"It’s still as raw today as it was on the day. People tell you time’s a great healer, but it’s not.”
That’s the message from the father of Olly Stephens as the anniversary of the sentencing of his son’s killers looms.
13-year-old Olly was fatally stabbed by two teenage boys at Bugs Bottom park, Emmer Green in January 2021 following an online dispute with the duo.
He had been lured there by a teenage girl on social media.
At the their sentencing in September 2021, the older teenage boy was given a minimum 13-year prison sentence and the younger boy was given a minimum 14-year prison sentence for murder.
The girl was handed a five-year sentence for manslaughter following a hearing at the Court of Appeal.
READ MORE ON THIS STORY:
- Family praises community for its support after death of son
- Bench in memory of Olly Stephens unveiled at Bugs Bottom
- Family of Olly Stephens gets behind campaign to create new anti-knife artwork
Since then, Stuart and Amanda Stephens -- Olly’s parents -- have been leading the battle in the struggle against knife crime and improving provisions for vulnerable youngsters.
Among other things, their work has included:
- Partnering with No 5 Children’s charity to help set up a youth hub for vulnerable youngsters in Reading
- Working with the BBC to expose the dangers youngsters face on social media, with Thames Valley Police officers now required to watch the ensuing Panorama documentary about Olly Stephens
- Raising money for charities including the Ben Kinsella Trust, Grassrootz and Parenting Special Children through an Olly Stephens fundraiser
- Working with Reading East MP Matt Rodda to help with the passage of the Online Harms Bill through parliament, a new piece of legislation which is designed to give more protection to social media web users
They have embarked on this mission as the knife crime crisis is “never-ending”, Stuart Stephens told the Chronicle.
He added: “There’s been a breakdown in society, I’m afraid, and I think social media has a lot to do with it.”
The family are hoping to set up a meeting with government officials by the end of the year to discuss their ideas - which include a focus on education, advertising and mentoring - for preventing knife crime and keeping children safe.
In terms of education, the Stephens want to see the government launch an anti-knife crime day, which would see the national conversation - in print, broadcast and online - turn to talking about the dangers of knife crime.
It would also mean youngsters in schools and youth clubs across the country are taught lessons about knife crime, using lesson plans from The Ben Kinsella Trust.
They also want mandatory teaching about the impact of knife crime and violence incorporated into Personal, Social, Health and Economic lessons at schools, so that the consequences of knife crime are taught consistently. Currently, schools have the freedom to choose what is taught in PSHE lessons, and the Stephens argue too many are ‘turning away’ from addressing knife crime.
Another element the Stephens want to raise with the government is the need for advertising about knife crime, as they suggest it is a ‘serious public health issue’. An educational advertising campaign, along the lines of The Mayor of London’s ‘evocative’ campaign to tackle violence against women and girls, is something the family believes would help the government protect its citizens.
The final idea in the Stephens’ three-point plan is having mentors in schools to support vulnerable youngsters. Work the family has been doing in Reading suggests young people want a trusted adult - not parents, carers, or teachers - to regularly talk to and to seek advice from.
Sadly, the Stephens’ meeting with government officials keeps being pushed back due to the changes at 10 Downing Street and in the cabinet.
Speaking to the Chronicle, Stuart Stephens said: “The problem is, because we have governments change all the time, it [knife crime] just gets swept under the carpet as a ‘gang problem in London’. It's not, it’s nationwide.
“There are so many people with the same battle. I think we all need to get together, we need to march on Westminster peacefully.
“There's a whole generation that has been lost to knife crime and it's just being swept under the carpet.”
Stuart spoke to the Chronicle just days after boxer Tyson Fury revealed his cousin, Rico Burton, had been stabbed to death in Greater Manchester.
The two-time heavyweight champion took to social media following the passing of his relative to say knife crime was a ‘pandemic’ in the UK, adding: “You don’t know how bad it is until it’s one of your own!”
Eastenders actress Brooke Kinsella, who help set up the Ben Kinsella Trust anti-knife crime charity The Ben Kinsella Trust after her brother was fatally stabbed in 2008, said: “when I heard that Tyson’s cousin Rico Burton had become one of the latest to die in this seemingly never-ending bloodshed, my heart sank.
“I am heartbroken for the family, as I know exactly what they are going through.”
This is a sentiment shared by Stuart Stephens.
“Before you’d see the headline and you'd be horrified by it. Now we see those headlines and we now realise what they've got coming”, he told the Chronicle.
“My head is shot. Sundays and Mondays I can't deal with, because it does affect everything about your life.
“It just destroys everything about your family, about your life.
“Sometimes you can’t face going to work because you're still grieving.
“It’s still as raw today as it was on the day. People tell you time’s a great healer, but it’s not.”
Soon, Stuart and Amanda will meet with other parents in London who have lost children in similar circumstances, to try and raise awareness of what families go through when they suffer such a terrible loss.
Stuart told the Chronicle his family has been “bowled over” by the support they have received since Olly’s murder more than 18 months ago.
By raising awareness of the issues surrounding knife crime and taking the government to task, the family want to extend that aid to those families who may not have had the support they did.
Stuart said: “We're very aware that other parents haven't gotten that support.
“Olly has become a bit of a poster boy for this [issue]. I'm very aware of the fact that he's a handsome boy from a stable background and he makes good coverage on the TV.
“There are families that go through this with no support because of their ethnicity, for example, we are doing this for them as well.
“We are not just doing this for Olly, we are doing this for those that don't have a voice that are in our position.
“For some people it's debilitating. There are days when I don't want to face the world, but it passes. For others, it's continuous. And we're very aware of that.
“So that's partly where our drive comes from because there are so many parents in this position. To speak for them as well, that's really why we're doing it.”
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