IN SOLIDARITY WITH CHILD Q AND OTHER CHILDREN ACROSS THE COUNTRY SUBJECTED STRIP SEARCHES.

In 2020, Child Q was taken out of an exam to the and strip searched in school's medical room while on her period by two female Met police officers searching for cannabis, while teachers remained outside. The details of the searchable particularly harrowing and have been widely reported in the press. Her mother was not notified and there was no appropriate adult present as required by law. No cannabis was found. She now suffers from PTSD and has been self harming, her mental health and well-being severely compromised.

The teachers and police involved in the crime against Child Q must be fired and prosecuted, apologies are not enough.

The book should be thrown at them for this heinous crimes, exacerbated by the high duty of care owed by teachers and the police who are here to protect not assault, denigrate, humiliate and discriminate against our children.

Children must be treated as children regardless of their race.

A fragrant abuse of power with devastating consequences.

Violation of Article 3 of the Human Rights Act, torture, particularly cruel and unusual treatment.

The dehumanisation, adultification, sexualisation, criminalisation, ostracisation, discrimination, violation ……. of our children must stop.

‘ Tom Kemp, a criminology researcher at Nottingham University, found 172,093 strip searches were carried out by the Met between 2016 and 2021. An alarming 9,088 of those were on children, including 2,360 under the age of 16. Some 35 were 12 years old or younger.

Kemp also noted that 57,733 (33.5%) of all strip searches in the past five years were on Black people, despite the fact that only 13% of Londoners are Black.’

CALL TO ACTION:

●  EDUCATE yourself. Read the Child Q report which covers safeguarding. Understand the law, guidance and how to use it.

●  Consider becoming a school governor so that our community VOICE is represented  in crucial decision making.

●  AMPLIFY by signing petitions, sharing posts, posting etc on social media

●  ALLYSHIP. Listen to our children and empower them to understand their rights and clear red lines, boundaries. What do when in a compromising position.

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#justiceforchildq #powertochildq #letblackgirlsbegirls #nojusticenopeace

#childq  #blm #nomore #stopracism #blacklivesmatter #metpolice