Our Co-ordinator, Seema Chandwani responds to the Youth Select Committee Report on Knife Crime:
As public sector institutions go into bureaucracy over-drive believing we can solve Serious Youth Violence through increasing the quantity of reports written, there is one I urge those in positions of power to read, and it is this.
The Youth Select Committee Report – “Our Generation’s Epidemic: Knife Crime”, is a hard-hitting document with the feisty and frank attitude we expect from our young people. It eloquently challenges cuts to vital ‘life-saving’ services which has eroded the security many young people relied on to protect them.
The Youth Select Committee bring to the forefront concerns about inequality in society making young people vulnerable to be exploited and victims to serious youth violence. It also strongly advocates for better investment and respect for Youth Work and Youth Services.
Before this report ends up collecting dust, we in the Youth Sector must ensure what our young people are saying is heard, amplified and acted upon. For many young people, especially from deprived backgrounds, serious youth violence is the biggest threat to their existence, with those not directly attacked living in a state of siege that they could be.
Well done to the amazing young people who compiled this report and undertook such an in-depth inquiry to devise these extremely important findings.