The default response to youth offending in the media and public policy is to politicize young offenders as faceless and nameless sources of danger and disorder. This response was problematized in Tasmania by the Commission of Inquiry into institutional child sexual abuse, which named young people incarcerated in Ashley Juvenile Detention Centre as victims of systemic abuse and as criminalized rather than criminal. Drawing on our direct experiences as practitioners, we argue that young people in Ashley are surrounded by messages that they are the worst of the worst. Despite this, their own perspectives and testimonies highlight their resistance and resourcefulness, and their commitment to protecting other children from abuse, a commitment which was often greater than that of responding agencies. The chapter demonstrates that adults can be allies with young people in promoting approaches that centralize and value the voices of young people who encounter youth justice systems.