An all-female reporting service has been launched so abuse victims can discuss their experiences and seek support in a safe space.
Safe2Talk hosted its second drop-in session at Fullwell Cross Library in Barkingside from 2pm to 6pm on Monday (November 28).
Safe2Talk is a non-judgmental space for people who have experienced sexual assault, harassment or abuse to speak one-on-one with female experts including a police officer and domestic abuse specialist in a confidential setting.
PC Claire Argyle of the Met's Continuous Policing Improvement Command (CPIC) said: "There's increasing incidents in the media where you hear [about] girls being taken away, abused, at home, in their families, on the streets and in parties... so there's [an] increased need for us to show that the police are doing as much as we can to support females in this day and age."
She continued: "The events from the Sarah Everard incident of course shook a lot of people. We were sickened [as well] so we wanted to rebuild that trust and make sure that young ladies know they have someone on their side and [that] we're there to protect them.
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"I have two young girls myself so it's a very passionate subject of mine that they grow up in a safe place.
"In the police, we [female officers] are not equal to male officers in terms of numbers yet so we wanted to make sure that people know that female police officers do exist and we are equal in our abilities and our skills...
"This is a safe space for people to come and get the support that they need, not just from the police but also other agencies that are female[-run] as well."
The idea for Safe2Talk originated from female students at Oaks Park High School who had participated in the MetGirlz programme.
MetGirlz was set up in 2015 and is aimed at young girls who are considered to be at most risk of violent crime, country line activity, sexual exploitation, bullying and drug abuse.
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It aims to build trust between young women and the police force and to promote the Met Police Force (MPF) as a career choice for young females.
PC Argyle continued: "It's aimed at girls between the ages of 16 and 19... the age of maybe looking at a career in the police but also [becoming] quite vulnerable to perhaps domestic violence, sexual harassment and so on.
"They'll be going out more on their own and obviously experiencing things on their own so [we are] building that trust between police and young girls - making them feel that they can be safe on the streets and at parties and sort of anywhere they go."
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Ana-Maria Popa, 17, and Malavika Manuel, 17, are participating in MetGirlz and are two of the girls responsible for coming up with the idea for Safe2Talk.
"[MetGirlz] encourages women to work with the police because obviously its male-dominated so there's not as many women", Ana-Maria said.
"There's certain situations where women would be better to speak to than other people... so I feel like women being included in the police, and encouraging girls to work in the police force, is useful because they can handle certain situations [differently]."
PC Argyle added: "I hope to roll this out throughout the Met and perhaps the national police force.
"I think there is a need for this everywhere. Redbridge, yes, is very high in crimes such as harassment and sexual offences... but the whole of the Met is.
"So actually I think this could benefit absolutely in all accounts... in the whole of London."
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People of all genders are welcome to use the service and should be aware that they do not have to report abuse to the police, but can come to seek other forms of support.
Alongside a representative from the Met Police, each session will host representatives from the Redbridge Violence Against Women and Girls Service, the Refuge Eastern European Service and an immigration solicitor from Ashiana Network.
The pilot session took place on October 24 from 11am to 7pm. Safe2Talk will run from 2pm to 6pm on five more dates: December 19, January 30, February 27, March 27 and April 24.
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