Dr Rosie Riley
Founder and CEO of VITA
GP trainee, NHS Clinical Entrepreneur
Rosie is a GP Trainee with experience working in A&E. She graduated as a doctor with a BSc in Global Health from the University of Bristol and founded VITA in 2014. Rosie is passionate about a person-centred, evidence-based health and public health response to human trafficking and exploitation. Over the past few years she has fought to promote the recognition of human trafficking as a major health issue; working to ensure victims and survivors presenting in healthcare settings receive trauma-informed care, identification and support, whilst working to advance national human trafficking and exploitation prevention, intervention and survivor-care.
Rosie founded VITA Training in 2014, delivering effective, practical training that equips front line healthcare professionals with transferable consultation skills to identify, support and safeguard victims and survivors. This has been commissioned for thousands of doctors across London and the south east with a view to expand to other health professionals nationally.
Dr Laura Wood
VITA Research Director and Child & Family Human Trafficking & Exploitation Lead
Paediatrician
Laura is a paediatrician with experience caring for children and families in challenging circumstances, including children who have experienced abuse, trauma, and trafficking. The complex challenges involved in caring for these children and their families well led Laura into further training. She is now a researcher at Lancaster University where she has gained distinctions at postgraduate certificate and masters level in clinical and sociological research. Laura is now completing her PhD in the health response to child trafficking. Laura’s work is supporting the development of VITA’s educational material, research and academic engagement.
Dr Charlie Thompson
VITA Strategy & Operations Director
Anaesthetic Trainee
Charlie is an anaesthetic trainee living and working in East London. Alongside clinical work, he has been involved in a number of research projects in the area of human trafficking and health since 2015. He has a particular interest in the interface between victims of trafficking and acute healthcare settings – in particular the training and equipping of healthcare workers in victim identification, support, and referral. His work as strategy and operations lead involves oversight of VITA’s training, advocacy, and research arms; public facing leadership; and future strategic development of the organisation.
Dr Sarah Boutros
VITA Trainer
Paediatrician with a special interest in Safeguarding, Human Trafficking, Migrant health and Access to healthcare
MSc in Advanced Paediatrics
Sarah is a Paediatric Registrar who has worked across London. She has worked in various voluntary sector organisations in the UK and abroad, particularly with vulnerable migrant groups, such as detained migrants, trafficked populations, and migrants struggling to access healthcare. Sarah has recently completed her MSc in Advanced Paediatrics at UCL, researching trauma-informed care in practice for trafficked children and young people. She has and continues to research topics such as access to healthcare for migrant children in the UK. Alongside this, Sarah is a VITA Trainer, delivering training across London and the South East.
Juliet Odaro
VITA Survivor Advocate
Lead for London’s Survivor Alliance
Juliet is a regional leader within Survivor Alliance; a global organisation whose mission is to unite and empower survivors of slavery and human trafficking around the world to become leaders of the anti-slavery movement. Her London-based group provides an opportunity for those with lived experience to come together, support each other and share their concerns. Juliet advocates for them with the Home Office, working to action the changes that they want to see in support services delivery and national policy. Juliet is passionate about supporting other survivors and being a leading voice in the anti-trafficking sector, speaking at the national Equality & Diversity meeting in July 2020, hosted by the Human Trafficking Foundation.
She plans to study Social Care at university to become a social worker. In July 2020, Juliet joined the VITA team as a Survivor Consultant, advising on VITA training materials for frontline healthcare professionals. She is a core member of the VITA Network committee.
Dr Jane Hunt
Lead Doctor at Helen Bamber Foundation
GP
Jane graduated as a doctor from University College Hospital, London in 1990 and then worked in emergency medicine in London and Singapore for several years. She has spent twenty years working as a GP in inner city London tackling health inequalities, with 10 years as part of the Helen Bamber Foundation, a leading authority working with survivors or human cruelty, including trafficking. In 2014 Jane set up the Foundation’s Medical Advisory Service which supports clients to stabilise and improve their health through providing medical assessments, advice, and co-ordinating external services. Jane has contributed to various publications including the OSCE/ODIHR forthcoming NRM Handbook (2nd edition), UK Slavery & Trafficking Survivor Care Standards, and the Modern Slavery Act 2015, Statutory Guidance for England & Wales.
Jane first met Rosie several years ago whilst involved with setting up training for the NHS and is excited to be involved with the VITA Network, bringing together so many people who share a passion to transform the health response to human trafficking and exploitation.
Dr Gabrielle Harrison
VITA Network Secretary
Academic Foundation Doctor
Gabrielle is an academic foundation trainee based in the West Midlands. As a graduate medic, she has a background working with NGOs prior to starting medicine. Previously, she worked predominantly in international development, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) awareness and local community projects. During her medical degree, she began volunteering with an NGO that supports sex workers, which led to an increased awareness of the lack of training offered to healthcare professionals on human trafficking and trauma-informed care. She is passionate about seeing improvements in this, alongside working towards a career in Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine and eventually returning to international development. Gabrielle has joined the VITA Network in the role of Secretary and is settling into the workings of the organisation. She is keen to be involved in further training in the future.
Liz Such
VITA Public Health Lead
NIHR Knowledge Mobilisation Research Fellow and Research Fellow (ScHARR, University of Sheffield)
Liz is a public health researcher at the University of Sheffield. She has worked in different research and policy roles that have focused on understanding and reducing social inequalities. She has been doing some development work across the counter-slavery sector to develop fuller and better prevention strategies. Liz is looking to use research and other forms of knowledge to help reduce exploitation and challenge the wider social conditions within which it can thrive.
Estelle Luck
VITA Newsletter and Media Coordinator
Estelle currently works as a lifestyle editor for an online magazine based in Bristol, and before that, she studied English Literature at Cardiff University. She joined the VITA Network team back in November 2020, taking on the role of Newsletter Coordinator. Her responsibilities include helping to plan and organise upcoming newsletters as well as editing the amazing content that the members produce each month. For Estelle, spreading the word about MSHT and the work that VITA does to educate and guide healthcare professionals on treating victims is really important. She is excited to see the newsletter grow and evolve in 2021 and is dedicated to making it an engaging and valuable resource for everyone it reaches.
Jordan Lin
VITA Blog Coordinator
Jordan is a medical student at the University of Bristol. In his spare time, he enjoys playing the double bass and being by the ocean. He hopes to pursue a career in surgery and is passionate about health equity and global health. He has recently joined the Network Advisory Council and is keen to aid VITA in advancing the health response to human trafficking and exploitation. He will coordinates the VITA Blog and aims to get involved with some of the important research that is happening within the network.
Oluwanilo Awoloto
VITA Research team
Wani is a medical student at the University of Leeds. She graduated in Clinical Sciences from the University of Bradford. Whilst in Bradford, she volunteered with women in the Red-light district, many of whom received little health and wellbeing support, were homeless and lived with substance addictions. Wani joined the VITA research team, analysing and evaluating VITA training data and outcomes to build the evidence-based for frontline healthcare professional training and ultimately to advance the health response to human trafficking and exploitation. Her research interests stem from a deep desire to improve clinical practice and patient quality of life in underrepresented and minority groups in society. She’s excited to be part of the VITA Network and see how our work can positively impact the lives of victims and survivors of human trafficking.
Dr Linzi Maybin
VITA Dentist Lead
Linzi is a community dentist with experience in providing dental treatment to vulnerable groups including: homeless, migrant groups, substance misuse, and adults and children with disabilities and or autism. She is passionate about improving oral health equalities for individuals affected by human trafficking and exploitation. She is the founder of Happy Teeth Outreach, an educational programme which partners with Health Education England to educate foundation dentists in Yorkshire. Happy Teeth Outreach aims to improve oral health for children and young people with disabilities in the special educational settings and children living in the UK affected by human trafficking and or the refugee crisis.
Anya Charnaud
Integrative and trauma specialist psychotherapist and clinical supervisor with special interest in trauma and complex PTSD
Anya is a BACP accredited psychotherapist with graduate and postgraduate qualifications. She is a trauma specialist with over 15 years experience in various settings. This includes working for 11 years in London’s sexual assault referral centre, The Haven, gaining a senior psychotherapy post.
She now works in an NHS complex adult mental health service. Anya has been involved in research projects linked to sexual violence, human exploitation and psychological interventions presenting nationally and internationally. She also teaches at various levels which have included medical students, medical services, a national forensic medical examination training course, and the charity Hestia on trauma. Anya runs a private psychotherapy practice working with trauma, burn out, occupational health issues and sexual violence. All of these achievements relay Anya’s dedication and passion for working in the complex field of trauma, and human exploitation.
Jen Hill
VITA Policy Lead
Mental Health Nurse
Jen is a registered mental health nurse who specialises in working with children, young people and families. She has worked in a range of clinical arenas within child and adolescent mental healthcare, such as specialist eating disorders services and psychiatric intensive care units, and has experience in supporting a wide variety of young people facing complex mental health issues. Jen is deeply committed to the movement against human trafficking and exploitation and has joined VITA determined to contribute to advancing the country’s health response to the issue.
Dr Issy Taverner
Foundation Trainee Doctor
Issy is a foundation trainee doctor based in London. Before starting her medical career she worked as a registered nurse in London and gained experience caring for vulnerable adults. As a doctor, she was inspired to join VITA after attending a training session as part of her career development. She is passionate about the effect healthcare professionals can have in breaking the cycle of human trafficking and exploitation, particularly for vulnerable children. She is enthusiastic about child health and aspires to pursue a career in paediatrics. She also hopes to help train healthcare professionals in the future and further VITA’s mission.
Dr Sara Borrelli
Assistant Professor in Midwifery
Lead for MSc Midwifery and MSc Midwifery Studies at the University of Nottingham
Sara is an Italian midwife by background, registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She has experience in clinical practice, education and research, and she currently works as Assistant Professor and Researcher at The University of Nottingham (UK). She is also the Lead for MSc Midwifery and MSc Midwifery Studies, Maternal and Newborn Health and Midwifery Focussed Continuing Professional Development.
Sara completed her Ph.D. in Health Studies in 2015, in which she researched women’s expectations and experiences of a good midwife during labour and birth. One of her most recent research interests is maternity care and non-statutory support provided to mothers who are survivors of human trafficking during the perinatal period.
Professor Helen Spiby
Professor in Midwifery
Helen is based at the University of Nottingham. Her midwifery experience includes clinical practice, education and research. Her research includes studies of the organisation of maternity care, preparation for childbirth and new approaches to supporting childbearing women, including those in situations of vulnerability.
Helen’s research has taken place in NHS maternity services and Third Sector agencies, and she has recently started a collaboration with the University of Nottingham’s Rights Lab, considering the maternity needs and support of women who are survivors of human trafficking.
Katherine Letley
Midwife
Maternity Consultant for City of Sanctuary UK
Katherine is a registered midwife, Clinical Educator at the University of East Anglia and Maternity Consultant for City of Sanctuary UK. Katherine has a Masters in International Development and wrote her thesis on the relationships between UK midwives and asylum-seeking women.
Her work for City of Sanctuary includes leading the national Maternity Stream, developing resources, chairing the Maternity Stream Steering Group and assessing organisations for Maternity Stream Award accreditation. Katherine is currently co-ordinating an educational course for women seeking sanctuary who have lived experience of accessing maternity care in the UK. This course gives women the tools to share their stories in a holistically and psychologically safe way to advocate for change.
Through this work, Katherine has networks with many relevant organisations, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Maternity Action, Refugee Council, Patients not Passports and Doulas without Borders.
Katherine is thrilled to now be part of the VITA Network — to provide her expertise within discussions surrounding women seeking sanctuary in the UK and to expand her own knowledge surrounding human trafficking to benefit her work with the Maternity Stream.
Nadim Chowdhury
5th Year Medical Student
Nadim is a final year medical student at the University of Sheffield. He graduated with a Law Degree from UCL in 2018, where he studied Health Care Law and completed a dissertation on the mandatory reporting laws introduced for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Nadim is keen on a career in paediatric medicine. He is passionate about child protection and safeguarding and, in the future, hopes to promote and further study the crossover of law and medicine for this purpose through an interdisciplinary and policy-centred lens.
Lauren Starkey
Senior Social Worker
Lauren is the Senior Social Worker for Love146, an international human rights charity working to end child trafficking through survivor care, prevention and education. She worked in Local Authority settings with Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children before specialising in supporting survivors of child trafficking at Love146. She is focused on utilising an approach to social work rooted in humanity and the principles of social justice to address the structural inequalities which enable trafficking and exploitation to continue. Lauren completed her Masters in Applied Social Studies in 2022 and received a distinction for her dissertation on the care and support needs of trafficked Albanian boys and young men. She is particularly keen on addressing the issue of criminal exploitation of asylum-seeking young people and the involvement of the criminal justice system.
Dr Jill O’Leary
VITA Trainer
Head of Medical Advisory Service at Helen Bamber Foundation
GP
Jill is a GP with a special interest in refugee health based in London. She qualified as GP in 2018 and since then, has been working with homeless populations, asylum seekers and refugees across London. She has extensive experience working abroad in refugee camps in Jordan and Greece. In 2020, she became the lead doctor for the medical advisory service at the Helen Bamber Foundation where she helps to provide a model of integrated care to survivors of extreme human cruelty. She joined VITA as a trainer in 2019, delivering training across London and the South East.
Dr Nicola Wright
Associate Professor in Mental Health, School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham
Nicola is a registered mental health nurse and has undertaken several projects exploring issues related to service user experience of care provision and recovery. As a member of the Rights Lab, she leads the work on survivor’s mental health as part of the Communities and Society programme. This has included a qualitative study exploring what mental health recovery means to survivors of human trafficking and a consensus development study to develop a definition of recovery for use in policy.
Dr Sian Oram
Senior Lecturer in Women’s Mental Health with special interest in domestic abuse and human trafficking
Dr Sian Oram is a Senior Lecturer in Women’s Mental Health at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London. Sian conducts research on interpersonal trauma, its intersection with gender and with institutional and societal structures, and its relationship to mental health, with a particular focus on domestic abuse and human trafficking. She has an interest in developing methods for safe, ethical, and participatory research with and by people affected by trauma and abuse, and has expertise in qualitative methods, systematic reviews, and evaluation research. Sian currently holds research grants from NIHR and UKRI and directs the UKRI Violence Abuse and Mental Health Network and holds research grants from NIHR and UKRI. She has published extensively on the health impacts of, and health service and policy responses to, human trafficking, and her work has informed national and international guidelines for strengthening the health response to human trafficking.