Continuing her work in raising awareness around domestic violence, Queen Camilla welcomed SafeLives’ Changemakers to Buckingham Palace this week, to hear about how the young pioneers are assisting the charity is responding to related issues facing young people.
Speaking to Her Majesty about their latest work and ideas, the group spoke about what is needed to help prevent young people from being harmed or harming others.
The Queen met SafeLives’ Changemakers. (Royal Family)
The Queen took the time to hear about the Changemakers’ vision for the future, which focuses on the power of young people’s authentic voice, promoting healthy relationships and tailored responses for the age groups.
One of the key priorities of the Changemakers’ work is ensuring that the voices of children and young people are heard and accounted for in the design, development and delivery of domestic abuse responses. This includes the experiences of minority and diverse young people, so that everyone can be supported to live free of abuse.
Queen Camilla heard about the work of the Changemakers. (Royal Family)
This isn’t the first time that The Queen has met SafeLives’ Changemakers. In 2022, the young group of pioneers attended a reception at Buckingham Palace to raise awareness of violence against women and girls.
Last month, Changemakers attended the Women of the World festival reception at Buckingham Palace to celebrate International Women’s Day.
Speaking about today’s reception at Buckingham Palace, Ellen Miller, CEO at SafeLives said: ‘The impact of Her Majesty championing young voices cannot be underestimated. At SafeLives, we put real life experiences at the heart of what we do.
‘In giving our Changemakers the opportunity to speak directly and honestly about their experiences and views, Her Majesty is showing them that they matter, and that young people form a vital part of the UK’s response to domestic abuse.
Camilla is a passionate advocate for raising awareness around violence against women. (Royal Family)
‘Our research shows that children and young people are too often being let down. They want more from their relationships and sex education classes, and they are being continually missed by professionals and misunderstood by the adults around them. They rarely see themselves reflected in the domestic abuse services that exist.
‘I know after meeting the Changemakers, Her Majesty felt energised and renewed in her commitment to stopping abuse before it starts, before it ruins lives. With The Queen’s ongoing support, our Changemakers will continue to amplify young voices and make meaningful change for the next generation.’
Her Majesty has made it her mission to highlight the efforts of domestic abuse charities and to raise awareness around domestic abuse and violence against women.
In an interview with Emma Barnett in 2022 for BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, Her Majesty highlighted it was Diana Parkes CBE, the mother of Joanna Simpson – killed in 2010 by her estranged husband – who was the inspiration for wanting to raise awareness around domestic violence.
Diana and Camilla originally met in 2016 at SafeLives, when she first became interested in the issue of domestic abuse. The then-Duchess of Cornwall imagined herself in Diana’s place: ‘That could have been me, that could have been my friends’.
She appeared tearful telling Diana: ‘I think it’s awful what has happened to you. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’m going to do something.’
Camilla pictured with Diana Parkes during a recording of Woman’s Hour. (BBC)
In 2020, The Queen announced that she had became the Patron of SafeLives during the online edition of the Women of the World Festival, where she was discussing her longstanding work on domestic abuse.
During the virtual discussion, Camilla said: ‘It’s not a nice subject to talk about and I think that’s been one of its problems. It’s been a taboo subject for so long that people just haven’t talked about it.’ A few months prior to the announcement, Camilla held a reception at Clarence House to mark 15th anniversary of SafeLives.
