and they helped us now and then but the guys treated us like men in there," he said.
“They would stand over us hold us down and slam us to the ground if we swear at them," he said.
The group is planning to continue the pressure against Corrective Services and hundreds are expected to attend a candlelight vigil outside Banksia Hill next week.
Brothers Ramon Vida and Jayden Vida. Source: Supplied: Kearyn Cox
