Helen Bayes is the founder and National Coordinator of Defence for Children International in Australia. Her work focuses on issues including child labour, juvenile justice, sexual exploitation and effective laws to end all forms of violence towards children. Her work recently has concentrated on Indigenous children, particularly the effects of mandatory sentencing laws in Western Australia and in the Northern Territory on those children.
The judges commended Ms Bayes for her capacity and energy in bringing to the notice of Australians the standard by which we can assess our treatment of all our children.
Human rights medal Winner