Samantha, who did not give her surname, was a guest speaker at the summit organised by youth worker Les Twentyman to discuss youths using weapons.

Samantha has been stabbed three times and spoke about how she needed to arm herself.

"I started carrying a knife when I was 13. I needed to because I didn't want to get jumped by a group of people and not be able to protect myself," she told the forum held in a South Melbourne church last Tuesday.

"But I'm speaking here today to get the message across that it's not fun to carry a knife or to stab anyone."

She admitted she rarely thought about the damage her weapon could do to someone else.

"At the time you are not seeing reason; it's because of fear, you just want to be able to protect yourself."

Other speakers at the forum, presented by Mr Twentyman's 20th Man Fund and Father Bob Maguire, included rock legend Angry Anderson, former deputy police chief Bob Falconer, Police Association secretary Greg Davies, Party Safe CEO Naomi Oakley and Berwick Lodge principal Henry Cossack.

All acknowledged there was a problem with teenagers carrying knives across Melbourne and that the state government needed to do more. Mr Cossack

said in recent times he had had to counsel three parents with fears for their sons, who were known to carry knives.