Aneeta Prem’s work with the Metropolitan Police Authority included a clear focus on forced marriage, female genital mutilation and safeguarding. In 2009, she founded Freedom Charity with Lord Toby Harris to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults from forced marriage, FGM, virginity testing, modern slavery and other forms of dishonour abuse.
Aneeta is Freedom Charity’s lifetime President and Chief Executive Officer. Under her leadership, the charity has become a recognised safeguarding organisation, delivering education, prevention work, training, practical resources and direct support for those at risk.
Aneeta has advised ministers, contributed expert evidence to select committees and worked with government departments, including the Home Office and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, on forced marriage, safeguarding and policy development. Her work continues to focus on prevention, early intervention and protecting those whose voices are too often unheard.
Aneeta Prem has long challenged the language used around so-called “honour” violence. She uses the term “dishonour” because there is no honour in forced marriage, female genital mutilation, abuse, coercion or control.
The word places responsibility where it belongs: on those who cause harm, not on survivors.
Aneeta also created Freedom Charity’s “Not in My Name” campaign, encouraging boys and men to stand against dishonour abuse and reject violence carried out in the name of family, culture or reputation.Through campaigns such as #SupportDonateEradicate, Freedom Charity has continued to turn public awareness into visible action.On 6 February 2017, the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation,
Aneeta publicly launched the Red Triangle badge as Freedom Charity’s symbol against FGM and dishonour abuse.The campaign was launched nationally with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and reported by The Guardian as a UK campaign using the red triangle to help detect and prevent FGM.The Red Triangle symbol has since become an internationally recognised symbol of solidarity against FGM. It gives people a clear, visible way to show that FGM is abuse, girls deserve protection and silence is not acceptable.
FGM affects more than 230 million girls and women alive today. It is a serious human rights violation and a safeguarding issue that demands prevention, education and intervention before harm occurs.By wearing the Red Triangle badge, supporters show that they stand with girls at risk and survivors, and that they want to help end FGM.
Visit the Freedom Charity shop to buy the Red Triangle badge and support Freedom Charity’s work to prevent FGM and dishonour abuse. https://freedomcharity.org.uk/freedom-shop/
In June 2014, years of campaigning against forced marriage helped deliver a major change in the law. Under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, forced marriage became a criminal offence in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has separate legislation.Aneeta Prem was one of the campaigners who pressed for this change.
Her work helped move forced marriage from a hidden safeguarding issue into the criminal justice and public policy arena.In 2022, the Health and Care Act made virginity testing and hymenoplasty criminal offences across the UK. These reforms recognised that both practices are harmful, abusive and rooted in control over women and girls.
In February 2023, the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 came into force in England and Wales. It raised the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership to 18. It also strengthened the law so that it is an offence to do anything intended to cause a child to marry before the age of 18, even where coercion cannot be proved.Aneeta was instrumental in raising public and political awareness of forced marriage, FGM, virginity testing, hymenoplasty and child marriage.
Her work has helped drive legal, safeguarding and policy change over many years.In 2021, Aneeta addressed the Oxford Union on these issues, joining a long tradition of speakers at one of the world’s best-known debating societies. You can watch her address here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-uwkBqDlkI
The first significant case of modern day slavery rescue was undertaken in conjunction with the police and Freedom Charity. It involved the rescue of three women who had claimed to have been held in slavery for decades. https://youtu.be/rBSN8kYSLiM?feature=shared
Pioneering the use of technology, the Freedom Charity App launched (that now has over 250,000 downloads) to guide and advise victims and non-victims alike, as well as for reference by police, border force and health care professionals. Watch the launch video for the Freedom Charity app here https://youtu.be/_RWfbmGq4e0?feature=shared
Aneeta has been a primary point of contact for people who have reached out for help to be rescued, both in the UK and from overseas. She has maintained contact and liaised with other agencies regarding how to safely remove someone from their situation. She organises identity change and safe places to live and rehabilitate. These actions have undoubtedly saved lives.
Aneeta has written two novels aimed at children and young people aged nine years and over. Both books are PSHE association accredited and are complemented by lesson plans. They are written with the overarching aim to save lives by educating peers and those at risk about the warning signs. Her first novel "But It's Not Fair” draws on her extensive experience supporting child victims of Forced Marriage and dishonour-based crimes through her work with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Government ministers, the police, survivors and her experiences as a judiciary magistrate.
The story is written from the view of a young British girl, Vinny, whose friend almost becomes a victim of Forced Marriage. The book is presented in a chatty and easy-to-read style, but it carries some powerful messages. It not only raises awareness of Forced Marriage and highlights some of the key signs to be aware of, but it also suggests courses of action that could help potential victims. Freedom Charity distributes copies of "But It's Not Fair" free to schools, alongside lesson plans for teachers.
"Cut Flowers", Aneeta’s second novel, is about female genital mutilation (FGM). Katie and Sophia are just two ordinary girls eagerly awaiting the summer holidays until their teacher, Miss Adams, gives them their summer homework – to prepare a presentation about what they did over the holidays. Little did they know that it would be the start of a lifelong mission to protect young girls all over the world. When Katie finally returns from Africa, she needs all of Sophia’s support and creative flair to shine a spotlight on something that’s affecting millions of girls worldwide, but that no one seems to want to talk about. The book has PSHE Association lesson plans to accompany it.
Aneeta travels throughout the country delivering inspiring and thought-provoking sessions to students in schools, colleges and universities on subjects which also include child abuse, trafficking, and radicalisation. She has delivered sessions to children as young as eight, ensuring that the material is delivered at an appropriate level. Older children have been moved to tears by the subject but have left motivated to make change and ensure human rights violations are eradicated. She has donated tens of thousands of copies of her novels to these students, often finding that these are the first books some children have ever owned. Raised awareness amongst readers of signs of FGM and forced marriage has resulted in planned events being stopped. These books have saved, and will continue to save, lives.
“The work of charities like Freedom is helping to ensure no one has to live in fear of FGM. Education is vital to stamping out this abhorrent practice and these resources will help schools looking to tackle these issues and protect their pupils at a critical point in the year."
– Nicky Morgan, former secretary of State for Education (2019/20)
Visit the Freedom Charity shop to buy Aneeta’s books https://freedomcharity.org.uk/shop
