Last updated: June 2018
Main Points
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Why Do Children in Wales Need Lawyers?
Professor Jane Williams, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Children’s Legal Centre Wales Recently I had the honour to deliver the annual lecture for the Observatory on Children’s Human Rights at Swansea University. I chose the title ‘Why Children Need Lawyers, Not Just...
Strip Searching Children: A Continuing Violation of Children’s Rights in Wales
Dr Rhian Croke, Children’s Legal Centre Wales New data published on April 9th 2026, from UK Home Office custody statistics indicate that 157 children were strip searched in police custody in Wales in the year ending March 2025. This can be cautiously compared with 183...
We Were Wondering- What is a Senedd Election?
Rhian Howells- Education and Engagement Lead The next Senedd election takes place on 7 May 2026, and this year comes with big changes that young voters should know about. Whether you’re voting for the first time at 16 or you’ve taken part before, this election gives...
Listening to Children in Wales: What Young People Say They Need from Legal Support Today
What do children and young people in Wales want to know about the law today? And how do they want to access legal support when they need it? These were the questions behind our recent survey of 143 young people aged 11–17. Their responses provide a valuable snapshot...
We Were Wondering… What Happens If I Share a Post which Encourages Bad Behaviour “For a Laugh”?
Rhian Howells: Education and Engagement Lead, Children’s Legal Centre Wales It might feel harmless or a joke but what if a post encourages someone to hurt someone else? Sharing Can Still Be a Crime In the UK, encouraging or supporting violence online can be a criminal...
We Were Wondering… How Old Do You Have to Be to Get Arrested?
Rhian Howells Education and Engagement Lead, Children's Legal Centre Wales This is a question we ask all the time in our outreach sessions: “What age can you be arrested?” More than half of the time, both young people and adults get it wrong. The most common...
Too Young for Social Media — Old Enough for Criminal Responsibility? Time to rethink child justice in England and Wales
Dr Rhian Croke, Policy Advocacy and Strategic Litigation Lead, Children’s Legal Centre Wales Last week, the House of Lords debated two pieces of legislation that go to the heart of how we understand childhood, maturity, and responsibility in the UK. The first is the...
Humbug to Hug: Protecting every Tiny Tim
Charles Dickens created Tim to highlight the struggles of poor and disabled children in Victorian Britain. Back then, children like Tim had no guaranteed rights. But today, in Wales, children’s rights are supported by Welsh laws, which require the government to...
We Were Wondering… What are the Laws about Sexting?
Rhian Howells- Children’s Legal Centre Wales Young people have been telling us that that they have been asked to send nudes and that they were unsure about the rules around sexting. Many were surprised to learn that something as common as being asked for a nude...
We Were Wondering… What are the rules about carrying things for self-defence?
Rhian Howells, Education and Engagement Lead What Young People Really Want to Know Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting a group of young people at a youth club in Aberaeron. During our chat, I asked them what parts of the law they’d like to learn more about. One...
We are very grateful to Irwin Mitchell Solicitors for generously giving their time and expertise to check the content of this section of the website. October 2018.