Michelle John is the Founding Director of PEGS, a social enterprise focused on reducing the individual and societal impact of Child to Parent Abuse (which impacts at least 3% of UK households). In three years, MIchelle and her team have supported in excess of 3,500 parents, carers and guardians; trained more than 1,500 frontline professionals; helped influence policies across the UK; and raised awareness via keynote speeches, award wins, traditional and digital media, and events. Michelle has won numerous national awards - and has been recognised for her work internationally too, and acted in a consultancy capacity to the Home Office to aid the inclusion of CPA in the 2021 Domestic Abuse Act. As well as creating a CPA-specific identification tool and creating workshops and programmes for parents alongside training courses for professionals, Michelle has also partnered with the DWP to create the fourth ever Government-backed Covenant (CPAC). Visit www.pegsupport.co.uk or search PEGS Support on social media to find out more.
Claire was shortlisted for 'The People awards' and also for the 'Emma Humphreys memorial Prize' in 2022 for her work in the abuse sector.
As a survivor of childhood trauma and abuse, in adult
life she followed the pattern of many victims, entering into further abusive
situations and relationships.
After escaping her final abuser, Claire found herself unable to access support
and was continuously re traumatised by the services designed to help.
The impact of this was catastrophic and left Claire not only at risk from
further/post separation abuse but also feeling desperate, scared and isolated.
During her struggle she started researching, keeping journals and seeking ways to help herself
heal.
After finally creating a system to heal for herself and her children, Claire also
discovered that the majority of victims escaping abuse often suffer with
debilitating trauma induced issues.
In response to this, she created The Four Cornerstones of Healing, a free 10 week
trauma informed programme which enables survivors to access healing tools that
are otherwise inaccessible; this means that they can understand and manage
their triggers, take back control of their lives and flourish beyond the trauma and
abuse.
Claire also created Clear Path UK Conference to raise awareness for this and to
give a platform to other survivors to inspire, educate and empower.
During the planning of the conference, collaborators formed a think tank, pooled
resources, and shared research in an effort to discover the best solutions to
tackling the epidemic of abuse nationwide.
Clear Path UK Coalition CIC was formed and now provides resources to abuse
sector professionals and organisations, while offering free access to support
services for survivors.
Natalie Page has a long history successfully campaigning for the rights of women and children victims of domestic abuse in the family court. After her own journey in the justice system spanning over nine years, she was compelled to do something. Natalie founded the #thecourtsaid campaign in 2017, and launched a not-for-profit in 2020. The not for profit, Survivor Family Network CIC is still the home of Paramily’s groups and community work today.
In October 2019, Natalie organised the largest protest to date, raising much-needed awareness of the family court’s mishandling of domestic abuse, which was reported by the BBC in the film below. In July 2021, Natalie was a major contributor to the Channel Four Dispatches Film Torn Apart: Family Courts Uncovered, and in October 2021 she was awarded the Emma Humphrey’s Memorial Prize for her work raising awareness about male violence against women and children. Her work has been featured in the national press on many occasions, most notably with The Observer major investigation into unregulated experts in the family court in England and Wales. Her work has been featured in the BBC, The Guardian and the Daily Express, and regularly recognised by the UK Government, and academic institutions like Brunel Law and Manchester University; and organisations such as SHERA, Women’s Aid and advisors to the WHO and NHS Safeguarding.
Natalie went on to study to become a regulated paralegal, and says the most important purpose of Paramily is empowering real change through the right support on a case by case basis for those who may be experiencing barriers to justice.
Scottish ground-breaker Rebecca Sellar hopes her story of child abuse to amputee football star can serve as a source of inspiration for others.
Becca took part in the 2022 'EE' "Not her problem" campaign, raising awareness for sexist hate against female athletes. She joined footballers like Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand on the collaborative team 'Hope United' to springboard the campaign into the public mindset.
She told her story of abuse for the first time last year at Clear Path UK Conference 2022 and went on to become a celebrity patron of the non-profit organisation.
Sellar, who was born with deformities to her right leg and pelvis, leading to an amputation at the age of one, and is currently taking time away from the game as she awaits hip surgery, has a personal blog titled ‘Breaking Boundaries’ and now shares her full story as a way to help others step out of the shadows and seek support.
Storyteller, coach, and charity co-founder, Perry Power raises awareness of intrafamilial abuse and inspires trauma survivors to break their silence.
Writer of the best-selling book, Breaking The Silence, Perry co-founded We Rescue Kids (a U.S-based charity giving free mental healthcare to child survivors of sexual abuse), is on the board of trustees for We-Together (a UK-based charity building a tool that allows victims and survivors to anonymously self-report), and runs a self-publishing company called Powerful Books, which helps trauma survivors turn their story into a powerful book.
Perry believes that once we take ownership of our story, we then take ownership of our life, which then allows us to step into the shoes of our most powerful selves.
Feyi Ayodele is a Trauma-Informed Domestic Abuse & Narcissistic Abuse Recovery Coach and Training Consultant. She's a certified life coach and Master NLP Practitioner.
From her lived experience of narcissistic abuse, she founded ‘The Nurtured Woman’, a private coaching and consultancy practice that specialises in providing Therapeutic Family Court Support in private law cases involving Child Contact Arrangement, Divorce and Protection Order cases to narcissistic abuse survivors.
She also provides narcissistic trauma recovery coaching and mentoring support to survivors to heal, thrive and live fulfilling lives.
She's the Director of Ariel Training & Consultancy through which she develops Narcissistic Abuse and Domestic Abuse related training programmes for professionals, Domestic Abuse Policy Development and Strategic Service Improvement Consultancy. She project-manages domestic abuse related e-learning programmes.
She's a transformative facilitator and delivers workshops and training sessions online and in-person to professionals and individual groups.
She supports and encourages individuals and families to cultivate intentional, healthy relationships.
Rie Pearson is from North Tyneside. She lives overlooking the sea and describes herself as Being on the Edge!
Rie is married to David, and has three children, two in their twenties and a teenager.
Rie's career background is in policing. She was a police officer for 27 years and retired on her 50th birthday due to ill health. She specialised in Domestic Violence and Safeguarding, working strategically for many years.
Rie's book, "Be Kind. No Excuses" is a guide for teenagers and parents to raise awareness of the red-flag behaviours that are a precursor to abuse in intimate relationships.
Her Mission is to build a greater understanding of what under the radar abuse looks like.
Nadeem Shaikh is the Managing Director of SMART Way Forward. A specialist leadership,
management, sales, customer service, sales, EDI (equality diversity inclusivity) CPD
(continuing professional development) and coach development training consultancy,
working specifically within the sport, leisure, health and fitness industry
As a former national and international athlete in the 1990’s, Nadeem competed for his club,
Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, the county of Hertfordshire and the South East region. He also
ran in the European Junior and Senior Clubs Cup Championships on five separate occasions
and won twice in the 1500m, first in 1993 in Paris and then in Istanbul in 1995. After
hanging up his competitive running shoes, Nadeem began coaching and is now regarded as
one of the most successful performance coaches in the country working with juniors,
seniors and masters’ athletes at national, international and elite level.
What Nadeem rarely talks about is his experience of childhood trauma and how that impacted his journey into adult life. He believes that speaking about the affects of abuse when we listen to the instinct to "sweep it under the rug", he can reach others in competitive and professional industries and help them to face, and heal from the wounds it causes.
Dr Jessica Taylor is the author of 'Why Women Are Blamed for Everything', Sunday Times best seller, 'Sexy But Psycho' and brand new peer reviewed resource 'Indicative Trauma Impact Manual', challenging myths, stereotypes, and biases about victims of violence and abuse.
She has a PhD in Forensic Psychology, and is Director of VictimFocus, an international training, research and consultancy organisation working to tackle prejudice and stereotyping of adults and children subjected to crime, violence, abuse and trauma.
Victim Focus supports and encourages professionals from all sectors and disciplines by providing training courses, support networks, research and evaluation, events, free and affordable resources, research, reports and guidance.
Clients and partners include police forces, local government, local authorities, social care services, mental health services, charities, private companies, schools, and universities.
VF has created free self-help courses taken by over 50,000 people subjected to sexual violence around the world, and we have trained over 30,000 professionals.
The VictimFocus Blog has been read by over 3 million people across the world with particularly large followings in the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Sweden, India, South Africa, France, Philippines, and Spain.
Lejla Dauti is the founder and director of Lejla Please Tell My Story, a non-profit organisation and online community dedicated to raising awareness about domestic abuse for female survivors. As a survivor herself, Lejla creates groundbreaking documentaries that share survival stories of her community with a trailblazing goal to influence systemic changes and promote a culture of awareness, intervention and prevention of domestic abuse.
Lejla is on a mission to provide safe spaces for women to share their stories and remind them they are not alone. Lejla is a fierce feminist who advocates for women's rights and supports female victims of domestic abuse.
Lejla leads with empathy and compassion in her work and aims to create change that directly benefits women in her community and beyond. She is passionate about using her skills and resources to make a positive impact in the lives of women who have experienced abuse and is dedicated to helping them move from survival to thriving.
Sharon Livermore is a domestic abuse survivor, campaigner & founder of Domestic Abuse Education. Domestic Abuse Education is a business consultancy that exists to educate businesses on what domestic abuse is, the many forms it takes and how to support employees who are, or may go through, domestic abuse in their lifetime. Sharon is the co-founder and influence behind “Sharon’s Policy”, a FREE template domestic abuse policy and guidance notes; Sharon’s mission is to ensure that all businesses across the UK have a domestic abuse policy in place.
Rosie Watson is Head of External Relations at the Domestic Abuse (DA) Alliance, bringing together organisations working on the frontline of domestic abuse with the civil legal sector to provide immediate legal assistance and protection for victims.
The DA Alliance's free-to-use WEPROTECT mobile app enables instant victim referral to ensure that appropriate legal support is actioned without delay.
WEPROTECT is already being used by frontline officers across Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Cumbria and Sussex Constabularies, as well as by several specialist services supporting victims to escape domestic abuse. Visit: www.domestic-abuse.co.uk
Prash helps women take up space "unapologetically" in this world with her signature H.E.A.A.L system.
She helps women who know that they deserve better in life and love but are struggling with the guilt and shame that often accompanies being single or the ending of a relationship (however it ended) - embrace their independence, their wholeness and trust their hearts again.
She believes that together we can break cycles of unhealthy co-dependency, so that we can take up space as a whole, not a half. She shows women how to stop living in the shadow of broken/abusive and unhealthy relationships and helps them realise that relationships are a choice that they can enter into on their own terms.
Prash bases her work in her own life experience. Her breakup unearthed deep rooted childhood trauma and she went to a dark place of depression. As a result, her 7-year-old followed her down the rabbit hole. Determined to break the cycle, she set out on a journey filled with hardship & struggle. She now endeavours to show women ways to break free without compromising their happiness and peace.
When women stop living in the shadow of broken relationships, the world opens its doors to them. Women can change the world using the power which is already inside them; its just a matter of trusting this power!
Ann du Plessis is a South African confidence, empowerment & self-defense coach who has dedicated her life to empowering individuals to thrive with unwavering self-confidence through both her self-defense academy and her online coaching business.
As a survivor of sexual assault herself, Ann's journey has been one of resilience and courage.
Having experienced assault at the hands of someone she considered a "friend" at the age of 14, she understands the impact that such trauma can have on one's life. Despite facing challenges in her own life, Ann has chosen to rise above and turn her pain into purpose.
In her powerful and moving speaking engagements, Ann shares her story of assault, the types of men and experiences she attracted as a result, and her journey to finding her voice after 25 years of silence.
Her authentic and empowering message inspires others to tap into their own inner power, overcome adversity and create a future that is defined by resilience, empowerment and self-worth.
Dr Elizabeth Dalgarno is the Chair and Founder of SHERA Research Group and is the Research and Development Lead.
Elizabeth has worked in public and private health and social care for 20 years and specialises in challenging inequalities and systemic challenges in health and social care. Her work centres always around vulnerable and/or marginalised groups. She is a staunch advocate of co-designed, developed and conducted research, where research is undertaken by and with the people it concerns, rather than 'on' them.
She teaches Global Women's Health and Health System Challenges in Low and Middle-Income Countries, through a complex adaptive system (CAS) lens, on the Master's in Public Health at The University of Manchester (amongst other roles) and has special interests in adult social care, the health impacts of family court proceedings on women and children, gender-based violence and domestic abuse.
She has worked on several National Institute of Health and Care Research projects.
She has led projects for the NHS to develop best practice in learning from adverse events / incidents and advises domestic abuse organisations, global sexual health organisations, NHS organisations and pilot studies such as IRISi ADViSE regarding gender-based violence and domestic abuse/violence.
She is leading several projects currently including exploring the health impacts of family court proceedings on mothers and children exposed to perpetrator abusive behaviours / domestic abuse/violence in the UK and Brazil.
Ryan is a motivational speaker that talks about the trauma from his childhood that led to him suffering from borderline personality disorder in his adult life.
By sharing his story he believes that it will help others to open up about their own past and mental health issues and to help others suffering in silence.
"Imagine you are wearing sunglasses. You are always wearing sunglasses. You never take them off..."
This is how Ryan Harland brilliantly begins to describe to us what it feels like to have Emotional Intensity Disorder (EID) or Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD).
The sunglasses are not there to protect you like normal sunglasses, he writes in this searingly honest memoir, 'Riding the Storm'.
They don’t shield you from the sun and make you look cool and feel groovy. These sunglasses harm you. Each pair makes you see the world, and yourself, in a different way, a sinister, confusing, threatening way.
Once called Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Ryan was diagnosed with the condition as an adult after a lifetime of struggles.
After facing many traumatic events – including the loss of his beloved brother, Kevin, and a sexual assault by his father – Ryan finally understood why he felt and behaved in the way that he did.
And then, with the support of his devoted mother, he started the fight back...
In this bold and brave memoir, Ryan takes us on a journey of rage and revelation, anger and acceptance, love and betrayal.
