Mancunians attended a protest in the city centre tonight in solidarity with the 15-year-old black girl who was stripped searched by the Metropolitan Police.
The protest took place at St Peter’s Square in Manchester on Friday and was organised by Manchester based groups Kids of Colour and the Northern Police Monitoring Project (NPMP), who campaigned against the placement of 20 police officers stationed at Greater Manchester schools.
Chants of ‘no police in schools’, ‘no justice no peace’ and ‘no more exclusions’ could be heard from the demonstration outside the central library. A small group of speakers addressed the crowd and called for no police presence in schools across the country and Greater Manchester.
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Earlier this week, a report was released documenting how a 15-year-old girl, referred to as Child Q to protect her identity, was strip-searched at her school in 2020 while she was on her period by a female police officer.
The search was conducted after teachers suspected that the girl was in possession of cannabis. Child Q’s mother was not informed, and teachers remained outside the room during the search.
No cannabis was found on the young girl. The report caused outrage, with many condemning the actions of the force and teachers.
Speaking to the MEN, a member of the public, who preferred to remain anonymous, spoke of the anger the felt when they found out about the report.
They said: “It’s absolutely important that we’re out here today to show that what happened to Child Q was disgusting. When I heard about her case I was just numb, and that shows where we are right now.”
In her own statement, Child Q spoke of the devastating impact the incident had on her well-being. She said that she “can’t go a single day without wanting to scream, shout, cry or just give up."
A speaker at the protests, Zara Manoehoetoe from Manchester, said: “I cried when I heard the news about Child Q. It’s not disbelief because I could believe it.
“I’m part of a network of grass roots campaigners and activists and I turned to my safe space for support. I’m still raging, I’m still hurt, I feel so much pain for that child and that community and I believe every single person who was involved in that should be held accountable for their actions.”
Another speaker, Lisa Eigbadon, 22, told the MEN that Child Q’s ordeal reminded her of her own experiences with police.
She said: “I felt compelled to speak today because No Police in Schools is a movement and campaign I’m very passionate about because I went to school with a school based police officer. When I heard about Child Q I felt sick in my stomach, and I put myself in her position and her shoes because I’ve been subject to police confrontation, I would say, in school.
“I know how much of a lack of control you feel you have over yourself, and being a woman and being touched inappropriately just takes it to the next level. I hope that the legacy of Child Q is a wake up call that police do not have a place in school, and that we need to claim back, not just our bodies, but also our respect and our dignity.”
Another protester, Lolo Jones, said: “I think people need to learn that the system itself that everyone criticises is working in your community and in your local schools. Those ideas live in people’s head, as a community that happened, that happened to that girl because people were complicit in that space, numerous people were complicit and did not stand up and say something.
“And it’s because we are all socialised in that system, we’re all a part of what happened to Child Q. and we need to take stock in what our role is in unpicking all of that.”
Remi Joseph-Salisbury, from the NPMP, said: “Today went well, it was a really positive turnout and significant numbers for a public that was called at short notice.
“Members of the public were stopping and listening and really engaged by the issues, we hope that we’ve highlighted the issue of an increasing presence in schools that's a national issue but an issue in Greater Manchester as well.
“We will continue to try and put the pressure on Andy Burnham to remove Greater Manchester Police from our schools. But most importantly, it’s a message of solidarity to Child Q, the family and community that has been affected by this.
“It’s something that we all should be aware of and its a cautionary tale of the dangers of putting police in schools, particularly the implications for black students.”
