Survivors Speak OUT: Strategy 2023-25

Survivors Speak OUT (SSO) – a national network of people who have survived torture and use our expert voices to help bring about change – has launched its exciting plans in a new strategy.

Historical allies in the fight against torture are backsliding on their commitments to the absolute prohibition against torture. The hostile environment is deterring survivors from advocating on their own behalf and speaking in public. And newly enacted and proposed laws chip away at the torture ban and access to protection in the UK.

That's why in our new strategy, we lay out how for the next three years we will work with survivors to raise awareness of torture and grow our network, in order to fight for a world free from torture.

Our mission

Our mission is to grow the network and promote the active engagement and empowerment of more survivors. We work to raise awareness of the issues facing survivors of torture including conflict-related sexual torture. We advocate against torture and raise awareness of its harmful impacts. We campaign for a better asylum system in the UK and speak in support of rehabilitation for survivors and for the development of survivor networks worldwide. We strive to be the voice of survivors who have been silenced.

Our goals

The selected goals for the next three years are:

  1. Growing and developing SSO
  2. Defending the torture ban
  3. Fighting the anti-refugee agenda in the UK
  4. Promoting the model of survivor empowerment around the world