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Creating trauma-informed policies with national survivor councils
Policies to prevent and address sexual violence are often written without input from people who have experienced it. The gap shows up for survivors and victims in inadequate prevention measures, or healing and justice services that can even cause retraumatisation. Survivors share that they have had to report abuse through official processes that feel hostile, try to access social services that are hard to reach, and encountered laws that look good on paper but fail the people they are meant to protect.
National survivor councils close that gap by learning from those with lived experience – survivors. With government support, national survivor councils formalize the role that survivor advocates should have in shaping systems and trauma-informed policies. These councils help governments to build systems that are responsive, accountable, and grounded in reality.
Survivor leadership can help build systems that better protect children and support survivors
Globally, one in five girls and one in seven boys will experience some form of sexual violence before turning 18.
With prevalence this high, all countries already have a large population of adult survivors of childhood sexual violence who may have carried their experiences in silence for decades. Their knowledge is an invaluable resource for policymaking, and governments that build national survivor councils will make better, trauma-informed decisions that can help to break the cycles of violence for future generations.
FAQs on what does 'trauma-informed' mean and how do survivor councils work?
Being trauma-informed is a framework or culture which can apply to how you interact with others, how leaders make policies, and how services are delivered.
A trauma-informed practice or policy recognizes that every person we interact with may have experienced some trauma that can impact their neurological, biological, psychological and social development. Trauma-informed policies or practices proactively create and establish protective factors to respond to this.
Being trauma-informed acknowledges the need to ask, ‘What does this person need?’ rather than ‘What is wrong with this person?’ It means understanding the potential impact of trauma and being sensitive to the need to ensure safety, trust, and choice, to avoid retraumatizing someone.
Retraumatization occurs when a survivor suffers further psychological or social harm following a trauma, from the response of authorities, the criminal justice system, or wider society. Retraumatization may be caused by asking children or survivors to repeat what happened multiple times to different officials, or to face the perpetrator during legal processes. The underlying issue that causes victims and survivors to experience retraumatization is a lack of trauma-informed justice and healing services.
Revictimization or repeat victimization is the experience of suffering subsequent acts of trauma, abuse, or violence after having already experienced a prior traumatic event. Survivors of abuse can be at higher risk of experiencing violence again, by the same or another perpetrator. Well-designed laws and policies should take that into account and include appropriate protections. This can include legal protections, like no-contact orders, trauma-informed health care, and other measures to address both environmental and individual factors that increase vulnerability.
A survivor advocate is anyone who is working to improve laws and policies by drawing upon their lived experience to protect others from experiencing abuse, revictimization, or retraumatization. It is the work of speaking up for survivors’ rights, safety, and needs, whether supporting individuals or pushing for change in laws and services. The Brave Movement’s message is that survivors should lead this work, not only inform it.
Lived experience shows how systems work in practice and what it takes to navigate them while living with the aftermath of abuse. It also exposes barriers that professionals may never see, such as processes that force survivors to retell their story repeatedly, which can cause retraumatization.
This is what makes a service truly trauma-informed. A council of survivor advocates can help others understand whether a reporting pathway, or support service reduces harm or adds to it.
No single person speaks for all survivors, so councils should reflect diversity: survivors of sexual abuse across gender, age, ethnicity, disability, geography, background and lived experience. It should also include those who disclosed soon after an incident as well as those who spent years in silence.
Councils work best alongside the wider ecosystem. Advocacy non-profit organizations bring expertise, networks, and continuity. Peer-support spaces, including Survivors Anonymous-style groups, show how much healing happens when people are heard without judgment. The council should draw on these communities without replacing them, and it should stay independent enough to speak candidly, even when the message is uncomfortable.
Governments considering a national survivor council should focus on a few fundamentals:
A clear mandate and real influence, ideally in law, as Germany has done with the Survivors’ Board at UBSKM, with a formal obligation to respond to recommendations.
Survivor leadership and genuine influence over policy, not an advisory panel that goes unheard, and not merely survivor attendance.
Fair compensation and support, so participation is not limited to those who can afford to volunteer.
Transparent selection, so the council is credible to the survivor community.
Care for members, because advocacy can be re-traumatizing and community support is essential.
Independence, protected from political pressure.
Collaboration between survivors, community organisations, and government.
All national survivor groups listed on the Brave Movement site are legitimate. These may be formalized and government-supported like the the Survivors’ Board at UBSKM in Germany or German National Survivor Council, or Northern Ireland’s National Survivor Council, or run nationally with volunteers like the Survivors Council in Canada.
Ideally, these groups have a clear mandate from government or a recognized institution along with survivor-led governance, transparent selection, safeguarding policies, and published work are signs of legitimacy.
The Brave Movement’s practical guide to creating survivor councils is a useful benchmark.
Governments sometimes invite survivors to a single roundtable event or a one-off consultation, but their expertise or lived experience is not always meaningfully included in policy decisions. Formal survivor engagement means a defined mandate, regular meetings, clear channels to decision-makers, and in the best cases, compensation and support for members.
This structure matters for three reasons.
Legitimacy. Policies shaped with survivors are more likely to be trusted by survivors. When a council helps design a reporting pathway, the people it is meant to serve have more reason to believe it will work.
Better design. Lived experience reveals problems that research alone cannot. A survivor can explain why a form that requires repeating your story to five different officials causes retraumatization, or why a waiting list that looks short on paper feels endless to someone in crisis. These details change how policy is drafted.
Accountability. A standing council can track whether commitments are kept. Brave Movement’s campaigns, such as its G7 Scorecard, show how survivor-led advocacy can hold governments to the promises they have made. A council builds that scrutiny into the system itself.
Germany offers the longest-running example. The Independent Commissioner for Child Sexual Abuse Issues was established in 2010, and the first Survivor Council at the Commissioner’s Office formed in March 2015. In 2025, both German parliamentary chambers passed a law making the Commissioner, the Independent Inquiry, and the Survivor Council statutory. The council has also given input on the continuation of support funds for survivors of family-based and institutional abuse.
Momentum is growing elsewhere. The Brave Movement welcomed the French Prime Minister’s support for a national survivor council and, later, the confirmation of a council of survivors in France. Northern Ireland’s Survivor Council was set up because survivors were tired of seeing the same cycles repeat.
The Brave Movement’s Practical guide for creating survivor councils offers five core arguments:
Survivor voices are heard and built into decisions. A council gives survivors a structured, supportive platform, so policy rests on lived experience rather than assumptions or bias. It also builds trust between institutions and the communities they serve, and offers survivors chances at leadership and healing.
Lived experience strengthens policy. Survivors can spot gaps in policies and services that others miss. Involving them leads to responses that are more effective, compassionate, and centred on the people affected.
It empowers survivors and breaks stigma. Recognising survivors as shapers of policy validates their experiences, helps end the silence around abuse, and challenges harmful misconceptions.
It shows a national commitment to end violence. A council signals long-term commitment, aligns the country with regional and international efforts, connects it with other councils, and helps fulfil pledges made at the Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children in Bogotá in November 2024.
It unifies survivors and allies and builds momentum. A council brings survivors, advocacy organisations, and policymakers together for a more coordinated push for reform, funding, and survivor-centred services. It also supports peer mentorship and strengthens local survivor networks.
- Listen without judgment and believe them.
- Let them lead; don’t pressure them to report, confront anyone, or “move on.”
- Avoid asking why they did or didn’t do something.
- Offer practical help, such as rides, meals, or company at appointments.
- Share resources, but let them decide what to use.
- Look after yourself too. We can support others best when we prioritize our own well being..
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