Justice For Victims and Survivors

One of the great privileges of my role as Sheriff of the City of London is residing within the Old Bailey, witnessing the workings of the justice system up close. It is a position that demands deep respect for the rule of law in this country. But it also brings into sharp focus a more uncomfortable truth: that for many victims and survivors of crime, justice cannot be served in full by a judge’s verdict.

Those looking in from the outside may assess justice by outcomes alone; a secured conviction, a passed sentence, a case closed. Yet those conclusions do not always bring clarity or dignity for victims and survivors.

Following abuse and exploitation, victims and survivors can often struggle to integrate into society, finding themselves out of work and housing, or caught up in criminal activities out of necessity.

Delivering justice for victims and survivors requires us to interrogate and understand the systems that exploit and the cycles that trap people, so that we may begin to fix them.

The Justice for All Series is a five-part programme I devised to examine the state of justice in modern society and confront the growing pressures facing legal systems that are underfunded, overstretched and no longer fit for purpose. Hosted at the Old Bailey, the series brings together senior decision‑makers, experts and professionals to ask difficult questions and advance evidence‑based solutions.

Framed around the anniversaries of the Magna Carta (1225) and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, the series seeks not consensus but clarity on what a just society requires today, who must act, and the consequences of inaction. Supported by research from RAND Europe, the programme highlights justice as both a moral foundation and a critical driver of social stability and economic prosperity.

The next event in the Justice For All series is taking place on Monday 23rd March and will focus on ‘Justice for Victims and Survivors’. This session will confront the legal and social challenges facing survivors of violence and exploitation, including gender-based violence and modern slavery.

On the night, I am honoured that we will be joined by survivors of modern slavery, human trafficking and oppression, and those that are working to prevent the continuation of these abuses. The panel will include Jane Lasonder who is Chair of Hope for Justice Survivor Leadership Council and is a survivor of child sexual exploitation and trafficking, and Antoinette Mutabazi, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide who is now a speaker and activist.

Jane and Antoinette’s stories are incredibly powerful and moving and will bring to light the challenges facing those who emerge from abuse and exploitation looking to rebuild their lives.

As a victim or survivor, justice can be an emotional experience in which it is important to be heard, believed, supported and treated with dignity. But for many, this is not the reality of their experience.

Justice for victims and survivors must be practical. It must mean access to legal advice, protection from intimidation, and pathways to rehabilitation and employment. It must recognise that trauma does not end when a verdict is delivered. And it must ensure that those who have been exploited are not further marginalised by the very systems designed to protect them.

In my role as Sheriff, I regularly see the extraordinary dedication of those working within our courts and criminal justice system. But I also see the pressures they face and the gaps that persist, particularly when it comes to supporting victims’ long‑term recovery. 

That’s why it’s so important for businesses, policymakers, the legal world, and civic society to come together to discuss how we can improve the justice system in the UK.

I hope that events like Justice for Victims and Survivors will play a vital role in driving this conversation forward. They bring together voices that are too often silenced, especially those with lived experience.

In my role as Senior Investment Director at Rathbones, I have seen the positive impact financial institutions can have. Rathbones’ Votes Against Slavery initiative – now in its seventh year – has shone a light on the reality that modern slavery is not a distant or abstract problem, it exists within our communities, supply chains and economic systems.

Votes Against Slavery is a coalition of institutional investors started by Rathbones working to combat modern slavery in UK-listed companies and their supply chains. Members drive greater transparency, accountability and compliance with the UK Modern Slavery Act by using their voting rights as shareholders.

For me, the intersection between civic duty and professional responsibility is clear. Whether through Rathbones, supporting initiatives like Votes Against Slavery or sponsoring events like Justice For Victims and Survivors, or through the City, advocating for a justice system that puts victims first, the objective is the same: to ensure that justice is not an abstract ideal, but a lived reality.

As we look ahead to Justice for Victims and Survivors, my hope is that we continue to move from awareness to accountability, and from intention to impact.