Champions of Respect

Winners of the Champions of Respect Awards and the Anthony Walker Memorial Prize

11 November 2005

Gemma Gibson

Gemma Gibson, 22, a single mum, who runs a radio station for girls which concentrates on positive attitudes, was the winner in our 17 – 25s age category. She also won the overall Anthony Walker Memorial Prize.

Gemma particularly impressed the judges because of the way she has overcome a difficult upbringing and has used those experiences to be a force for good in her community. One of the Champions of Respect judges, perhaps summed up the feeling of the judges best. "It is a story that inspires simultaneous prayer and weeping." Gemma’s radio station is called Radio Sassyfm.

 She is also involved in anti-bullying campaigns on the estate she lives on in Shepherd’s Bush and has won the confidence of both black and white youths on the estate. Gemma said, "I had a challenging childhood as I grew up in a care environment.

 There are always two ways to go when you have a difficult upbringing. And as someone who has come out the other side I want to say that there is a way to have hope in yourself. Now I have come to this understanding of life and can be positive I don’t want to keep that inside, I want to pass it on." Recently Gemma ran a couple of road shows at local schools which gave her the opportunity to discuss why she only plays tracks with positive lyrics. Gemma’s stint as a DJ has had a profound effect on one young man’s life.

The Sassyfm playlist is selected carefully, with songs which glorify crime or ill treating women strictly off limits. One reformed bad boy, rapper R-9, was so affected by Sassy’s message that he changed his ways. R-9 keeps the message alive in his track - They Made Me Do It - which is about not giving in to peer pressure.