In 2020 Just for Kids Law worked alongside Child Q and her family in relation to their civil proceedings against her school.
5 years on, with the outcome of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) hearing into the conduct of the police officers involved, Louise King, Co-Lead of Just for Kids Law, including the Children’s Rights Alliance for England said:
That officers in the Child Q case had committed gross misconduct, and did not respect her rights as a child, was never in any doubt in our minds. Unfortunately, we frequently come across cases where the police have failed to treat Black children as children first and foremost causing significant harm. All too often the State’s response to Black children is to sanction and criminalise instead of keeping them safe.
Strip search of children is traumatic and degrading and a violation of children’s rights. Current UK law and guidance in relation to strip search is not-fit-for-purpose and, despite government promises, reforms have been slow to materialise. Alternative practices must be urgently introduced so the strip searching of children can end. This must also be accompanied by a culture change in policing, which fully addresses adultification of Black children.
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