Hope for Justice is launching a Survivor Leadership Council from October 2024. Initially the council will comprise three survivor consultants from the UK, Africa, and the US, and we are delighted to announce it will be chaired by Jane Lasonder. Jane, a UK-based survivor leader, has been involved in developing this initiative from the outset, and we have already benefitted from her expertise and experience. We will share more information about the full composition of the council in the coming days.
The new body will advise on our new strategic framework and our plans to introduce even greater survivor involvement across our organisation. In this sense it complements at a strategic level the engagement we already have with survivors in our programming and policy work. By taking this step we acknowledge how important it is, both intrinsically and instrumentally, to learn from the expertise and experience of those who have experienced this horrific crime at first-hand.
Jane Lasonder said: “The Hope for Justice Survivor Leadership Council will provide unique guidance, expertise and insight for better and more effective policies and for working together in ethical partnership. The voices of millions of victims have been silenced – this new initiative will create a vital platform for survivor voices to be heard. It joins the dots of ethical partnership. Being the chair of Hope for Justice Survivor Leadership Council gives me a powerful voice to speak of solutions and better practices.”
Jane also set out her perspective on the role survivor leaders should have when interacting with charities: “Don’t ask me to tell my story to raise money for your organisation. Instead, ask me for my advice, expertise and solutions for the eradication of human trafficking.”
Jane told her own story in this article for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
