Charities call for ban on use of painful restraint techniques on children

The BBC has reported ministers are under growing pressure to ban the painful headlocks, wrist and arm twists that can be used to control children’s behaviour in youth prisons.

The report stated the national inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA) had recently concluded “pain compliance” measures were child abuse and should be outlawed.

And the Equalities and Human Rights Commission ruled last week that such methods should not be used on children.

The Restraint Reduction Network does not endorse the use of pain-based techniques in education, health, and social care settings. 

We have recently published Training Standards on the use of restraint that apply across education, health, and social care. These standards will be mandatory in all NHS-commissioned services for people with learning disabilities, mental health conditions, services for autistic people and people living with dementia. You can find out more about the Standards here. 

We agree with the European Commission of Human Rights who believes that pain-based techniques should not be used on any child, and that use is a breach of human rights. The ECHR is working together with other agencies to extend the scope of the Training Standards to cover children in secure services.