Dr. Mary Lodato:

One of the ways to re-engage with survivors, whether here or in the UK, is to have person-to-person contact, rather than a telephone line because the latter would create a barrier to communication. Personal contact with people is needed. It is a shame that the officials thought survivors could feed into the consultation process through a telephone line. We are people with needs, and those needs have to be recognised. To have the barrier represented by a telephone is disrespectful when we consider the complex trauma survivors are dealing with. The consultation needs to be on the ground with people to identify what are the views of the survivors and what they want and need. That will be a big exercise. Trust has been broken and survivors are being betrayed again. The process must get people to come forward. Their needs are so great that they do not know where to start. Sometimes we need somebody on the ground to support them. There is no support available in the United Kingdom from any of the organisations that understand survivors. That is where the big lack of provision is and it will be an uphill task to try to get survivors to re-engage. For me, this is about having people who understand the survivor community and genuinely reaching out it.