Victorious Voices

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Victorious Voices

Victorious Voices is a survivor-led photography and storytelling project reclaiming visibility for survivors of sexual abuse.

Through powerful black-and-white portraiture we challenge stigma and reshape how survivors are seen in society. Through powerful black-and-white portraiture and first-person narratives, we challenge stigma, confront silence, and reshape how survivors are seen in society. Every image and story is shared on the survivor’s terms- centring dignity, strength, and the complexity of survival. Alongside e

xhibitions, publications, and public conversations, Victorious Voices is building space for survivor-led art to spark cultural change. Our work exists at the intersection of photography, advocacy, and systemic impact, making visible the people and stories that society often refuses to see. We believe visibility is power, and no survivor should be left unheard, unseen, or erased.

07/08/2026

Today, Victorious Voices is publishing a statement in support of our member Sera Cracroft , following comments directed at her by Huw Edwards and reported by BBC News.

Sera raised legitimate questions about accountability and the appropriateness of Edwards’ participation in the National Eisteddfod following his criminal conviction. She should be able to do so without being dismissed as one of “her type”.

Survivors and advocates must be able to participate in public debate, challenge institutions and question the actions of powerful figures without being reduced to a stereotype or subjected to personal disparagement.

Victorious Voices stands unequivocally with Sera.

Statement: https://lnkd.in/dFYYF-gx

📸 We’d love for you to join us on this journey.
🔗 Find out more via the link in our bio.

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28/07/2026

Yesterday marked an important milestone: a productive and encouraging meeting with Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales Claire Waxman OBE at the Ministry of Justice in London.

We discussed the critical failures Lee Cooper has experienced during his journey through the criminal justice system, which has been documented in a 278-page dossier submitted to the Commissioner. After years of fighting to have these issues recognised, it was meaningful not only to be listened to, but to feel genuinely heard.

Lee attended the meeting alongside a member of the Victorious Voices community who wishes to remain anonymous for now. They have also experienced profound institutional failures during a journey spanning more than 20 years.

The meeting followed my discussion two weeks ago with MP Yasmin Qureshi, which Lee attended alongside shereen.leanne who is also fighting for reform after a brutal five-year journey to secure the conviction of her perpetrator. Shereen is doing important work through her Phoenix Five initiative.

The Ministry of Justice offices are modern, polished and efficient with security pods at the entrance move people through the building quickly. The contrast with the disinterested G4S security guard and (literally) crumbling corridors encountered at Minshull Street Crown Court last week was telling.

The same dossier was also sent to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which has still neither acknowledged receipt nor provided a response.

The Victorious Voices community are grateful to Claire Waxman for the time, attention and seriousness she gave to these experiences yesterday. We now look forward to seeing how the conversation develops.

📸 We’d love for you to join us on this journey.
🔗 Find out more via the link in our bio.

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24/07/2026

Yesterday was a monumental day. After almost five years of waiting, Lee Cooper finally attended court to give evidence and be cross-examined. What can be said is that the recorded video will now sit on file until the trial that is currently listed for May 2028, and an enormous part of his involvement in this process is now over.

The trial was originally due to take place in March this year, following a two-year wait. Three days before it was due to begin, it was vacated and postponed for a further two years because no courtroom was available.

He refused to wait that long and instead of his withdrawal being accepted he was offered the option of this Section 28 recorded cross examination.

On Monday, he will be in London at the Ministry of Justice meeting the Victims Commissioner. In August, he will attend an international advocacy workshop in Brussels. In September, he will return to Los Angeles to speak at UCLA about the work with Victorious Voices.

He wouldn’t have made it to this point without the support of Victorious Voices community. We are creating change and life is good 💛

📸: Harmeet Singh

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30/06/2026

On Friday Lee Cooper was in Birmingham for the sentencing hearing of a Victorious Voices community member and the culmination of a 20-year battle for justice.

My friend first reported their perpetrator in 2005 and was told there would be no further action. The Crown Prosecution Service ordered a reinvestigation in 2018, which was then closed in October 2021. It was reopened in December 2021 following a Victims’ Right to Review.

In November 2023, multiple charges against multiple people were finally brought forward.

The trial took place in October 2025 and the perpetrator was found guilty on all counts.

The first sentencing hearing in January was cancelled, but this was only communicated to those who had already turned up at court as planned. The second hearing in March was cancelled the day before it was due to take place.

The third hearing finally went ahead on Friday, but the perpetrator was allowed to appear by video link rather than attend in person to hear the Victim Impact Statements.

Those statements were powerful and moving. The perpetrator smiled and shook his head throughout. But he stopped smiling and stopped shaking his head when he was told by the judge he would spend the next 22 years in prison.

He is 74 and likely froze at the realisation he is going to die alone behind bars.

It was a powerful day, and a privilege to be there for my friend, who has been a great support throughout my own case. I will be in court on 10th July for a Section 28 pre-recorded cross-examination, which will then sit on file until trial in May 2028.

Next month, we will be meeting the Claire Waxman OBE, to present a wider body of evidence about the failures CSA survivors continue to face across policing, prosecution and the courts. Failures that need to be acknowledged and addressed.

📸 We’d love for you to join us on this journey.
🔗 Find out more via the link in our bio.

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07/06/2026

This a powerful quote from

Jeremy has spent years working to create change through education, advocacy and safeguarding. Through his platform , he has helped bring difficult conversations into schools and communities across the country.

What stands out about Jeremy is his belief that change is possible when people are willing to challenge what has been accepted for too long. His words remind us that progress is not inevitable, it only happens when enough people decide that the status quo is no longer acceptable.

Victorious Voices exists for change and to create something better than what came before. Thank you, Jeremy, for being part of the project and for the work you continue to do to help keep children safe and change the conversation.

📸 We’d love for you to join us on this journey.
🔗 Find out more via the link in our bio.

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01/06/2026

Today we are proud to share the portrait of 📸

Over the past five years, Jeremy has worked tirelessly to create - a platform dedicated to giving CSA Survivors a voice and helping to create safer environments through safeguarding education in schools across the country.

Through his work, Jeremy has helped open important conversations around safety, wellbeing, and the experiences of young people, ensuring that difficult subjects are no longer ignored.

Victorious Voices exists because of people who are willing to challenge silence, create change, and support others to tell their stories. Jeremy’s dedication to that mission has made a real difference to countless young people and communities.

Thank you, Jeremy, for your time, your work, and for being part of this project 💛🗣️

📸 We’d love for you to join us on this journey.
🔗 Find out more via the link in our bio.

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30/05/2026

Yesterday we had the privilege of exhibiting our portraits at for the day as part of the ‘Challenging The Silence’ seminar series we are a part of in collaboration with and Dr .ann.x

It was a great success and hopefully a precursor to the photographs exhibiting in the main gallery space one day in the future. Debbie Riley who was one of the first people photographed for the project came along for the morning too.

The fifth and final exhibition of this programme will take place in September at in Halifax. We will be looking to exhibit over the summer - please get in contact if this is something you would be interested in!

📸 We’d love for you to join us on this journey.
🔗 Find out more via the link in our bio.

Share, speak, support 💛🗣️

20/05/2026

This quote from .leanne . as part of her work with addresses a big factor that is obvious in many ways, but often overlooked. Vital conversations around CSA often never happen because people are too afraid, too ashamed, or too unsure of how they’ll be received.

This creates a silence can last years, sometimes decades, and often forever. What we’ve learned through Victorious Voices is that awareness alone is not enough. Posters, campaigns and statistics mean very little if people still don’t feel emotionally safe enough to speak honestly about what happened to them.

Real change begins when somebody feels heard without judgement, disbelief or discomfort.

That is why this project exists.

Not to speak over survivors, but to create space where people can be seen fully, beyond labels, stereotypes or assumptions. Every portrait of dignity is a reminder that survivors are not invisible and that these conversations belong in public and cultural spaces.

The courage involved in simply saying “this happened to me” is something that should never be taken lightly. One conversation can change a life.

Thank you for sharing your truth and making the light a little stronger, Shereen.

📸 We’d love for you to join us on this journey.
🔗 Find out more via the link in our bio.

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18/05/2026

We are beyond honoured to share this portrait of .leanne this week for Victorious Voices.

In October 2025 Shereen bravely shared her story in the after a five year journey through the broken Criminal Justice System which ultimately led to her perpetrator sent to prison for 18 years.

We reached out to Shereen and she quickly became an active member of our VV community. She is also putting knowledge and expertise to good use and has created to help other CSA Survivors.

Shereen is a fierce woman which we hope shines through in this portrait ⭐️✨

Thank you for sharing your story! And thanks to for letting us use his studio for this shoot.

📸 We’d love for you to join us on this journey.
🔗 Find out more via the link in our bio

Visible, Vocal, Victorious 🗣️💛

14/05/2026

Our next exhibition in two weeks at has now sold out.
That means the final opportunity to see the Victorious Voices portraits as part of this seminar series with and Dr .ann.x will be on 25.09.26 at in Halifax.

Having the work shown at The Hepworth, even for a single day, feels like a significant milestone. When Victorious Voices was first created, the aim was always to bring the realities and voices of CSA Survivors into major cultural spaces rather than keeping these conversations hidden away from public life.

To have reached that point within two years, and to see the event sell out, means a great deal. Thank you to everybody who continues to support the project.

📸 We’d love for you to join us on this journey.
🔗 Find out more via the link in our bio.

Share, speak, support 💛🗣️

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Manchester

Website

https://www.placesnowhere.com/victorious-voices

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