These were the words of 17-year-old campaigner Eliza Rebeiro, as she addressed a room full of youth workers, and representatives from charities, police forces and councils at the CYP Now Children and Gangs seminar in late January.
The feeling that Rebeiro described was one of the reasons cited in Qa Research's study as to why children join gangs. Report author Laura Bainbridge told the audience: "Many of the professionals we consulted said the gang problem has arisen because of a failure of institutions, including the family. Some children don't feel the adults in their lives are able to protect them and as such they look to elders or gangs to find that protection."
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