The abusive treatment of Child Q in a school in London by the police (Racism cited as factor in police strip search of girl, 15, at London school, 15 March) must serve as a turning point in the discriminatory and harmful treatment of Black children and young people in schools and by police officers.
The local child safeguarding practice review into Child Q’s case presents deeply distressing details about the way she was treated. Such traumatic experiences can cause lifelong harm to a child’s mental health. And they create distress and fear across whole communities. In this case, the lack of justice for Child Q sends out a message that Black lives still don’t matter, adding to the distress and trauma.
Racial aggression and injustice are toxic to mental health. We know that racism is systemic and ingrained in our culture and institutions. Tackling it requires systemic change and concerted action at every level. School should be a safe place for everyone. Today, many Black girls will feel unsafe at school. This has got to stop.
Sarah Hughes
Chief executive, Centre for Mental Health
• While the police’s behaviour has clearly been despicable, racist and probably unlawful in the case of Child Q, recent history has already, sadly, highlighted such traits in the Met. What we didn’t expect, and is profoundly shocking, is the reported behaviour of the schoolteachers involved. In loco parentis, their role of protecting, guiding and supporting their students was paramount, yet catastrophically betrayed in this incident.
We learn the strip-search officers were women, and would hope the teachers in attendance outside the room were too. What on earth were they doing? How would they expect a daughter of theirs to be treated?
A child arriving at school smelling of cannabis is a child needing support and family engagement. Instead, she was swept off to a medical room and placed in a hostile and intimidating situation when she was markedly vulnerable already, receiving no parental or in loco parentis protection or support.
The teachers’ responsibility to involve a parent, to call a lawyer and, above all, to show care and compassion was jettisoned to the point that no parent or pupil can in future trust them. They should go and the headteacher and governors must be re-evaluated.
Sue Evans
London
• There are two issues being overlooked in the case of Child Q. First, if you think that someone might have drugs hidden inside their body, they need to be taken to hospital immediately. There is a risk that a package could burst, creating a medical emergency. Examining the person can increase the risk of that happening. Hospitals also have the scanning equipment to establish if there is a foreign body present without the same level of risk.
More importantly, an adolescent who might have drugs hidden in this way is much more likely to be a victim of coercion than a willing operative. Informed consent is essential at every stage. If relevant physical evidence is found, it needs to be clear that it will be used to prosecute the true perpetrator rather than their victim.
Dr Michael Peel
London
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