Miss World contestant and Exeter Uni graduate working to highlight knife crime at pageant

University of Exeter grad and Miss World contestant, Millie-Mae Adams, is taking on the issue of knife crime by highlighting that not enough young people know to react to the subject.

The 22-year-old trainee doctor has not only carried Miss Wales on the Miss World stage in India, but Millie-Mae is also using her platform to highlight the “taboo subject” of knife crime among young people.

After graduating from the University of Exeter to train as a doctor, Millie-Mae began teaching young people about dealing with traumatic injuries, such as stabbings, and raising awareness about gang violence.

Talking to the BBC, Millie-Mae claimed that it is “difficult being a young person at the moment and knife crime has become so normalised that carrying a knife isn’t seen as something crazy to do”.

During her studies at Exeter University, she said she realised that she could put her medical studies and training to good use when she founded a branch of StreetDoctors. 

This charity, StreetDoctors, trains young people to deal with the psychological and physical consequences of street violence. The organisation works across 20 UK cities, including Cardiff.

Millie-Mae added that growing up in a “less privileged area”, she saw quite a lot of gang violence and felt “quite uneasy as a young woman walking the streets”.

Adding to this, the 22-year-old said: “Every young person deserves the chance to be equipped with the tools and knowledge to react to knife crime if they ever find themselves in that situation.”

In 2023, Millie-Mae Adams was crowned Miss Wales and qualified for the 2025 Miss World contest where she chose to highlight the issue of knife crime and StreetDoctors’ work at the month-long pageant in India.

In this competition, she placed first in Europe for her presentation on the issue.

Most Read

Woman who ‘died’ for eight minutes describes exactly what she saw, and it’s terrifying

The bleak aftermath of Bonnie Blue’s 1,000 guys in 12 hours challenge, in pictures

After weeks, another MAFS Australia 2025 couple swap finally confirm they are dating!

Along with other StreetDoctors volunteers, Millie-Mae gives advice on the key steps to take if they witness a stabbing, including the safety precautions of applying pressure and calling an ambulance.

13-year-old Mason, a participant at St Mellons youth club in Cardiff, said that the information provided by the volunteers “could be really useful in future”.

14-year-old, JJ, added to this by saying: “We learnt a lot about what would happen and what we would do if there was someone who was on the floor and had just been stabbed and what we could do to save their lives.”

As part of the Strong Minds group, which is ran by Cardiff Youth Service, the boys said that they feel safe in their community. The group does other work including virtual reality scenarios.

Harvey, aged 14, said that the scenario “could be an argument and then you’ve got to see how you can get out of it before it escalates into a fight or a stabbing”.

For more information the charity, you can check out StreetDoctors here.

Featured image via Instagram