Working in collaboration with its police partners, Hope in Haringey and Haringey Youth Officer, PC Ahmed deliver a session on consent at the request of Harris Academy in a joint bid to reduce gender-based violence against women and girls.
By Communications Manager, Omar Alleyne-Lawler
Representatives from Harris Academy have been working with Hope in Haringey to hold a presentation on understanding consent. As a topic which can potentially escalate to custodial sentences Hope in Haringey’s Police Engagement Manager, Christina Davis took on the sensitive task.
The request came after staff members noticed a pattern of behaviour which was resulting in boys being sanctioned internally or temporarily excluded for incidents surrounding girls. Attempting to protect the girls in their care, staff at Harris hoped that specialist education around consent would prevent these incidents from reoccurring or escalating.
Enter Haringey Youth Officer, PC Ahmed. Specialising in preventing children and young people from offending and reoffending, PC Ahmed was brought in to host the session, educating students and addressing their questions from a police perspective.
As a space where the boys could talk freely, the session allowed students to not only learn about the importance of consent within their interactions but also healthily explore any misconceptions which contributed to the initial incidents.
Reflecting on the event, Hope in Haringey staff viewed it as “vital work”, with a collective hope that such sessions should be accessible to all students as part of the national curriculum. Such an effort would further align Hope in Haringey with the ongoing campaign to tackle violence against women and girls. Inspired to make a social change following the murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021, it is one of the first campaigns to end gender-based violence.
As a charity dedicated to the empowerment, protection, and enrichment of young women in the borough of Haringey, Hope in Haringey will remain committed to preventative and diversionary harm reduction against gender-based violence.