KNIFE crime is a growing epidemic in this country, especially among young people. As a teenager myself, I've seen peers have run-ins with knives, or even carry them themselves.

At the age of 12, I recall having a conversation with a close friend at the time, who confided that she carried a small knife in her school bag every day as she felt unsafe whilst walking home, having previously experienced behaviour such as catcalling near her home.

She knew that it wasn't right to carry a bladed weapon, but she felt it necessary, something she needed to protect her. Often I feel like conversations around the subject ignore that it's not simply enough to tell young people that it's illegal to carry them, as many times they can't see an alternative. 

Being confronted by a knife has turned into a genuine fear for many young people, avoiding any form of conflict in case an innocuous conversation turns sour by means of someone using a weapon.

I've been told by my parents to ignore when children as young as 11 have pushed past me on the street, in case the worst should happen. One of my family members struggles to attend school, as he is terrified that someone could attack him.

Knife crime is one of the largest issues affecting the UK currently, with many contributing factors, that I feel are often not taken into account when discussing the problem.

For example, the root cause of these problems is often ignored in favour of methods like stop and search, which, whilst proven to be effective in some circumstances, negate the why. Why are children carrying around knives?

To combat the issue, we need comprehensive education in schools, stronger youth services, community groups and hubs to give young people somewhere safe to turn to. Methods like amnesty bins and stop and search need to be used in conjecture with heightened education.

It's not right that children are staying home from school in fear of being confronted with a knife, or being scared to do normal activities like going to the park.