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Northern Ireland · Lived experience · Systems change

“Justice should
not depend on
who gets heard.”

We turn lived experience into evidence, influence and action — challenging systems, shaping policy and helping build public services that work for real people.

We want to hear from people across every part of society — people of all ages, genders and backgrounds; people with lived experience of disability; people from different ethnic and cultural communities; and anyone whose voice is too often overlooked. Every experience matters, and everyone has a stake in building a society that works for all.

Explore our workWork with us
Our purpose

From voices heard
to systems changed.

Independent. Evidence-led.
Trauma-informed.

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Find what you need.

01Policy submissions

See evidence submitted and work currently in development.

02Engagement in action

See how VJA works with communities, departments and politicians.

03Work with VJA

Start a conversation about policy, partnership, funding or media.

Northern IrelandBased and focused

IndependentLed by evidence

Company limited by guaranteeEstablished June 2026

What makes us different

We do not simply collect stories. We create a route from experience to reform.

Voice and Justice Alliance brings together lived experience, public affairs, frontline knowledge and policy analysis to expose where systems fail people.

We work alongside communities and organisations, without speaking over them, to make evidence harder to ignore and solutions easier to act upon.

Our team

Different expertise.
One shared purpose.

Our team combines lived experience with professional knowledge across communications, justice, policing, domestic abuse, housing and community engagement.

Portrait of Fiona Garrett MCIPR

Fiona Garrett MCIPR

Co-Founder & Director

I am a communications and public relations professional and a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (MCIPR). I have worked freelance in communications and PR for the past three years, and I have experience working at Stormont and running political campaigns.

I previously worked within the crime and justice sector and remain passionate about justice, accountability and ensuring people’s voices are heard. My writing has been published by Slugger O’Toole, and I also write my own blog.

Outside work, I enjoy wild camping with my family and our spaniel, as well as photography and cooking.

Portrait of Tracey Tedford

Tracey Tedford

Co-Founder & Director

Lived-experience leadership, advocacy and a commitment to making services more responsive to the people who rely on them.

Portrait of Kerry Elizabeth

Kerry Elizabeth

Director of Lived Experience & Engagement

Community engagement, housing rights and creative approaches that help people participate meaningfully in policy change.

Portrait of Nuala Lappin

Nuala Lappin

Independent Consultant

Frontline knowledge of domestic abuse and policing, bringing practical insight into risk, reporting and institutional response.

How change happens

Evidence. Influence.
Accountability.

01

Lived experience into evidence

We identify recurring patterns, systemic barriers and accountability gaps — then turn what people tell us into credible evidence for change.

02

Evidence into influence

We scrutinise policy, contribute to consultations and put practical, trauma-informed solutions before decision-makers.

03

Influence into action

We build alliances, track commitments and keep pressure on systems until responsibility is clear and meaningful change follows.

Current priorities

Work designed to move systems.

Our projects respond to recurring gaps in justice, safeguarding and public accountability — with clear proposals for what should change.

Justice reform

No Owner, No Clock

Where a person’s recorded history sits in one jurisdiction and their next relationship begins in another, both the identification system and the disclosure scheme are working from an incomplete picture — and the gap between those two pictures is the jurisdictional boundary. No Owner, No Clock calls for clear ownership, reliable cross-border information sharing and a defined timescale for disclosure.Discuss this work

Domestic abuse

Domestic Abuse–Linked Death Reviews

Advocating for statutory learning that connects frontline warning signs with ownership, action and system-wide accountability.Discuss this work

Community evidence

Break the Silence

Exploring the real barriers that prevent people reporting abuse, and what trauma-informed public services must do differently.Discuss this work

Legislative scrutiny

Voices Into Policy

Supporting lived experience to shape consultations, legislation and political priorities without reducing people to case studies.Discuss this work
Policy Submissions LibraryBrowse VJA evidence by Northern Ireland Assembly committee.

Research in development

Researching far-right activity and anti-migrant sentiment.

VJA is examining how hostile narratives, misinformation and intimidation can target migrants and people seeking asylum, and how this activity can move between online spaces and local communities. Informed by HOPE not hate’s work on anti-migrant mobilisation and self-proclaimed “migrant hunters”, our research will consider how communities, public bodies and decision-makers can recognise risks early, challenge hatred and strengthen community cohesion.

  • Evidence
  • Prevention
  • Community cohesion

News & updates

What we have been doing.

VJA was established in June 2026. We have moved quickly from formation to evidence, engagement and long-term capacity building.

Hate Has No Home Here — But Are We Challenging All of It?

We welcome the Justice Minister's call to stand together against hate crime. Our latest article asks why sex remains outside the proposed statutory aggravation provisions, and what happens to victims after they report.

Read the full article

Policy, solutions and accountability: meeting Timothy Gaston MLA

Voice and Justice Alliance met with Timothy Gaston MLA to discuss our policy papers and research, the practical solutions we are proposing, and the importance of clear ownership and accountability in public services.

We welcomed the opportunity to discuss how our work can help inform scrutiny and turn lived experience into meaningful change. Thank you to Timothy for taking the time to meet with us. We look forward to working with him as we take this work forward.

Voice and Justice Alliance representatives with Timothy Gaston MLA outside his constituency office

Animal welfare and victim safety at Stormont

At Stormont today for Causeway Coast Dog Rescue’s animal welfare conference. Ruby’s Law calls for pets to be protected alongside people in domestic abuse cases. Protecting animals must be part of the conversation about protecting victims. 🐾

Two conference attendees beside the Causeway Coast Dog Rescue banner at StormontProgramme for Causeway Coast Dog Rescue’s Legislation into Action conference, 6 October 2026Attendees gathered in the Long Gallery at Parliament Buildings for the animal welfare conferenceRuby’s Law campaign summary calling for pets to be protected alongside people in domestic abuse casesA speaker addressing the animal welfare conference beside Causeway Coast Dog Rescue branding
Tracey Tedford, Co-Founder and Director of Voice and Justice Alliance

VJA companion analysis · September 2026

Beyond the Tracker: turning measurement into legal obligation.

Tracey Tedford examines the legal and institutional machinery needed to turn measurable gaps into duties that an identified body is obliged to meet.

Read Tracey Tedford's full analysis
Fiona Jane Garrett with Parliament Buildings at Stormont in the background

VJA statement & analysis · 1 September 2026

Stormont is running out of time to turn promises into delivery.

Budget paralysis is not an abstract political disagreement. When services responsible for protecting vulnerable people cannot plan, recruit or deliver effectively, budget decisions become safeguarding decisions.

Read Fiona Jane Garrett's full analysis

Have you experienced homelessness?

Do you feel that your lived experience has not been heard or properly reflected in decisions about homelessness and housing? Voice and Justice Alliance wants to hear from people with direct lived experience to help inform our current submission.

Your contribution can be fully anonymised. What matters is that real experiences help shape the policies and decisions affecting people’s lives. Your experience is evidence, and your voice can help influence change.

Share your experience

Tracey selected for Domestic Homicide Review chair training

We are incredibly proud that our Co-Founder and Director, Tracey Tedford, has been selected to undertake training as a chair for Domestic Homicide Reviews across Great Britain.

This recognition reflects Tracey’s experience, leadership and commitment to ensuring that reviews lead to meaningful learning, accountability and change.

Social Value Collaborative placement begins

FiFi Garrett and Tracey Tedford began a two-year placement on the €1.02 million Social Value Collaborative — a cross-border PEACEPLUS initiative led by Enterprise Evolution in partnership with Catalyst NI.

The programme is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body and supported by the European Union, UK Government, Northern Ireland Executive and Irish Government, with Pobal involved in programme delivery.

Position on the minimum age of criminal responsibility

VJA submitted its position calling for an evidence-led approach and for the rights, needs and voices of victims to be built into any proposed reform.

This work reflects our commitment to fair, informed justice policy that considers the consequences of change across the whole system.

Voice and Justice Alliance gains CLG status

VJA became a company limited by guarantee, establishing the formal foundation for our independent policy, engagement and systems-change work.

Since then, we have expanded our leadership, built partnerships and brought lived-experience evidence into political and policy spaces.

Our impact model

Change is a chain.
Every link matters.

  1. 01Listen

    People’s experiences are heard safely and with purpose.

  2. 02Evidence

    Patterns, barriers and accountability gaps are identified.

  3. 03Influence

    Evidence reaches policy, political and institutional spaces.

  4. 04Act

    Commitments become owned, time-bound and measurable.

Related campaign

No More Falls — Josh’s Legacy

We are incredibly proud to support the work of our Co-Founder and Director, Fiona Garrett, on her Green Paper calling for building-safety reform and the stress testing of residential balustrades following the tragic and untimely death of her 23-year-old son, Joshua Robbins, in London.

Visit No More Falls

Contact us

Start a conversation with VJA.

For policy, partnerships, funding, media or engagement enquiries:

info@voiceandjusticealliance.co.uk
Please do not send sensitive case files through this website.

VJA is not an emergency or crisis service. See our safeguarding and support information if you need urgent help.

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Work with VJA

Bring lived experience into the room — and keep it there when decisions are made.

Policymakers & public bodiesConsultation, scrutiny and trauma-informed policy insight.

Community organisationsEvidence-building, engagement and routes into decision-making.

Funders & strategic partnersSupport credible, independent work with the potential for lasting change.

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