Tech Safety Summit 2024: Leading the Change Against Technology-Facilitated Abuse

Hetti became Chair of Refuge’s Board of Trustees on 1st June 2020. Hetti has a career spanning British Airways, Centrica, BT and Vodafone, leading financial, commercial and transformational change, often enabled by leading edge technology. She became the CEO of Ploughshare Innovations in April 2020 and is renowned for leading cultural and commercial transformation, and her highly creative, collaborative and engaging approach with teams and partners. She is also a recognised champion for diversity, equality, and inclusion. Hetti was recognised in the New Year’s Honours 2024 list, receiving a CBE for her services to people affected by domestic abuse and domestic homicide. Hetti has been an active campaigner raising awareness about domestic abuse and the criminal justice system since her best friend, Joanna Simpson, was killed by her estranged husband. Hetti is the founder and former Chair of the Joanna Simpson Foundation and was previously a Pioneer at Safe Lives. As CEO of an organisation which is on a high growth trajectory, and Chair of Refuge which is going through transformational change whilst seeing ever increasing demand for services, Hetti focuses her spare time enjoying long walks in the countryside with her family and the dogs. Hetti is also a member of the People, Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

Emma Pickering is a dedicated professional, with extensive experience in the VAWG sector. Her career at Refuge began in 2017 when she joined as a MARAC coordinator within the Warwickshire service. Emma joined the Tech Abuse team in January 2018 at the beginning of the project. Currently the Head of Tech & Economic Abuse, Emma plays a pivotal role at Refuge. Emma's commitment to preventing technology-facilitated domestic abuse is evident in her pursuit of specialised training. She received Tech Abuse training from SafetyNet, and trained as an IRIS Advocate Educator. Her academic background, including a BA Honours degree in Working with Young People and Services from De Montfort University, and a Masters Degree in Understanding the Dynamics of Domestic and Sexual Violence from the University of Worcester, has equipped her with extensive knowledge of the complex issues surrounding domestic abuse. Emma is further exploring the subject, in ongoing PhD studies at Birmingham City University, titled "Evaluating the role of domestic homicide Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Domestic Homicide." As a Churchill Fellow, Emma is an advocate for survivors of technology-facilitated domestic abuse. Her expertise in the intersection of tech and economic abuse has equipped Emma in leading a team, who provide direct support to women and children facing these challenges. Emma manages external partnerships and stakeholders, collaborating closely with Refuge's policy and fundraising teams to generate income and foster growth within her team. Additionally, Emma plays a crucial role in shaping legislative asks to improve responses for survivors of technology-facilitated abuse, leading to more positive outcomes within the VAWG sector.

Karen Bentley, is the CEO of Wesnet, the national peak body for specialist women's domestic and family violence services.
Karen has worked across the Violence Against Women sector since 1997 as a senior executive in the Australian Public Service, as a consultant, in women's and community health services and in Wesnet.
Always a tech enthusiast and strong anti-violence advocate, Karen has a particular interest in the intersection of technology and Violence Against Women, and is regularly called upon to provide advice to governments, policy makers and technology companies.
Karen has trained thousands of frontline workers and other professionals about technology safety and is a co-founder of the Safety Net Australia project.
Karen has a BSc(Hons) from ANU and began her career as a scientist before joining the Australian Public Service where she worked across several agencies.
She has also worked as a consultant to numerous non-government organisations and in leadership positions in the health sector.
She is passionate about ensuring gender equality and ending violence.

Leonie Maria Tanczer is an Associate Professor in International Security and Emerging Technologies at University College London's (UCL) Department of Computer Science (CS) and grant holder of the prestigious UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF).
She is part of UCL's Information Security Research Group (ISec) and initiated and heads the 'Gender and Tech' research efforts at UCL.
Tanczer is also a member of the Advisory Council of the Open Rights Group (ORG), a Steering Committee member for the Offensive Cyber Working Group, and a voting member of the IEEE Working Group P2987 'Recommended Practice for Principles for Design and Operation Addressing Technology-Facilitated Inter-personal Control'.
She was formerly an Association of British Science Writers (ABSW) Media Fellow at The Economist and a Fellow at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) in Berlin. Her research focuses on question related to technology, gender, and cybersecurity.

Since joining the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) in 2007, Erica has advocated on behalf of survivors of gender-based violence by educating victim service providers, policymakers, and technology companies on issues of technology abuse, privacy, and victim safety.
She has provided trainings to technologists, attorneys, law enforcement officials, victim advocates, and other practitioners in the United States and internationally.
Through the Safety Net Project, Erica works with private industry, state, and federal agencies and international groups to improve safety and privacy for victims in this digital age. She regularly provides consultation to leading technology companies on the potential impact of technology design and reporting procedures on survivors of abuse. She also provides technical assistance on technology safety to professionals working with survivors.
Erica's prior work at the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence included writing curriculum and training statewide on a project focusing on the intersection of domestic violence and disabilities. Erica has a Masters in Social Work from SUNY Albany and a Certificate in Non-Profit Management from the Center for Women in Civil Society.

Emma Pickering is a dedicated professional, with extensive experience in the VAWG sector. Her career at Refuge began in 2017 when she joined as a MARAC coordinator within the Warwickshire service. Emma joined the Tech Abuse team in January 2018 at the beginning of the project. Currently the Head of Tech & Economic Abuse, Emma plays a pivotal role at Refuge. Emma's commitment to preventing technology-facilitated domestic abuse is evident in her pursuit of specialised training. She received Tech Abuse training from SafetyNet, and trained as an IRIS Advocate Educator. Her academic background, including a BA Honours degree in Working with Young People and Services from De Montfort University, and a Masters Degree in Understanding the Dynamics of Domestic and Sexual Violence from the University of Worcester, has equipped her with extensive knowledge of the complex issues surrounding domestic abuse. Emma is further exploring the subject, in ongoing PhD studies at Birmingham City University, titled "Evaluating the role of domestic homicide Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Domestic Homicide." As a Churchill Fellow, Emma is an advocate for survivors of technology-facilitated domestic abuse. Her expertise in the intersection of tech and economic abuse has equipped Emma in leading a team, who provide direct support to women and children facing these challenges. Emma manages external partnerships and stakeholders, collaborating closely with Refuge's policy and fundraising teams to generate income and foster growth within her team. Additionally, Emma plays a crucial role in shaping legislative asks to improve responses for survivors of technology-facilitated abuse, leading to more positive outcomes within the VAWG sector.

Emma Pickering is a dedicated professional, with extensive experience in the VAWG sector. Her career at Refuge began in 2017 when she joined as a MARAC coordinator within the Warwickshire service. Emma joined the Tech Abuse team in January 2018 at the beginning of the project. Currently the Head of Tech & Economic Abuse, Emma plays a pivotal role at Refuge. Emma's commitment to preventing technology-facilitated domestic abuse is evident in her pursuit of specialised training. She received Tech Abuse training from SafetyNet, and trained as an IRIS Advocate Educator. Her academic background, including a BA Honours degree in Working with Young People and Services from De Montfort University, and a Masters Degree in Understanding the Dynamics of Domestic and Sexual Violence from the University of Worcester, has equipped her with extensive knowledge of the complex issues surrounding domestic abuse. Emma is further exploring the subject, in ongoing PhD studies at Birmingham City University, titled "Evaluating the role of domestic homicide Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Domestic Homicide." As a Churchill Fellow, Emma is an advocate for survivors of technology-facilitated domestic abuse. Her expertise in the intersection of tech and economic abuse has equipped Emma in leading a team, who provide direct support to women and children facing these challenges. Emma manages external partnerships and stakeholders, collaborating closely with Refuge's policy and fundraising teams to generate income and foster growth within her team. Additionally, Emma plays a crucial role in shaping legislative asks to improve responses for survivors of technology-facilitated abuse, leading to more positive outcomes within the VAWG sector.

With 34 years of Charity experience as both consultant and trustee, Alan has been working as a consultant to Refuge since 2008.
Alan is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and a Charted IT Professional, with experience in GDPR, data collection and technology facilitated abuse.
Alan designed the National Domestic Violence helpline and case management systems in use by Domestic Violence organisations.
Now semi-retired, Alan provides consultancy services to the Tech Support team.

Becky joined Refuge in early 2018, working as an Outreach Worker, later working as an IRIS Advocate Educator. She has trained in specialist tech abuse with SafetyNet and has been a Tech Champion since the Project launched in 2018.
Becky is currently a Helpline Tech Abuse Lead, supporting survivors referred directly from the National Domestic Abuse Helpline (NDAH) with complex technology-facilitated abuse needs.
She is also developing a Helpline Volunteer Programme, where she will be responsible for managing a dedicated team of volunteers.
She has specialist knowledge of stalkerware, online dating and other complex tech.
She is a member of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, which was founded in November 2019 in response to the growing stalkerware threat and is passionate about building an understanding of making online dating spaces safer environments for users.
Prior to working for Refuge, Becky worked as a Designated Safeguarding Lead in a secondary school, leading a young person’s forum whose work raising awareness of SRE within their peer group was nominated and shortlisted for a number of National Sexual Health Awards.

Chris Hood is a full member of Chartered Institute of Information Security.
19 years’ experience as a serving officer with Staffordshire, Chris is a Police Inspector having worked in the Digital/Cyber area of Policing for the last 10 years supporting areas such as POLIT, Digital Forensics, Covert Intelligence, Major Crime and MOSOVO – Now focused on delivering Digital tactics to the frontline of Policing and making technical tactics available to the wider Police service.
Chris was involved in the creation of the Digital Data Skills Academy DDSA in Police Scotland after becoming a trainer for the CISCO Academy as part of a pilot through TRACER at the NCA.
In December 2022 Chris introduced the use of anti-stalking methods in Staffordshire to detect physical third party devices in rooms and also vehicles lining back to suspects providing greater support to survivors of these types of crime.
Currently incorporating the wider use of Digital Strategies across Staffordshire but particular supporting Rape and Serious Sexual Offences cases.
Prior to the Policing Chris worked as a IT network engineer and technical support within Telecomms having a BSc Hons in Business Communications Technology.

Jodi is the Service Manager for the Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Economic Empowerment Team.
Before joining Refuge, Jodi worked with vulnerable children and in mental health services.
Jodi joined Refuge in 2019 and initially worked to support survivors of domestic abuse as a Health IDVA. During her time as a Health IDVA, Jodi worked closely with the IRIS team to deliver training to local hospitals. Jodi trained with SafeLives and is qualified in delivery of the Domestic Abuse Matters programme for first responders.
Since joining the specialist technology-facilitated abuse team in 2020, Jodi has supported survivors of abuse directly with complex cases of tech abuse and trained professionals in identifying and supporting survivors of technology-facilitated abuse.
Jodi is particularly passionate about understanding the intersection of technology-facilitated abuse and disability.
Jodi works closely with other services at Refuge to campaign to change legislation that would better protect women and girls against the emerging threats new technologies can pose when abuse and continue to raise awareness of the issue of technology facilitated abuse.
Jodi has spoken at international conferences and is a member of several working groups looking to identify best practice for tech developers to ensure safety by design encompasses and better protects women online.

Emma started her journey with PayPlan 12 years ago after working in the financial sector for a number of years. She joined as a personal finance manager and completed all aspects of the client journey, particularly focussed on maximising income, reducing expenditure, and taking all of their circumstances into account to ensure the best outcome.
From this, her passion for assisting Vulnerable clients grew and how best to help, through really listening to their difficult situations, accessing support services, whilst managing the financial impact at the same time.
She became a client support specialist and assisted her colleagues and the business in best practice and meeting the FCA regulations. From this their Vulnerable client teams were born, to deliver bespoke services in terms of treatment and support.
She is now Vulnerability lead to further develop the Vulnerability strategy, which includes working with many external partners to develop their partnership strategy, accessibility and ensuring an inclusive service and developing their colleague wellbeing strategy further.

Maria joined The Co-operative Bank in 2002 and was appointed to the Bank’s Executive Team in 2018; now holding the position of Chief Operating Officer.
With over 25 years’ experience in financial services, Maria has significant experience in leading award winning multi-disciplinary businesses across multiple locations; consistently driving strong performance and delivering excellence across customer and colleague experiences.
Throughout her time at the Bank, Maria has been a vocal advocate of the Bank’s unique customer-led Ethical Policy and has championed banking that makes a positive difference to the lives of the Bank’s customers and their communities.
Maria is an active member of Amnesty International UK, was Chair of The Co-operative Charitable Foundation for five years and is also a Certified Bank Director through The Chartered Banker Institute.

Erica has almost 20 years’ experience in safeguarding, starting her career as a Police Officer with Sussex Police in 2006.
Realising prevention was more her forte, Erica left the police to join the Probation Service, working with adult offenders and later moving into youth offender management with East Sussex County Council.
After a few more years in the public sector, the charity sector came calling and Erica began managing missing children services with Catch22 before moving over to Missing People charity to set up and lead their missing from home services across the UK, most notably the first Pan Sussex service commissioned by Sussex Police and all three Sussex local authorities.
Erica decided to move away from front line delivery and service management to more strategic organisational development roles, as Head of Delivery & Development at the UK wide sport for development charity, Sported, and most recently as Chief Operating Officer at MindOut LGBTQ+ Mental Health Service.
Erica watched Lorin deliver a presentation at a safeguarding conference almost 10 years ago and has followed the charity ever since. So, joining the team as CEO in January 2024 was an incredibly proud and exciting moment.

Ellie has worked in sexual violence prevention for 7+ years and has extensive experience working for organisations delivering education on gender inequality and sexual violence prevention.
Softley develops and facilitates workshops for victims/survivors of sexual violence and young adults in her community.
Certifications & Training
+ Trauma Informed Approach to Understanding Rape and Childhood Sexual Abuse: Delivered by The Survivor’s Trust (Credential ID CPD Certification Service).
+ NSPCC Safeguarding 16-25 year olds
+ Safeguarding Level 3
+ Diversity, Equality & Inclusion

Elaha oversees the children and young people services at Refuge and is a qualified Youth Worker and trainer with 9+ years of experience in the gender-based violence sector with initially supporting both adult and child survivors of abuse before moving on to development and research roles. Elaha specialises in tech-facilitated gender-based abuse/online harms and has trained hundreds of professionals including social workers and teachers in understanding and addressing online harms. She is also a consultant at Rights and Security International and an associate at Safe Lives.

BMedSci, BMBS, MPH, MRes, PhD (c)
Emergency Doctor 
Artificial Intelligence & Security Researcher
Director @bleepDigital

Jodi is the Service Manager for the Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Economic Empowerment Team.
Before joining Refuge, Jodi worked with vulnerable children and in mental health services.
Jodi joined Refuge in 2019 and initially worked to support survivors of domestic abuse as a Health IDVA. During her time as a Health IDVA, Jodi worked closely with the IRIS team to deliver training to local hospitals. Jodi trained with SafeLives and is qualified in delivery of the Domestic Abuse Matters programme for first responders.
Since joining the specialist technology-facilitated abuse team in 2020, Jodi has supported survivors of abuse directly with complex cases of tech abuse and trained professionals in identifying and supporting survivors of technology-facilitated abuse.
Jodi is particularly passionate about understanding the intersection of technology-facilitated abuse and disability.
Jodi works closely with other services at Refuge to campaign to change legislation that would better protect women and girls against the emerging threats new technologies can pose when abuse and continue to raise awareness of the issue of technology facilitated abuse.
Jodi has spoken at international conferences and is a member of several working groups looking to identify best practice for tech developers to ensure safety by design encompasses and better protects women online.

Lana Ramjit is the Director of Operations for the Clinic to End Tech Abuse at Cornell Tech program which provides free consultative services to survivors of intimate partner violence experiencing technology-facilitated abuse in New York City each year. As an expert in digital safety and cybersecurity threats against individuals, she engages in research, advocacy, and training to inform policy, digital platforms, and service delivery with local, national, and international stakeholders. She was awarded a 2021 Computing Innovations Fellowship and is a 2024 Aspen Ideas Fellow. She earned her PhD in Computer Science at UCLA in 2021 and prior to that, a BA in Computer Science at Columbia University.

Rhiannon Wong is the Project Manager for Women’s Shelters Canada’s new Technology Safety Canada project.  Through her project addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence, Rhiannon has been developing practical technology safety resources and training for Canadian anti-violence workers that addresses how technology can be used both to keep survivors safe and misused by perpetrators to commit crimes of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, impersonation and harassment.  For more information https://endvaw.ca/technology-safety-canada-project/  or www.techsafety.ca

Alexandra Robinson is the Technical Advisor on gender-based violence for UNFPA based in Headquarters, New York.
Prior to working with UNFPA, Alexandra worked with other UN agencies and Civil Society Organisations across north Africa and Asia in a range of humanitarian, peacebuilding and development contexts.
She is an trained lawyer by background and has practiced across Australia and the UK in criminal, family and climate law.
She possesses double degrees in Law and Social Sciences from the Queensland University of Technology and the University of Queensland and a Masters of Law (International Law) from the Australian National University.

Emma Pickering is a dedicated professional, with extensive experience in the VAWG sector. Her career at Refuge began in 2017 when she joined as a MARAC coordinator within the Warwickshire service. Emma joined the Tech Abuse team in January 2018 at the beginning of the project. Currently the Head of Tech & Economic Abuse, Emma plays a pivotal role at Refuge. Emma's commitment to preventing technology-facilitated domestic abuse is evident in her pursuit of specialised training. She received Tech Abuse training from SafetyNet, and trained as an IRIS Advocate Educator. Her academic background, including a BA Honours degree in Working with Young People and Services from De Montfort University, and a Masters Degree in Understanding the Dynamics of Domestic and Sexual Violence from the University of Worcester, has equipped her with extensive knowledge of the complex issues surrounding domestic abuse. Emma is further exploring the subject, in ongoing PhD studies at Birmingham City University, titled "Evaluating the role of domestic homicide Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Domestic Homicide." As a Churchill Fellow, Emma is an advocate for survivors of technology-facilitated domestic abuse. Her expertise in the intersection of tech and economic abuse has equipped Emma in leading a team, who provide direct support to women and children facing these challenges. Emma manages external partnerships and stakeholders, collaborating closely with Refuge's policy and fundraising teams to generate income and foster growth within her team. Additionally, Emma plays a crucial role in shaping legislative asks to improve responses for survivors of technology-facilitated abuse, leading to more positive outcomes within the VAWG sector.

Tamsin McNally is the Hotline Manager at the IWF.
She oversees a team of 14 analysts who investigate reports from members of the public who have stumbled across potential child sexual abuse images.
They additionally proactively search for child sexual abuse material on the internet so that it can be blocked and removed.
She also manages the IWF Taskforce team, who assess and grade images and videos of child sexual abuse.

Carmel has worked with SWGFL since 2015, managing the Professional's Online Safety Helpline from 2019. In this time Carmel has helped, and consulted on 10,000 cases to the helpline, putting her in a unique position to advise government and work closely with industry.
Working on the helpline, hearing from schools, police forces, local authorities, and youth clubs from all four corners of the nation has provided Carmel with a special insight into what online safety issues are affecting both young people, and the professionals caring for them.
In December 2021 Carmel and the team launched the pilot 'Harmful Sexual Behaviour Support service'; in partnership with The Marie Collins Foundation in January 2022, commissioned by the home office which supported in over 600 cases during its 10-month operation.

Emma Pickering is a dedicated professional, with extensive experience in the VAWG sector. Her career at Refuge began in 2017 when she joined as a MARAC coordinator within the Warwickshire service. Emma joined the Tech Abuse team in January 2018 at the beginning of the project. Currently the Head of Tech & Economic Abuse, Emma plays a pivotal role at Refuge. Emma's commitment to preventing technology-facilitated domestic abuse is evident in her pursuit of specialised training. She received Tech Abuse training from SafetyNet, and trained as an IRIS Advocate Educator. Her academic background, including a BA Honours degree in Working with Young People and Services from De Montfort University, and a Masters Degree in Understanding the Dynamics of Domestic and Sexual Violence from the University of Worcester, has equipped her with extensive knowledge of the complex issues surrounding domestic abuse. Emma is further exploring the subject, in ongoing PhD studies at Birmingham City University, titled "Evaluating the role of domestic homicide Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Domestic Homicide." As a Churchill Fellow, Emma is an advocate for survivors of technology-facilitated domestic abuse. Her expertise in the intersection of tech and economic abuse has equipped Emma in leading a team, who provide direct support to women and children facing these challenges. Emma manages external partnerships and stakeholders, collaborating closely with Refuge's policy and fundraising teams to generate income and foster growth within her team. Additionally, Emma plays a crucial role in shaping legislative asks to improve responses for survivors of technology-facilitated abuse, leading to more positive outcomes within the VAWG sector.

Sophie was a Hackney councillor from 2006 until her appointment by the Mayor of London. She was Deputy Mayor of Hackney Council, with lead responsibility for crime and community safety, environmental health and trading standards, equalities and neighbourhood and civic engagement.
Sophie was part of the senior leadership that saw Hackney awarded 'Council of the Last 20 Years' (2016) by the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Awards, the LGC Editor's Award for Partnership Working (2014) for their ground breaking gangs unit, and a rating of 'excellent' in the Local Government Equality Framework.
She was a special adviser at the Home Office from 2001 to 2004. While there Sophie worked with the Home Secretary and Ministers on policy development and strategy, including: police reform, crime and antisocial behaviour reduction, neighbourhood policing and reducing the harm caused by illegal drugs. From 1997 to 2001 Sophie was a special adviser to David Blunkett in the Department for Education and Employment.
Sophie has been a member of the Local Government Association (LGA) Safer Communities Board, a peer reviewer for the LGA on community safety, and a member of the HMIC advisory board on PEEL (the police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy programme) inspections.
Sophie has worked in the voluntary sector as a campaigns and policy manager, campaigning to end child poverty. She has also worked in the private sector as a director of public affairs.
Sophie has lived in Hackney for the last 30 years.

Abigail started her third sector career providing housing related support to people living with HIV.
Since then, Abigail has worked at a senior level across the sector developing and leading vital services for adults and their children with support needs – including award winning projects.
Joining Refuge in 2021 as Director of Service Delivery, Abigail is currently Refuge’s Interim Chief Executive Officer.
Refuge is the country's largest provider of specialist support for women and their children experiencing domestic abuse.
Abigail leads teams of over 300 specialists to deliver all client facing services, including safe accommodation, community based services, National Domestic Abuse Helpline and the sector leading tech-facilitated abuse and economic empowerment service.
Prior to this, Abigail worked as Director of Operations for a London based charity leading their response to domestic abuse and modern slavery, including expansion to deliver the largest modern slavery response service in London, before being seconded to lead the creation of the organisation's first combined digital and IT strategy.
Across a career spanning the voluntary sector and local government Abigail has led coproduction and volunteer programmes, created a safeguarding quality assurance framework and delivered empowering support for people across a range of client groups.
Abigail holds an MSc in Business Psychology and qualifications in Programme Management.

Since her appointment to the role of Domestic Abuse Commissioner in September 2019, Nicole has begun energetically putting her 30 plus years of experience in domestic abuse policy and intervention to work, driving improvements to transform the response to domestic abuse in England and Wales.
She is committed to championing victims and survivors of all ages, status, and backgrounds, and to shining a light on practises that fail them.

Giles Herdale has been involved in intelligence and digital investigation for many years, working at the National Policing Improvement Agency, College of Policing and National Police Chiefs’ Council, where he set up and ran the Digital Investigation and Intelligence Programme (2014 to 2017) to transform policing capabilities to address the growing threat of online crime.He has also had experience in the private sector, providing digital forensics and data analytics services to law enforcement, and cyber and information security services to corporate and not-for-profit organisations.In recent years he has worked independently including supporting the National Crime Agency with TRACER, a multi-agency and multi-disciplinary team looking at emerging technologies, their impact on investigative capabilities and sponsoring innovation to mitigate threats and exploit opportunities. Since 2022 he has supported the work of the national violence against women and girls taskforce with developing a strategic response to online and tech-enabled VAWG. This includes the first strategic assessment of police understanding of the challenge, and building partnerships with civil society, academia and industry, leading to creation of a joint policing and TechUK VAWG steering group.

Hetti became Chair of Refuge’s Board of Trustees on 1st June 2020. Hetti has a career spanning British Airways, Centrica, BT and Vodafone, leading financial, commercial and transformational change, often enabled by leading edge technology. She became the CEO of Ploughshare Innovations in April 2020 and is renowned for leading cultural and commercial transformation, and her highly creative, collaborative and engaging approach with teams and partners. She is also a recognised champion for diversity, equality, and inclusion. Hetti was recognised in the New Year’s Honours 2024 list, receiving a CBE for her services to people affected by domestic abuse and domestic homicide. Hetti has been an active campaigner raising awareness about domestic abuse and the criminal justice system since her best friend, Joanna Simpson, was killed by her estranged husband. Hetti is the founder and former Chair of the Joanna Simpson Foundation and was previously a Pioneer at Safe Lives. As CEO of an organisation which is on a high growth trajectory, and Chair of Refuge which is going through transformational change whilst seeing ever increasing demand for services, Hetti focuses her spare time enjoying long walks in the countryside with her family and the dogs. Hetti is also a member of the People, Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

Emma Pickering is a dedicated professional, with extensive experience in the VAWG sector. Her career at Refuge began in 2017 when she joined as a MARAC coordinator within the Warwickshire service. Emma joined the Tech Abuse team in January 2018 at the beginning of the project. Currently the Head of Tech & Economic Abuse, Emma plays a pivotal role at Refuge. Emma's commitment to preventing technology-facilitated domestic abuse is evident in her pursuit of specialised training. She received Tech Abuse training from SafetyNet, and trained as an IRIS Advocate Educator. Her academic background, including a BA Honours degree in Working with Young People and Services from De Montfort University, and a Masters Degree in Understanding the Dynamics of Domestic and Sexual Violence from the University of Worcester, has equipped her with extensive knowledge of the complex issues surrounding domestic abuse. Emma is further exploring the subject, in ongoing PhD studies at Birmingham City University, titled "Evaluating the role of domestic homicide Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Domestic Homicide." As a Churchill Fellow, Emma is an advocate for survivors of technology-facilitated domestic abuse. Her expertise in the intersection of tech and economic abuse has equipped Emma in leading a team, who provide direct support to women and children facing these challenges. Emma manages external partnerships and stakeholders, collaborating closely with Refuge's policy and fundraising teams to generate income and foster growth within her team. Additionally, Emma plays a crucial role in shaping legislative asks to improve responses for survivors of technology-facilitated abuse, leading to more positive outcomes within the VAWG sector.

Emma Pickering is a dedicated professional, with extensive experience in the VAWG sector. Her career at Refuge began in 2017 when she joined as a MARAC coordinator within the Warwickshire service. Emma joined the Tech Abuse team in January 2018 at the beginning of the project. Currently the Head of Tech & Economic Abuse, Emma plays a pivotal role at Refuge. Emma's commitment to preventing technology-facilitated domestic abuse is evident in her pursuit of specialised training. She received Tech Abuse training from SafetyNet, and trained as an IRIS Advocate Educator. Her academic background, including a BA Honours degree in Working with Young People and Services from De Montfort University, and a Masters Degree in Understanding the Dynamics of Domestic and Sexual Violence from the University of Worcester, has equipped her with extensive knowledge of the complex issues surrounding domestic abuse. Emma is further exploring the subject, in ongoing PhD studies at Birmingham City University, titled "Evaluating the role of domestic homicide Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Domestic Homicide." As a Churchill Fellow, Emma is an advocate for survivors of technology-facilitated domestic abuse. Her expertise in the intersection of tech and economic abuse has equipped Emma in leading a team, who provide direct support to women and children facing these challenges. Emma manages external partnerships and stakeholders, collaborating closely with Refuge's policy and fundraising teams to generate income and foster growth within her team. Additionally, Emma plays a crucial role in shaping legislative asks to improve responses for survivors of technology-facilitated abuse, leading to more positive outcomes within the VAWG sector.

Katie is a Training Lead on the Home Office project for which she delivers training to by-and-for organisations about technology-facilitated abuse.
Katie started her career in 2016, where she worked and volunteered for charities that aimed to tackle poverty and end social injustice.
Katie's career at Refuge began on the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline in 2020 as a volunteer, before joining the Helpline as a paid staff member in 2021.
Katie's role on the Helpline was where she gained experience supporting survivors experiencing domestic abuse directly, with emotional and practical support. Katie’s role was client and risk focused, supporting survivors in crisis and securing refuge or emergency accommodation for survivors and their children. 

Jayne is Tech Lead for the Barking and Dagenham Redbridge Service. Jayne began her career studying a Health and Social Care GNVQ at Richmond college and was placed in different health and social care settings such as hospitals, residential facilities for adults with disabilities and mental health services. It was these experiences that inspired her to study psychology, Bachelor of Science at Kingston University. Jayne also has counselling qualification from the University of West London as a pre- practitioner in counselling psychology. Whilst studying, she volunteered on the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, providing vital emotional support to survivors as well as safety planning and some advocacy. Jayne then began working at the helpline starting a 18 year career at Refuge. Jayne has a great deal of experiences in different services throughout the sector. She has worked as a CAADA Trained Independent Domestic violence advocate and taken important community facing roles including at police stations. She has also worked as a complex needs IDVA, in drug and alcohol services, housing, and children’s centres.  Jayne also worked in refuge services supporting clients face to face, as well as managing the health and safety of the refuge.  Jayne has extensive experience in advocating on behalf of victims of domestic abuse and supporting them emotionally and practically. Jayne has trained other frontline professionals such as GPs, midwives and the police on domestic abuse and risk assessing to help them better support survivors in their own practice. Jayne joined the tech team in September 2022, bringing with her a wealth of experience to support survivors with complex tech cases and upskill staff at the service to support survivors with securing their technology.

Eva is Electronic Frontier Foundation's Director of Cybersecurity. Eva's work history includes working in security and IT in Silicon Valley. Eva has degrees in Political Science and International Relations.
Eva's work focuses on providing security to the most vulnerable members of society. Eva individually supports survivors of technology-facilitated abuse, helping support them to collate evidence and secure their technology.
Eva has applied her experience and knowledge designing training materials - including Surveillance Self Defense and Digital First Aid Kit. Eva has published research on malware in Syria, Vietnam, Lebanon, and Kazakhstan.
Since 2018 Eva has worked on addressing digital privacy and security needs of survivors of domestic abuse. Eva co-founded the Coalition Against Stalkerware. Eva is a technical advisor for the Freedom of the Press Foundation.
Eva is a public speaker and dedicates time to raising awareness of both malware risks and risks associated with the misuse of stalkerware. In 2019 Eva convinced anti-virus provider Kaspersky Lab to begin explicitly alerting users of security threats upon detection of stalkerware on the company's Android product. Eva extending the ask to Apple to protect their users from malware threats.

David Emm is Principle Security Researcher at Kaspersky.
He was promoted to his current position in 2008 and has been with the company since 2004.
He is also a member of the company's Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT).
In his current role, David regularly delivers presentations on malware and other IT security threats at exhibitions and events, highlighting what organisations and consumers can do to stay safe online. He also provides comments to broadcast and print media on the ever-changing cyber-security and threat landscape.
David has a strong interest in malware, ID theft and the human aspects of security, and is a knowledgeable advisor on all aspects of online security.
David is regularly mentioned in national print press as a cyber-security expert and has a wealth of experience in being filmed for such programmes as Good Morning Britain and BBC News.
David has been in the anti-malware industry since 1990 and has held variety of roles, including as Senior Technology Consultant at Dr Solomon's Software, and Systems Engineer and Product Manager at McAfee.

Becky joined Refuge in early 2018, working as an Outreach Worker, later working as an IRIS Advocate Educator. She has trained in specialist tech abuse with SafetyNet and has been a Tech Champion since the Project launched in 2018.
Becky is currently a Helpline Tech Abuse Lead, supporting survivors referred directly from the National Domestic Abuse Helpline (NDAH) with complex technology-facilitated abuse needs.
She is also developing a Helpline Volunteer Programme, where she will be responsible for managing a dedicated team of volunteers.
She has specialist knowledge of stalkerware, online dating and other complex tech.
She is a member of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, which was founded in November 2019 in response to the growing stalkerware threat and is passionate about building an understanding of making online dating spaces safer environments for users.
Prior to working for Refuge, Becky worked as a Designated Safeguarding Lead in a secondary school, leading a young person’s forum whose work raising awareness of SRE within their peer group was nominated and shortlisted for a number of National Sexual Health Awards.

Natasha Rattu is the Executive Director at Karma Nirvana leading the charity towards its strategic vision of ending Honour Based Abuse in the UK. Natasha has developed the national specialist Honour Based Abuse police risk assessment tool and has trained 24 police forces across England and Wales.
Natasha is a Leeds Law School graduate and completed her Bar Finals, specialising in family and criminal law, at Nottingham Law School. Natasha has extensive experience in the Violence against Women and Girls sector from supporting victims directly as an Independent Domestic Violence Advocate to setting up the Newcastle based domestic abuse project SAFE. Natasha has worked for both Derby and Newcastle Community Safety Partnership.
Natasha was awarded the national Crown Prosecution Scholarship 2010, set up in the memory of teenager Anthony Walker, murdered in a hate crime attack. She has worked for both the Crown Prosecution Service and in private family practice supporting many victims of domestic abuse and honour based abuse to seek legal redress. She awarded the Super Achiever Pitman Boss of the Year award in 2017. Natasha is a recognised legal expert in family and criminal proceedings within the field of Honour Based Abuse and Forced Marriage.
Natasha is a mother to two sons and plans to raise them both to become the greatest feminists that she knows!

Davina Clarke currently works at the Anah Project, a specialised refuge for Black and minoritised women, including refugees and females not eligible for public funds (no recourse).
Davina is an educator and facilitator with a background in youth work, early years and the violence against women and girls’ sector.
Davina holds a diploma in domestic abuse, and is a qualified Independent domestic violence advisor, sexual violence advisor and a children and young person’s domestic abuse advisor.
With 18 years of experience working in the field of domestic abuse/violence, her journey into this sector began with her own first-hand experience of surviving an abusive relationship.
Her lived experience organically led her into the role of volunteering for a local Women’s Aid Domestic abuse service where she was able to support and advocate for women fleeing violence.
Enthusiastic and driven to end all forms of violence against women and girls, removing barriers and cultural stigma to accessing help and support based on customs and practices is reflected in her experience on the “how” to work with diverse ethnic groups and survivors of domestic abuse.
Within her current role, she is supporting Anah Project to raise its profile and to engage the local community by delivering domestic abuse preventative work at schools and to professionals challenging harmful behaviours and practices. In her past positions, she provided direct one to one therapeutic domestic abuse sessions to children and young people. While working alongside statutory and voluntary organisations representing and advocating on behalf of young victims.
The experience Davina brings, and her unique style of training helps to raise awareness of domestic abuse including female genial mutilation (FGM) forced marriage and “so called “honour-based abuse”. Her wisdom has allowed her to have experience of supporting victims at all stages of their journey allowing her the expertise to collaborate with people from all races and backgrounds.
As a member of the newly formed West Yorkshire police Bradford women’s voices group, she aims to improve relationships with the police to address the issues that affect women including violence against women, sexual exploitation and gender discrimination.

Sanskriti Sanghi is the Communications and Campaigns Officer at Southall Black Sisters (SBS), with her role sitting within the Policy vertical.
Prior to joining SBS, Sanskriti was an Assistant Professor of Law at the Jindal Global Law School, OP Jindal Global University (JGU) in India, where she taught modules on critical jurisprudence, including feminist and postcolonial theory.
At JGU, she also led a research team on improving access to socio-economic rights for the elderly with an emphasis on intersectionality.
In the past, Sanskriti has worked with organisations such as the Columbia Global Freedom of Expression (CGFoE) and the Institute for Internet and the Just Society (IIJS) that aim to democratise knowledge about human rights and had her writing on international law and legal theory published by renowned journals.

Djenne currently works as the Tech Partnership Project Lead within the Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Economic Empowerment team at Refuge. Prior to joining Refuge, she gained extensive experience in the social care sector.
Djenne has a degree in Applied Social Studies in Social Care and has an ILM qualification in Managing Equality and Diversity. Throughout her career she has supported adults with learning difficulties, survivors/victims of domestic abuse, people struggling with substance misuse, people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, young care leavers and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Djenne strongly believes that we should all live in a society where violence against women and girls is eradicated. From an early age, she has held various roles working with specialist VAWG organisations supporting survivors/victims from Black, Asian, and Multi-Ethnic communities, and has also worked as the Equalities Policy Officer for a local council to coordinate the Council’s equality, diversity and inclusion agenda.

Professor Sarah Morris is Deputy Head of School for the School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton.
Her research interests are spread across a broad spectrum of digital forensics, from applying AI to support investigations to identifying hidden digital items at a scene of interest.
For over fifteen years, as well as traditional academic activities, Sarah has been an active digital forensic investigator.
She has worked on cases worldwide for various customers, including law enforcement, civil, corporate, media organisations and celebrity clients. One of her most intriguing cases involved recovering evidence from a smart washing machine.
Sarah actively advocates for policy development and change in digital forensics and digital safety. She regularly participates in discussions and evidence-gathering activities, such as the House of Lords Forensic Science Enquiry in 2019.
Sarah sits on seven advisory panels; the two public ones are the Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the UK Home Office, and the Police Science Council, which supports the Police Chief Scientific Advisor.

A former senior Australian intelligence officer, Shane spent his early career working on counter-terrorism operations around the world, including deployments to 45 countries. After serving the Australian Government for 12 years, he left as a Director of the security service to take up a role as CEO of a multinational software firm, then established his own consultancy group. In 2020, he took up the role of CEO of Crime Stoppers International, leading and guiding the global not-for-profit through its work with law enforcement and international communities. He is also the founder of SocialProtect, an online safety and education company that provides technological solutions to online abuse. He is the author of several books, both non-fiction and fiction, advisor to governments in Southeast Asia on counter-terrorism and homeland security and an Adjunct Fellow of Macquarie University.

Emma Pickering is a dedicated professional, with extensive experience in the VAWG sector. Her career at Refuge began in 2017 when she joined as a MARAC coordinator within the Warwickshire service. Emma joined the Tech Abuse team in January 2018 at the beginning of the project. Currently the Head of Tech & Economic Abuse, Emma plays a pivotal role at Refuge. Emma's commitment to preventing technology-facilitated domestic abuse is evident in her pursuit of specialised training. She received Tech Abuse training from SafetyNet, and trained as an IRIS Advocate Educator. Her academic background, including a BA Honours degree in Working with Young People and Services from De Montfort University, and a Masters Degree in Understanding the Dynamics of Domestic and Sexual Violence from the University of Worcester, has equipped her with extensive knowledge of the complex issues surrounding domestic abuse. Emma is further exploring the subject, in ongoing PhD studies at Birmingham City University, titled "Evaluating the role of domestic homicide Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Domestic Homicide." As a Churchill Fellow, Emma is an advocate for survivors of technology-facilitated domestic abuse. Her expertise in the intersection of tech and economic abuse has equipped Emma in leading a team, who provide direct support to women and children facing these challenges. Emma manages external partnerships and stakeholders, collaborating closely with Refuge's policy and fundraising teams to generate income and foster growth within her team. Additionally, Emma plays a crucial role in shaping legislative asks to improve responses for survivors of technology-facilitated abuse, leading to more positive outcomes within the VAWG sector.

Lauren Garrett is SEA’s Financial Services Manager and has 10+ years of experience working in the financial services sector.
Lauren is a subject matter expert on customer vulnerability and devised the casework and policy approach to supporting victim-survivors of domestic including economic abuse in her previous role.
Lauren is passionate about SEA’s mission to stop economic abuse and under her leadership, the team supports over 30 major high street banks and building societies in their responses to economic abuse.
Lauren has contributed to briefing papers on the Consumer Duty, Insurance and Life Insurance and Mortgages.
She has also conducted independent research as part of her master’s degree to shine a light on the psychological impact of economic abuse on victim-survivors post-separation.

Bo is Refuge's policy and public affairs manager, working to secure better outcomes for survivors of domestic abuse through policy and legislative change. Alongside this work she is also studying for a PhD.

Phoebe joined Refuge as an Economic Tech Abuse Lead at the end of 2022. Working in partnership with Barclays, she supports survivors to overcome barriers to accessing bank accounts, whilst also specialising in economic empowerment and supporting survivors to gain back their financial independence.
Phoebe is passionate about economic empowerment for marginalised women and is an active member of Refuge’s Anti Racism group.
Before joining Refuge, Phoebe built an extensive background in safeguarding and vulnerability through her work with the Vulnerability, Knowledge, and Practice Programme (VKPP). In her role within the Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Team, and as an Analyst on the Domestic Homicide Project, she co-authored briefings on online child abuse activist groups, suspected victim suicides, adult family homicides, and older and ethnic minority victims.
Phoebe also has experience working in law enforcement, having served as a Firearms Intelligence Officer at the National Crime Agency. There, she worked closely with multiple specialised units, including Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, Money Laundering, and Cybercrime.
Academically, Phoebe holds a Bachelor’s degree with Honors in Psychology from Stirling University and a Master’s degree in Forensic Psychology from Birmingham City University.

Lis Harrington (All Pronouns) is The Training and Commercial Manager for Galop, The UK’s LGBT+ Anti-Abuse Charity.
Presently Lis educates professionals on their role in building a safer future for LGBT+ Survivors of abuse and violence.
He consults and educates on all areas of Galops work including hate crime, domestic abuse, sexual violence, and so-called conversion therapy.

Jemima is Vodafone Foundation’s Apps programme manager, leading on 5 charitable mobile applications that support people affected by domestic violence, abuse and hate crime. For over 10 years, Vodafone Foundation has used technology to connect over 2.8 million people to advice, support and education. This includes the award winning Zoteria app which provides support and information for those impacted by LGBT+ hate crime. Vodafone Foundation is the charitable arm of Vodafone. They believe in the power of connectivity to change lives. They use technology for good, creating solutions that bring about sustainable change, and can be scaled to benefit the greatest number of people across Vodafone’s global footprint.

Katie is a Training Lead on the Home Office project for which she delivers training to by-and-for organisations about technology-facilitated abuse.
Katie started her career in 2016, where she worked and volunteered for charities that aimed to tackle poverty and end social injustice.
Katie's career at Refuge began on the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline in 2020 as a volunteer, before joining the Helpline as a paid staff member in 2021.
Katie's role on the Helpline was where she gained experience supporting survivors experiencing domestic abuse directly, with emotional and practical support. Katie’s role was client and risk focused, supporting survivors in crisis and securing refuge or emergency accommodation for survivors and their children. 

Nayane Tiraboschi (she/her) is a Senior Safety Operations professional at Bumble, where she oversees mid to high-level severity reports from users who have encountered negative experiences with individuals they met online.
In this role for the past 3 years, she leads a frontline team of specialists and agents, ensuring that customer concerns are addressed swiftly and effectively.
Before joining Bumble, Nayane was a Senior Service Manager and Safeguarding Lead at the Latin American Women’s Aid (LAWA), a prominent UK-based organization specializing in support for BAME communities.
With over 12 years of experience in preventing Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), she has played a crucial role in shaping key initiatives, including participating in roundtables to draft the Domestic Violence Bill.
Nayane is a staunch advocate for the protection of women’s only spaces, and has met with ministers and local authorities to advocate for the importance of keeping these spaces confidential.
A qualified lawyer and committed women’s rights advocate, Nayane has provided legal support and representation to numerous survivors of violence in the High Courts of Justice in the UK.
She currently serves as the Vice-Chair of TechUK’s VAWG & RASSO Working Group and is a board member of the Centre for the Protection of Women Online at The Open University.
Prior to relocating to the UK, Nayane practiced as a lawyer in Brazil, specialising in family law and mediation within the Brazilian Court of Justice.

Becky joined Refuge in early 2018, working as an Outreach Worker, later working as an IRIS Advocate Educator. She has trained in specialist tech abuse with SafetyNet and has been a Tech Champion since the Project launched in 2018.
Becky is currently a Helpline Tech Abuse Lead, supporting survivors referred directly from the National Domestic Abuse Helpline (NDAH) with complex technology-facilitated abuse needs.
She is also developing a Helpline Volunteer Programme, where she will be responsible for managing a dedicated team of volunteers.
She has specialist knowledge of stalkerware, online dating and other complex tech.
She is a member of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, which was founded in November 2019 in response to the growing stalkerware threat and is passionate about building an understanding of making online dating spaces safer environments for users.
Prior to working for Refuge, Becky worked as a Designated Safeguarding Lead in a secondary school, leading a young person’s forum whose work raising awareness of SRE within their peer group was nominated and shortlisted for a number of National Sexual Health Awards.

Sophie Compton is a documentary director and producer who tells women's stories of injustice and healing.
Her work is impact-driven and she runs impact projects alongside each creative piece, amplifying survivor voices. Her projects have been supported by Sundance Institute, International Documentary Association, Impact Partners, Hot Docs, Arts Council England and others.
Her debut feature ANOTHER BODY follows a student's search for justice after discovering deepfake pornography of herself online. It premiered at SXSW 2023, winning the Special Jury Award for Innovation in Storytelling, and played at Hot Docs, Doc Edge, Champs Elysées, Munich, Aegean, DMZ, Woodstock, Mill Valley and New/Next Film Festivals among others, winning multiple Audience Awards.
Her second feature HOLLOWAY (in post-production) follows six women returning to the abandoned prison where they were once incarcerated, produced by Girerson and BIFA-winning Beehive Films.
Previously, she was Artistic Director of theatre company Power Play, producing/directing six plays including the Fringe First winning FUNERAL FLOWERS, and work at Tate Modern, V&A, Pleasance, Copeland Gallery.
As an impact producer she has worked with grassroots organisations, NGOs, governments and press including The White House, World Economic Forum, and NOW THIS on viral content and new legislation and policy.

Elena Michael is the co-founder and director of #NotYourPorn, a survivor-led movement fighting to protect non-consenting adults, sex workers and under-18s from image-based sexual abuse. The organisation, which campaigns pro-bono, works to influence legislation and policy internationally, provide survivor support and influence social change. #NotYourPorn’s work, along with other partners in the field, influenced the EU’s Digital Safety Act, the passing of the UK’s Online Safety Act and the criminalisation of deepfakes in the UK. The movement has helped over 450 survivors both adults and young people including in high profile cases like Georgia Harrison's, a UK reality TV star who had an intimate tape recorded and posted online without her consent. #NotYourPorn helps schools to build infrastructure to deal with image-based abuse and gives regular school talks to students and school leaders. Their school intervention work equips young people with the tools to make informed decisions about their digital lives and teaches them how not to be bystanders when others are being victimised online. In their work as consultants, #NotYourPorn has transformed attitudes towards commercial accountability in the image-based abuse space -the most prominent example of their work is an investigation with the Sunday Times into child abuse on Pornhub, which led to the site deleting 80% of their content. Elena’s work with #NotYourPorn was recognised when she won the UK’s National Accident Helpline’s Future Legal Mind Award and was shortlisted for the UK’s Young Digital Leader of the Year Award, both in 2021. In early 2024 she was featured on Forbes 30 under 30 Europe list for social impact.

Emma Pickering is a dedicated professional, with extensive experience in the VAWG sector. Her career at Refuge began in 2017 when she joined as a MARAC coordinator within the Warwickshire service. Emma joined the Tech Abuse team in January 2018 at the beginning of the project. Currently the Head of Tech & Economic Abuse, Emma plays a pivotal role at Refuge. Emma's commitment to preventing technology-facilitated domestic abuse is evident in her pursuit of specialised training. She received Tech Abuse training from SafetyNet, and trained as an IRIS Advocate Educator. Her academic background, including a BA Honours degree in Working with Young People and Services from De Montfort University, and a Masters Degree in Understanding the Dynamics of Domestic and Sexual Violence from the University of Worcester, has equipped her with extensive knowledge of the complex issues surrounding domestic abuse. Emma is further exploring the subject, in ongoing PhD studies at Birmingham City University, titled "Evaluating the role of domestic homicide Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Domestic Homicide." As a Churchill Fellow, Emma is an advocate for survivors of technology-facilitated domestic abuse. Her expertise in the intersection of tech and economic abuse has equipped Emma in leading a team, who provide direct support to women and children facing these challenges. Emma manages external partnerships and stakeholders, collaborating closely with Refuge's policy and fundraising teams to generate income and foster growth within her team. Additionally, Emma plays a crucial role in shaping legislative asks to improve responses for survivors of technology-facilitated abuse, leading to more positive outcomes within the VAWG sector.

Toby has worked at the intersection of technology and gender-based violence since 1997.
As a trainer, consultant, and content developer, she has helped to strengthen organizations, improve services for survivors, and promote Safety-by-Design from the local to international levels.
In her recent work with UNFPA, she analyzed technology tools including SMS text, chatbots, and websites used by women and girls and service providers across regions affected by conflict, displacement, geographic barriers, and the COVID-19 pandemic. She led development of a toolkit for remote services for GBV survivors, and during the pandemic advised hundreds of service providers on implementation.
Toby consulted with Refuge UK on the addition of web chat and sign language support for the National Domestic Abuse Helpline and content and design for their Tech Safety website.
Toby holds a Master of Science in Public Interest Technology from Arizona State University. Currently a PhD student, her research includes the privacy and safety of everyday and emerging technologies and the role of technology in shaping our global futures.

Jess is Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Research at Refuge.
She is committed to ending domestic abuse and violence against women and girls and has particular expertise in tech-facilitated abuse policy. Jess is passionate about ensuring the voices and needs of survivors drive change.
Prior to joining Refuge, Jess worked in a range of policy roles in the charity sector and local government.

Maeve Walsh is an experienced policymaker and government relations consultant who has worked in the UK Government and not-for-profit sector.
She is the Director of the Online Safety Act Network, which aims to keep advocates, researchers and campaigners informed and connected during the OSA's implementation, and was a Carnegie Trust Associate for five years, working on their online harm reduction project which influenced the development of the Online Safety Act 2023.
During a 17-year career in Whitehall, she held senior roles in central Departments including Cabinet Office, No10, the Department of Health and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, where she led the team responsible for delivering the UK Digital Strategy.
Since then, she has worked as a consultant with a variety of organisations on digital and data policy.
She is a Trustee at the Connection at St-Martins-in-the-Field, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has served as a parent governor at her children's primary school.

Dame Melanie Dawes joined Ofcom as an Executive Board Member and Chief Executive on 2 March 2020.
Prior to joining Ofcom, Melanie was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (2015-2020).
She has held senior roles across the Civil Service, working in partnership across the public and private sectors.
She became the overall Champion for Diversity and Inclusion in the Civil Service in 2019.
She started her career as an economist and spent 15 years at the Treasury, including as Europe Director.
She was Director General of the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat at the Cabinet Office between 2011 and 2015, and prior to that she served on the Board of HMRC as Head of Business Tax.
She was Director General for Business Tax from November 2007, which involved responsibility for all the business taxes and duties as well as leadership of the department’s relationships with big business.
From 2009, she also led the development of HMRC’s overall strategy as a department.
She has held non-executive roles including with the consumer body Which? and is a trustee of the Patchwork Foundation, which promotes the participation of under-represented young people in democracy.

Jodi is the Service Manager for the Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Economic Empowerment Team.
Before joining Refuge, Jodi worked with vulnerable children and in mental health services.
Jodi joined Refuge in 2019 and initially worked to support survivors of domestic abuse as a Health IDVA. During her time as a Health IDVA, Jodi worked closely with the IRIS team to deliver training to local hospitals. Jodi trained with SafeLives and is qualified in delivery of the Domestic Abuse Matters programme for first responders.
Since joining the specialist technology-facilitated abuse team in 2020, Jodi has supported survivors of abuse directly with complex cases of tech abuse and trained professionals in identifying and supporting survivors of technology-facilitated abuse.
Jodi is particularly passionate about understanding the intersection of technology-facilitated abuse and disability.
Jodi works closely with other services at Refuge to campaign to change legislation that would better protect women and girls against the emerging threats new technologies can pose when abuse and continue to raise awareness of the issue of technology facilitated abuse.
Jodi has spoken at international conferences and is a member of several working groups looking to identify best practice for tech developers to ensure safety by design encompasses and better protects women online.

Toby has worked at the intersection of technology and gender-based violence since 1997.
As a trainer, consultant, and content developer, she has helped to strengthen organizations, improve services for survivors, and promote Safety-by-Design from the local to international levels.
In her recent work with UNFPA, she analyzed technology tools including SMS text, chatbots, and websites used by women and girls and service providers across regions affected by conflict, displacement, geographic barriers, and the COVID-19 pandemic. She led development of a toolkit for remote services for GBV survivors, and during the pandemic advised hundreds of service providers on implementation.
Toby consulted with Refuge UK on the addition of web chat and sign language support for the National Domestic Abuse Helpline and content and design for their Tech Safety website.
Toby holds a Master of Science in Public Interest Technology from Arizona State University. Currently a PhD student, her research includes the privacy and safety of everyday and emerging technologies and the role of technology in shaping our global futures.

I am a Global Online Harms Consultant, with decades of expertise in Child Sexual Exploitation & Abuse (CSEA) including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) related content. Since 1991, I have worked for various UK Government Agencies in fighting organised crime and child sexual crimes, in addition to 3 years at Twitter. Most recently I was Head of a dedicated Online Child Safety team focussed on key threat intelligence concerning online CSEA activities across the whole reach of the ‘Internet’. Although my main focus is on Online CSEA, I have also been heavily involved in other online harms and abuse activities, and also involved with Online Regulation matters, platform policy and legal topics, content moderation and welfare and wellbeing.

Arosha K. Bandara is a Professor of Software Engineering at the Open University whose research and teaching focuses on software engineering for adaptive systems.
He has a particular interest in techniques for building adaptive security and privacy mechanisms for ubiquitous, Internet of Things systems.
He has led research on adaptive systems as an investigator on multiple projects funded by the EPSRC, ERC, and Qatar National Research Foundation, working in application domains including healthcare and policing.
He leads the Responsible Software Engineering stream of the OU’s Centre for Protecting Women Online, is a member of the steering group for the OU’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning and is currently Associate Dean and Director of STEM Research.

Richard Hughes is a seasoned professional with extensive expertise in law enforcement, cybercrime investigation, and trust & safety leadership. His career includes roles as a former Police Officer and Senior Specialist at TikTok, where he led global, cross-functional collaborations to develop innovative workflows and strategies for managing high-risk, sensitive content. Richard has consistently demonstrated proficiency in handling complex escalations, driving collaborative efforts, and delivering industry-leading training programs. He has a strong focus on safeguarding vulnerable populations, particularly in combating child sexual abuse and cybercrime. His expertise spans complex investigations, advanced data analysis, innovative OSINT techniques, and fostering well-being in high-pressure environments. With a comprehensive skill set in incident investigation, strategic planning, and team leadership, Richard is well-positioned to offer valuable insights as a panel member on topics related to law enforcement, digital safety, and cross-functional collaboration.

Morgane is currently Bumble's Public Policy Lead for Europe. She is passionate about digital regulation and advancing gender equality. In this role, she leads public policy campaigns aimed at improving women’s online safety in both the European Union and the United Kingdom, collaborating with civil society, policymakers, and academia. Morgane has over 12 years of experience in tech policy in Brussels, working for public affairs consultancies and trade associations representing the small business software and Internet of Things industries. She has gained expertise across a broad spectrum of contemporary digital policy issues, including platform competition, intellectual property, and standards. Morgane holds a Master's degree in European Studies and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the Free University of Brussels.

Jess is Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Research at Refuge.
She is committed to ending domestic abuse and violence against women and girls and has particular expertise in tech-facilitated abuse policy. Jess is passionate about ensuring the voices and needs of survivors drive change.
Prior to joining Refuge, Jess worked in a range of policy roles in the charity sector and local government.

Emma Pickering is a dedicated professional, with extensive experience in the VAWG sector. Her career at Refuge began in 2017 when she joined as a MARAC coordinator within the Warwickshire service. Emma joined the Tech Abuse team in January 2018 at the beginning of the project. Currently the Head of Tech & Economic Abuse, Emma plays a pivotal role at Refuge. Emma's commitment to preventing technology-facilitated domestic abuse is evident in her pursuit of specialised training. She received Tech Abuse training from SafetyNet, and trained as an IRIS Advocate Educator. Her academic background, including a BA Honours degree in Working with Young People and Services from De Montfort University, and a Masters Degree in Understanding the Dynamics of Domestic and Sexual Violence from the University of Worcester, has equipped her with extensive knowledge of the complex issues surrounding domestic abuse. Emma is further exploring the subject, in ongoing PhD studies at Birmingham City University, titled "Evaluating the role of domestic homicide Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Domestic Homicide." As a Churchill Fellow, Emma is an advocate for survivors of technology-facilitated domestic abuse. Her expertise in the intersection of tech and economic abuse has equipped Emma in leading a team, who provide direct support to women and children facing these challenges. Emma manages external partnerships and stakeholders, collaborating closely with Refuge's policy and fundraising teams to generate income and foster growth within her team. Additionally, Emma plays a crucial role in shaping legislative asks to improve responses for survivors of technology-facilitated abuse, leading to more positive outcomes within the VAWG sector.