When will you see black girls? That’s what I thought when reading about Child Q, a 15-year-old black schoolgirl from Hackney, taken out of her exam and strip searched by the Met Police while on her period, without adult supervision, because someone suspected she smelled of cannabis. After no drugs were found, she was sent back to sit the rest of her exam, traumatised, violated and shaken.
She was in a place that was meant to protect her. She has spoken about wanting to scream, about being a child. When society champions girls’ rights in the UK it centres the experience of white girls. And when we discuss inequality in the education system, that discussion centres black boys. Meanwhile black girls are at the centre of two marginalised groups, yet their voice and presence are not heard.
