From Survivor to Defendant: How the law is being weaponised to silence victims of sexual violence

Since 2017, the #MeToo movement has encouraged millions of women to share their experiences of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). But speaking out hasn’t come without risks. Some survivors (and the journalists covering their stories) have faced legal threats from the very people accused of perpetrating SGBV. As a result, British courts have been weaponised to continue abuse, with few protections in place.

SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation) are lawsuits aimed at stifling public interest speech. They are designed not to win in court, but to intimidate, drain resources and silence voices. Their aim isn’t justice, but suppression.

Join us for the launch, sponsored by Baroness Helena Kennedy KC, of From Survivor to Defendant, a new report from Index on Censorship exploring how SLAPPs are being used against survivors of SGBV across the UK and Ireland. 

With words from Baroness Helena Kennedy KC (House of Lords), Jemimah Steinfeld (Index on Censorship), Olga Jurasz (Centre for Protecting Women Online, The Open University), SLAPP targets Nina Cresswell and Verity Nevitt, and Mark Stephens CBE (Howard Kennedy).

RSVP to confirm your attendance here.

The report was prepared with the generous support of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and the Open University’s Centre for Protecting Women Online.

Index is grateful for the contributions of the survivors, and especially the Gemini Project who shared their research with us.

We are grateful to our event co-sponsors, the International Bar Association.