Our upcoming ‘Complex contexts and sensitive practices’ training is co-designed and co-led by people who have experience of the topics we will be discussing. These experts by experience will share their insights into the following topics covered in the training:
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A restorative approach to protecting participants from risks to their freedom to speak and to their safety and well-being.
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A restorative understanding of race hate crime.
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A restorative understanding of homophobic and transphobic hate crime.
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A restorative understanding of domestic abuse.
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A restorative understanding of sexual violence.
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A Trauma Responsive Restorative Process.
Meet the trainers
Janika Cartwright
I am deeply passionate about restorative justice, particularly its role within the context of domestic abuse. I bring both professional insight and lived experience as someone who has been a victim of a serious crime and has engaged in a restorative justice process, experiencing benefits that were life-changing for me.
This perspective informs my commitment to trauma-informed, victim-centred practice and strengthens my understanding of the complexities involved in this area of work. I believe restorative justice has a unique ability to support healing, empower individuals, and place the victim’s voice at the centre of the justice process, something the traditional system does not always achieve.
Through this training, I want participants to develop a deeper understanding of domestic abuse and how restorative justice, when delivered safely and appropriately, can empower victims to regain a sense of control over their lives, something that is often lost through abusive relationships. I am committed to creating safe, ethical spaces where victims’ voices, needs, and rights are prioritised, and where practitioners feel confident to apply restorative approaches in a meaningful and informed way.
Janika is also an Ambassador for Why me?, and you can read her story on our website.
Jake Ferris
My work is rooted in lived experience, long-term advocacy, and a commitment to creating safer, more inclusive spaces. My journey into LGBTQIA+ awareness, restorative justice, and nightlife protection grew from witnessing the gaps in safety, understanding, and accountability that leave communities vulnerable.
I have contributed to policy and strategic change, working alongside the Commissioner for Victims of Crime, supporting the Department of Health on LGBTQIA+ healthcare strategy for transgender individuals, and contributing to hate crime legislation.
Nightlife safety is particularly close to my heart. Queer venues are more than businesses — they are sanctuaries. Through specialist training in de-escalation, conflict resolution, harm reduction, and restorative justice, I promote approaches that centre accountability, healing, and community repair within LGBTQIA+ spaces.
I am committed to building environments where safety, dignity, and justice are non-negotiable.
Takura Donald Makoni
Born in Leeds, Yorkshire to his Zimbabwean migrant student parents, Takura Donald Makoni had a travelled childhood. Bouncing between the UK, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Botswana, inspired by his father’s activism and his mother’s steadfast support and guidance; this enriched his life with a diverse palate shaping his curious mind. Takura is recognised by The African & Caribbean Support Organisation of Northern Ireland for contributions to the community through volunteering, the arts and activism. He was recently recognised by the Advancing Race Equality Awards judging panel as recipient of the Anti-Racist Leader of the Year Award 2024. Takura has a qualification in Conflict Resolution in International Youth work attained through UNOY (United Network of Young Peacebuilders) and is currently studying Restorative Justice in order to serve the community as a practitioner. He uses his lived experience as a migrant on two considerably different continents to address issues around criminalisation of migration, criminalisation of migrants and inequalities within the criminal justice system that impact individual and group of people based on their ethnicity.
Join these fantastic speakers, Professor Tim Chapman and Why me?’s Anika Cosgrove for this unique training course. Whether you are looking to branch into complex and sensitive delivery, or you want to refresh your knowledge with the webinars, sign up today.