Girls and young women's report launched in parliament

Today saw the parliamentary launch of a project report centred on young women's experiences of stop and search.

Portcullis House was the venue for a gathering of civil society organisations, legal experts, social action groups, and others to receive copies of the published report and discuss its findings.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, who supported the project from its inception, spoke of the particular phenomenon of strip searches, noting how 'the experiences of the girls and young women contained in this report reveal how being on the receiving end of a strip search is all too frequently an act of violence disguised as procedure', and calling for change to the 'destructive, discriminatory and brutal culture of policing'.

We also heard testimony from Koshka Duff, who implored the audience to use the opportunity 'to discuss more realistic solutions that address the root causes of police violence'.

Members of the research team (Faith, Maisie, Sara, Sydney) spoke of their experiences of conducting and processing the interviews, the skills acquired in the process, and what the project meant to them, while professor Louise Owusu-Kwarteng – who trained the research team – explained the relevance of the methods and techniques used to collate qualitative data gathered.

Shenna Darcheville who led on the project, also gave a powerful speech about the importance of police honouring the standards they claim to uphold in their encounters with girls and young women, echoing the report's recommendations:

• A complete prohibition on the use of force against girls and boys during stop and search.
• A presumption that under-18s are victims, not offenders, to prevent traumatising and unnecessary interventions.
• Strip searches, if they ever occur, should only happen under strict legal conditions: conducted by healthcare practitioners, not officers, and followed by safeguarding referrals to support the person searched when they need it most.
• And a duty of care to ensure those released from custody are not abandoned on the streets, alone and vulnerable.

We hope to use the findings to push for progress in the way that police handle situations involving girls and young women, and make sure that officers are held accountable for their actions.