Hope for Justice is delighted to officially launch our new Survivor Leadership Council and welcome its three initial members.
We believe that it is vital for the future work of Hope for Justice that people with lived experience of modern slavery have more involvement in our decision-making and strategy, and that the same is true for every anti-trafficking organisation. Indeed, the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery recently shut down its operations with this closing statement: “What we have learned, and what we hope others will carry forward, is that the movement to end modern slavery is most effective when led by those with lived experience. Every effort should be made to put those voices in positions to direct this movement and set them up for success.”
Hope for Justice’s Survivor Leadership Council will provide expert advice, guidance, and recommendations to Hope for Justice and Slave-Free Alliance. Membership is for two years, with the possibility of a one-year extension.
Its first task will be contributing to our strategic framework for the next five years, which is currently being drafted and reviewed. We expect the role of the Survivor Leadership Council to grow and adapt, but some initial areas of involvement will include:
- Reviewing or writing blogs, articles, or opinion pieces
- Co-creating and providing input on programme, project design and accountability mechanisms
- Offering input and recommendations on policy positions, campaign briefs, and other publications from Hope for Justice and Slave-Free Alliance
- Participating in or speaking at relevant events and public advocacy efforts
Meet the three initial members of the Survivor Leadership Council:
Jane Lasonder (Chair)
Jane Lasonder is an international speaker and a survivor of child trafficking who now shares her expertise with organisations and groups interested in increasing their knowledge of modern slavery and human trafficking, including school-age children, teens and medical students.
As well as being the new Chair of Hope for Justice’s Survivor Leadership Council, she is Vice-Chair of International Survivors of Trafficking Advisory Council, set up nearly four years ago by the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe). Jane is also a member of the Lived Experience Advisory Panel of the Modern Slavery & Human Rights Policy & Evidence Centre, led by the University of Oxford, and a member of the Interparliamentary Taskforce on Human Trafficking, a global consortium that convenes lawmakers, government leaders, stakeholders and lived-experience experts committed to stopping the human suffering caused by human trafficking through partnership in policy solutions.
She has contributed to the work of the European Parliament, the United Nations, the OSCE and its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the World Health Organization, among others. She has appeared frequently in the media to speak on the subject of human trafficking. She is an award-winning photographer and has written three books, most recently ‘Health and Slavery: A Healthcare Provider’s Guide to Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking’. Jane was final editor along with Professor Alison Fiander and she wrote many of the chapters of the book, which also includes a chapter contributed by Hope for Justice’s former Executive Director of Programmes & Policy, Enrique Restoy.
She is working with the British Embassy in Budapest and other partners in Romania to develop training materials and to provide training to healthcare workers. She has also given training to border force guards, police, healthcare workers, UN soldiers and students.
Jane was the 2024 winner of the Marsh Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Fight against Modern Slavery in the Empowering Survivor Voices category. Hope for Justice is a previous winner of the Marsh Award.
With the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Eleanor Lyons, Jane is seeking to set up a national survivors council for the UK.
Emily Ngabirano
Emily is a Uganda-based independent anti-human-trafficking consultant. She was the Chairperson of Willow International’s Survivors’ Alliance Committee for several years, as well as serving as a survivor mentor. Emily also held several senior staff roles in that organisation.
Emily is currently working as an economic empowerment consultant.
Ronny Marty
Ronny is a Florida-based independent anti-human-trafficking consultant with many years of experience in survivor leadership positions. He has also been a member of International Survivors of Trafficking Advisory Council, and served two terms on the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. He is a member of United Against Slavery, and a board member of The Enitan Story. Ronny has worked with and collaborated with the State Department, Homeland Security, the Labor Department, the Department of Defense, Health and Human Services, Office for Victims of Crime, Humanity United, the Department of Education, the OSCE and its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Polaris and others.
