The Teenager Fighting Domestic Violence With the Met Police in London

This is the second episode of the Teenage Kicks mini-series with The Girl's Network, a UK mentoring charity set up to inspire and empower girls from the least advantaged communities by connecting them with a mentor and and a network of professional female role models.

Helen Wills talks to 17 year old Farheen Khan, from Tower Hamlets, about her work with the Met Police to change the futures of people in her community suffering the effects of domestic violence.

Farheen is mentoring a senior commissioner in the police force to share her own experiences of life amongst her local community, to influence campaigns that will help more people feel empowered to leave abusive homes.

About the Met Police scheme with the Girl's Network

The Met Police got involved with the Girl's Network in 2018, providing female mentors for teenage girls in the least advantaged communities, but the process has now been reversed with the launch of a girl-led mentoring scheme for the police.

The objective is for these young women to have their voices heard, gain a platform, develop their confidence, and represent their communities.

Farheen says that she used to be shy and underconfident, but being part of The Girl's Network has inspired her to be more certain of her own potential. She now feels capable of influencing at a senior level to effect real change on the ground.

If the scheme is a success, it will be rolled out across other London boroughs.

Where to get support with domestic violence

The Met Police has a list of useful support helplinesYou can get information on your rights from the Citizen's Advice BureauRefuge also have a helplineVictim Support's London helpline

More teenage parenting tips from Helen Wills:

Helen wills is a teen mental health podcaster and blogger at Actually Mummy a resource for midlife parents of teens.

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There are already stories from fabulous guests about difficult things that happened to them as teenagers - including losing a parent, becoming a young carer, and being hospitalised with mental health problems - and how they overcame things to move on with their lives.

You can find more from Helen Wills on parenting teenagers on Instagram and Twitter @iamhelenwills.

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Please note that Helen Wills is not a medical expert, and nothing in the podcast should be taken as medical advice. If you're worried about a teenager, please seek support from a medical professional.

Podcast produced by James Ede at Be Heard production.