A 14-year-old girl was repeatedly stabbed in a shop in Cirencester after rejecting a boy’s romantic advances. The attack followed a period of unwanted contact and obsessive behaviour. A shopkeeper who intervened was also injured.

The boy, also 14, admitted serious offences including wounding with intent and possession of a knife. He received a 12-month referral order and a three-year restraining order.

For the girl and her family, the consequences of this violence will last far longer.

Her mother has spoken publicly about feeling failed by the justice system. We want her and her daughter to know that they are not alone.

We recognise the importance of rehabilitation within the youth justice system. However, rehabilitation must sit alongside accountability, public protection and the rights of victims to feel safe.

We are deeply concerned that, despite the seriousness of this attack, the sentence cannot be referred for review under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme because of the court’s youth jurisdiction.

We call on the Ministry of Justice and the government to:

Urgently review the exclusion of youth court sentences from the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, particularly in cases involving serious violence.

Examine whether current youth sentencing arrangements adequately protect victims of premeditated and potentially life-threatening attacks.

Ensure that victims of serious violence committed by young offenders have meaningful opportunities to challenge sentencing decisions.

Strengthen the recognition of stalking, coercive behaviour and violence following romantic rejection within youth justice policy.

This petition is not about vilifying a child or rejecting rehabilitation. It is about recognising that the victim is also a child, whose safety, wellbeing and future matter just as much.

To the girl and her family: We hear you. We believe that what happened to you matters. And we stand alongside you in calling for change.