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On International Youth Day, meet the Changemakers

They’re aged 13 to 24, they’ve been on TV, briefed Ministers, met the Queen, and shaped national policy.

On International Youth Day, SafeLives is celebrating the young people whose lived experience is driving real change in policy, research and frontline practice. 

Working alongside professionals, Changemakers shape national campaigns, co-create services, and bring young people’s lived reality into rooms where decisions get made. They come from a variety of cultures and backgrounds, and every voice is acknowledged, valued and respected.

 

Too often young people are made to feel that their voice is not important because they are too naïve or inexperienced. But working with Changemakers has shown me that a young person’s voice can be one of the most powerful tools to inspire change.

Changemaker, SafeLives

Changemaker work in numbers

  • 1,000+

    professionals who heard Changemakers speak

  • 4

    projects presented to the European Conference on Domestic Violence

  • 200+

    professionals reached by the Family Voices webinar

From parliamentary debates to academic research, from Buckingham Palace to local community focus groups, here is where Changemakers have been and what they have influenced. 

Shaping policy and research

  • They have co-produced research on non-fatal strangulation, ensuring young people’s voices inform the training SafeLives delivers. 
  • Attended the Labour Party Conference, speaking on a fringe panel about babies, children and young people as victims in their own right. 
  • Met with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner to update on their work and share their experiences directly. 
  • Had their quotes read out by an MP during a Westminster Hall debate in Parliament. 
  • Participated in two consultations on the Victims’ Code of Practice. 

Research and academic collaboration

  • Worked with academics at the University of Central Lancashire on a Young Person IDVA study review. 
  • Contributed to the Too Soon Too Late project, exploring whether the legal age for recognising domestic abuse in young people’s relationships should be lowered from 16 to 13. 
  • Joined the Young Person and Stalking advisory panel with academics at the University of Lancashire. 
  • Co-produced the Take a Deep Breath research on teenage relationship abuse and non-fatal strangulation. 

Influencing services and organisations

  • Influenced SafeLives’ organisational strategy directly. 
  • Participated in interview panels for senior roles, including the Chair of Trustees. 
  • Joined the Safe Young Lives Programme Board. 
  • Took part in Echo project work in three local areas, helping communities develop young people’s authentic voice approaches. 
  • Delivered Public Health Approach focus groups and training workshops. 
  • Facilitated webinars for SafeLives staff. 

What makes this work different

It would be simple to consult young people and leave it at that. What the Changemakers represent is something much more meaningful: genuine co-production.  

I've been a Changemaker at SafeLives for 3 years and love being surrounded by like-minded young people who are equally as passionate about ending domestic abuse as I am. I love the platform I have been given as a Changemaker and am grateful to know that I am able to use my voice to inspire other young people and pioneer change. If I was to give one piece of advice to other young people who want to speak out and share their voice, it would be to not allow your age to deter you from sharing your opinion and speaking up about your beliefs. As young people we are often underestimated and cast aside however our voices matter and it is our generation that is able to shape this near future.

Lybah, Changemaker

They don’t just comment on work others have already designed. They shape it from the start, in the spirit of Authentic Voice’s own principle: Heart and Start. 

The Authentic Voice principles, Do No Harm, Expert by Experience, Speak Your Truth, Heart and Start, Equality and Diversity, were built by survivors for survivors. 

The Changemakers embody these principles every time they step into a conference, a meeting room, or a research workshop. 

The voices of young people are being heard in parliament, in policy, and in practice.  

That’s no small feat. 

Authentic Voice Principles and Model

A summary of the Authentic Voice principles and Authentic Voice model. The AV principles are the foundation of all our Authentic Voice work. They were co-created by survivors (SafeLives Pioneers and Authentic Voice Panel) and professionals, some of whom also have lived experience of domestic abuse. The AV model was created to hold space for survivors to choose the level of involvement that best meets their needs at this time when using their lived experience in our work.

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