Exposed! Racism In Britain As 15-Year-Old Girl Is Strip Searched
Before I explain about the events that led me to write about racism in Britain, I need to warn you that the story is very upsetting. It involves police officers strip-searching a black 15-year-old girl who was on her period because she “smelled strongly of cannabis.” If you think this article will upset or trigger you, please stop reading now.
The outgoing commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police, Cressida Dick, insisted there is no institutional racism problem within the force. I think recent events have shown she is either delusional, incompetent, or outright lying.
A report released recently by Hackney council stated that racism was likely to have been a factor in how this girl was treated. For those of you with a strong stomach, here are the facts. I warn you they’re not pleasant.
The Facts
The girl, only named Child Q, went to school, as usual, that day. It appears that staff members became concerned that she had a strong smell of cannabis and presumably were concerned she had brought it onto school property. What they should have done is talk to the girl, you remember that, right? Talking. The way you investigate and gain information. Instead, they searched her bag, blazer, scarf and shoes and found nothing.
If they had serious concerns, logic and decency dictates that they should have contacted the girl’s parents and asked them to come to the school. They may have interviewed her with her parents present. If their concerns could not be addressed, they could even have asked her parents to take her home. Apparently, none of this happened, though.
What they did was call the police. That’s right. The school, who is supposed to protect every one of its pupils, called the police with no proof whatsoever. Child Q was in an exam at the time. Call me old-fashioned, but I consider exams to be pretty damned important. Couldn’t they have waited until the exam was over? It seems not. They took her out of her exam, and two female police officers performed a strip search with no member of staff or another adult present.
This poor girl, who was on her period at the time, was made to strip naked, bend over, hold her buttocks open with her hands and cough. Believe it or not, it gets worse. She was then made to put her dirty sanitary pad back on as the school denied her permission to go to a bathroom and clean herself up. She was finally deposited back in her exam with no school staff member speaking to her at all about her ordeal to make sure she was ok. What’s even more incredible is that they still did not contact her family. The first thing the girl’s mother heard was when Child Q got home and told her.
Unsurprising, this poor girl has been completely traumatised by the whole experience. In a statement released to the public, she said:
“Someone walked into the school, where I was supposed to feel safe, took me away from the people who were supposed to protect me and stripped me naked, while on my period,” she said.
“I can’t go a single day without wanting to scream, shout, cry or just give up. I don’t know if I’m going to feel normal again. But I do know this can’t happen to anyone else, ever again.”
Child Q’s aunt says she has gone from a happy child to a recluse who self harms. It’s no wonder, is it? I’m 42, and I don’t know if I could deal with such an ordeal.
The Aftermath
The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating three of the four officers present that day. However, even though this happened in 2020, all three officers are still working. Cressida Dick has finally stepped down as commissioner to everyone’s great relief because this is far from the only racist even at The Met on her watch. Public confidence in her was at rock bottom.
As far as we know, there have been no sanctions against the members of staff at the school who have a clear duty of care to every pupil who walks through the door. Instead, they called the police and then did nothing when the police committed this horrific abuse of a young girl. What were they thinking!?!
The parents of Child Q are suing the London Met. I am normally opposed to this increasingly litigious society we find ourselves in, but in this case, I hope they take them to the cleaners. It seems public opinion is not a big enough motivation for change, and their commissioner was worse than useless, so let’s hope hitting them in their pocket does something. We cannot go on like this. Racism in Britain must end.
Is This An Example Of Racism In Britain
Yes, I believe it is. I think back to my school days, and I can’t imagine this happening to a white girl in even a state school, let alone a private one. I think the awful truth is that the London Met are inherently institutionally racist, and they thought they could get away with it. Pure and simple.
A quick Google search reveals huge problems with officers serving across the country. I don’t just mean in terms of racism; I mean domestic violence, drugs, sharing photos of vulnerable people for fun, etc. There is clearly a massive problem with whatever psychological screening forces use to determine who are appropriate individuals to serve. We need this to be thoroughly investigated and new measures put in place.
The police have apologised of course but what will that do? It’s certainly not going to undo the violation this girl sufffered. It’s lip service, a PR exercise, and nothing more.
What Needs To Happen
I personally believe the London Met is beyond saving. If it were possible, I would disband the whole thing and fire every single person working there. They would then need to go through stringent screening if they chose to reapply for their jobs. I would also put a policy in place that they would not be permitted to apply to another force elsewhere without completing the screening. Otherwise, all we’d do is move the problem to another area.
I also think that the staff at that school need to be disciplined for allowing these events to occur. Again, I think they should be dismissed but at a bare minimum suspension without pay. They should also be required to take a race awareness course and a safeguarding course if they wish to continue as teachers.
Finally, I think the school and the London Met should jointly pay for this girl’s counselling ad infinitum. I don’t imagine a quick course of NHS-funded CBT will help this poor, traumatised girl deal with what was done to her.
That covers what should happen to those involved, but racism in Britain is a much bigger issue. I’m ashamed to admit that until the death of George Floyd, I didn’t believe racism in Britain was a big problem. I thought it was an elsewhere thing, an America thing. It’s not. It’s here, and it is destroying lives every single day. Not being a racist is not enough. Not anymore. We need to be anti-racist. We need to fight passionately for equality for all and root out and challenge racism wherever we find it.
I still don’t know fully how to do that, but I am expanding my education. I’m reading books and articles about racism, watching webinars, and following more campaigners on social media. I challenge those who make racist comments in front of me, and I actively check my workplace for equality policies as well as consider the proportion of POC who work there. I still have a long way to go, though.
We All Have A Long Way To Go
When will enough be enough? When will we all stand together and state that racism in Britain or anywhere else is wrong and refuse to allow it to continue? It will be a long hard fight, but it’s one our society definitely needs.
