Advisory Group

Baroness Gabrielle Bertin

Gabby started her career at BNP Paribas as an equity trader, she then decided to swap finance for politics spending the next decade working for David Cameron both in opposition and government.

She was the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary until 2014 and then became Downing Street’s Director of External Relations.

In 2016 David Cameron made her a Life Peer. Her focus in the House of Lords is on domestic abuse, sexual violence, prison reform and disability inclusion.

She is Vice Chair of the APPG on Domestic Violence and currently sits on the Public Services Select Committee in the House of Lords.

She previously sat on the Children and Families Select Committee, Communications Select Committee and the Joint Scrutiny Committee for the Domestic Abuse Bill.

She also introduced the Stalking Protection Order Bill, giving police greater powers to help victims of stalking.

Rebecca Bryant OBE, Chief Executive at Resolve

Rebecca Bryant OBE joined Resolve in October 2018 as Chief Executive with over 15 years’ experience of working within Community Safety and having worked at Manchester City Council as the Head of Crime and Disorder.

Prior to becoming Chief Executive, Rebecca worked as a Senior Associate with Resolve for a number of years and is a well-respected Consultant within the industry possessing a broad and extensive knowledge around community safety and anti-social behaviour solutions.

Rebecca is regarded as a major thought leader for the sector, has pioneered a commitment to early intervention and prevention, and has represented Resolve members at 10 Downing Street, in the Houses of Parliament and at events and conferences across the country.

Sarah Champion MP

Sarah Champion has been the MP for Rotherham since 2012 and currently Chairs the International Development Committee. 

From 2015 to 2016, she served as Shadow Minister for Preventing Abuse and Domestic Violence as part of the Shadow Home Office team, and from 2016 to 2017, she was Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities.

Throughout her parliamentary career, she has been a stalwart for victims’ rights, achieving changes in legislation, practice and policy. She recently served on the Victims and Prisoners Public Bill Committee.

Julian Hendy, Founder of Hundred Families

Julian Hendy is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist. He is the founder of the Hundred Families charity, which supports and advocates for families bereaved as a result of mental health related homicides. Hundred Families works across the UK with the NHS, Ministry of Justice, Police and others to prevent further tragedies and to promote lasting improvements in services.  

http://www.hundredfamilies.org

Lord Russell of Liverpool

Simon Russell spent 25 years as a partner at Spencer Stuart, an international executive search firm.

A Crossbench hereditary peer, he served 1982-1999, returning in 2014. He is a Deputy Speaker, sits on the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and is an Officer of the APPGs for Children, Adoption & Permanence and Conception to Age Two.

He is a Governor of Coram, a Patron of the Cavell Nurses’ Trust and a Trustee of the Foundling Museum.

Andrea Simon, Executive Director at End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW)

Andrea has worked in the ending violence against women and girls (VAWG) sector since 2017. She was appointed EVAW’s Director in January 2021, to lead the organisation’s influential work to improve responses to women and girls at risk of and experiencing abuse. EVAW is a UK-wide coalition of more than 150 women’s organisations, researchers and experts working to end all forms of VAWG.  Andrea is also a member of the London Policing Board and Co-Chair of the London VAWG Board at the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime.   

Rachel Williams, Founder of Stand Up to Domestic Abuse (SUTDA)

Rachel Williams is a leading advocate in the campaign against domestic violence. She is a survivor of 18 years of severe domestic abuse, which ended in 2011 when her abuser shot her with a sawn off shot gun before hanging himself. 6 weeks later her 16 year old son hung himself due to the trauma of the years of abuse and subsequent shooting of his mother. She survived by the skin of her teeth and now campaigns tirelessly to help other survivors.

She was at the forefront of pushing the Domestic Abuse Act through Parliament, and on 13th September 2019 hosted the first ever survivor-led domestic abuse conference in South Wales: Stand Up to Domestic Abuse (#sutda), which brought together many survivors and professionals. Rachel is brave, kind, and passionate, and has dedicated her life to helping women all over the country.

Dr Tara Young, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice

Dr Young is a Senior Lecturer in Criminal Justice and Criminology at the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research. She has many years experience in developing and managing research projects specialising in research with underrepresented groups and minoritised communities.

The central focus of her research is on young people as perpetrators and victims of violent crime. She is interested in the manifestation of the ‘gang’ as a social problem in the UK and statutory responses to youth crime.

Dr Young has published works on mentoring as a strategy for ‘at risk’ young people, gangs and street-based offending, gang-associated girls and young women and sexual violence (including multiple perpetrator rape).

Her current research focus is on the application of the law on secondary liability (more commonly referred to as joint enterprise) in cases of group-related serious violent crime.