A 16-year-old sixth form student has been recognised for her work to raise awareness of the impact of sexual harassment and assault on women and young girls across the city.
Amelia Roe, a pupil at Allestree Woodlands School, was nominated by local charity Safe and Sound for the Outstanding Contribution to the Community award, sponsored by Derby City Council at this year’s Derby Youth Awards which are organised by Sporting Communities. With the help of Sporting Communities, she has developed and delivered a series of workshops around sexual harassment and consent for her school which she now hopes to
broaden out to other schools in the city.
Amelia has also worked with Safe and Sound, which supports children, young people and their families whose lives are affected by child exploitation, and with Derby City Council on the Safe Derby awareness campaign to tackle, challenge and prevent violence against
women and girls in public places.
She has since become a young ambassador for Safe and Sound – providing a young person’s view on a wide range of issues and initiatives – and has also been appointed as a member of the Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s young person’s panel.
Safe and Sound chief executive Tracy Harrison, who nominated Amelia for the award, said: “Amelia is an extremely bright young person who is an excellent communicator and passionate about community safety. “I hope that recognition from this award will elevate her voice and enable to further raise awareness of the issue of violence against women and girls. “This is the third time that a young person nominated by us for the Derby Youth Awards has been recognised in this way.
“The awards are an important way to showcase the vision and commitment shown by young people to improve health, safety and wellbeing in our local communities and to hopefully inspire them and many others to achieve great things as they move into adulthood.”
Amelia continued: “I am honoured to receive this award. My goal continues to be to encourage open and honest conversations on the issue of violence against women and girls in particular. I have had so much support from Sporting Communities, Safe and Sound and Allestree
Woodlands School and I hope that we can broaden out the workshops to highlight to young people that violence, harassment and abuse in all forms must not be tolerated.”