People

Murray Hunt is the Director of the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC), created to enhance understanding of modern slavery and transform the effectiveness of law and policies designed to address it.

From 2004 to 2017, Murray was Legal Adviser to the Joint Committee on Human Rights in the UK Parliament, and prior to that was a practising barrister at Matrix, which he helped to establish in 2000. He was also the Director of the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) until 2024. Murray is also working with the Attorney General’s Office as an Independent Adviser to provide legal and policy advice on matters relating to the rule of law.

Prof Alex Balch is a professor of politics at the University of Liverpool, with research interests in policies on immigration and modern slavery. He currently leads the Antislavery Knowledge Network, which seeks to apply innovative methods to tackle modern slavery across Sub-Saharan Africa. He is also associate director of the African Programming and Research Initiative To End Slavery (APRIES). He has over 10 years’ experience designing and implementing programmes in diverse international contexts. His approach is collaborative and interdisciplinary, with the aim to develop new methods and modes of partnership across national boundaries with government, business and civil society to meet the challenges in addressing modern slavery.

Olivia Hesketh joined the Modern Slavery PEC from the civil service. She began her career as a government analyst across crime and policing policy areas. For four years before she joined the Centre, Olivia was a policymaker in the Modern Slavery Unit in the UK Home Office, most recently leading the team that focuses on the Government’s international and prevention policies.

Jakub Sobik joined the Modern Slavery PEC from Anti-Slavery International, where he led the development and implementation of its communications strategy.

Liz Williams joined the Modern Slavery PEC from Asylum Research Centre which she co-founded in 2010. As co-Director, she led research and policy projects on asylum and refugee protection issues. Liz has acted as a consultant for UNHCR, the European Asylum Support Office, Amnesty International UK and the Independent Advisory Group on Country Information and has been a Senior Policy Advisor at Freedom from Torture.

Owain Johnstone joined the Modern Slavery PEC from the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), where he worked as Modern Slavery Advisor and Policy Advisor. While at ETI, he worked on establishing best practice in business modern slavery reporting, supporting the development of the Modern Slavery Statement Framework. He also coordinated engagement with a range of stakeholders on issues including state-imposed forced labour, the implementation and enforcement of the UK Modern Slavery Act and the emerging debate on mandatory human rights due diligence. Prior to working at ETI, Owain completed his PhD on the development of human trafficking law and policy in the UK.

Izzy Templer joined the Modern Slavery PEC from the University of Edinburgh, where she was the Project Manager for Rising from the Depths, a Global Challenges Research Fund Network Plus award. While working with Rising from the Depths she managed a portfolio of 27 Innovation Projects that researched the utilisation of Marine Cultural Heritage for sustainable development in Eastern Africa. Izzy’s background is in law, studying Law and European Law at the University of Nottingham.

Rose Fatherazi joined the Modern Slavery PEC from the Middle Eastern Women and Society organisation (MEWSo) where she was the Operations and Advice Manager overseeing cases related to domestic abuse, welfare issues and migrant rights. She has expertise in harmful practices in the UK, particularly centred around modern slavery and forced marriage, polygamy, and honour based abuse. Rose is a passionate campaigner and aided in the launch of the Ban Virginity Tests campaign and assisted in including the ban on virginity tests and hymen repair surgery in the Health and Care Bill 2022.

Olessya Glasson has extensive experience in creating spaces for survivors of modern slavery to feed directly into modern slavery policy, and in embedding lived experience within organisations working to address modern slavery, including in research, service delivery and NGOs.

Her role at the Modern Slavery PEC is to lead on the Modern Slavery PEC’s commitment to survivor inclusion, ensuring that everything the Centre does has survivor expertise woven through it. She oversees the governance of our lived experience engagement work, and founded the Modern Slavery PEC Lived Experience Advisory Panel, which is made up of six individuals who hold lived experience of modern slavery or human trafficking, and who advise on all aspects of the Centre’s work.

Jane Lasonder is a member of the PEC's Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP). She is also Vice Chair of ISTAC (International Survivors of Trafficking Advisory Council) of the ODIHR/OSCE and is Chair of Hope for Justice's International Survivor Council. She has contributed to the work of the European Parliament, the UN, OSCE/ODIHR, WHO and the media on human trafficking, amongst others.

Jane is also an author and has published three books, the latest called ‘Health and Slavery’ - a guide book for health care workers on awareness, published internationally by Springer publishers. She is an award-winning photographer too.

Jane is a member of the Interparliamentary Taskforce on Human Trafficking (ITHT), the first global consortium to convene leading lawmakers, government leaders, stakeholders and lived-experience experts committed to stopping the human suffering caused by human trafficking through partnership in policy solutions.

Jane is an international speaker. As a survivor of child trafficking, Jane shares her expertise with organisations and groups interested in increasing their knowledge of modern slavery and human trafficking, including school-age children, teens and medical students. She is also working with the British Embassy in Bucharest and partners in Romania, developing training material and providing training to health care workers. She has also given training to border force guards and the police.

Jane was awarded the Anti-Slavery Award for 'Outstanding Contribution to the fight against modern slavery' in the ‘Empowering survivor voices’ category by the The Human Trafficking Foundation in October 2024.

Ify is a Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) member. Ify has a lived experience of modern slavery and human trafficking. She is determined to use the knowledge, skills, and expertise acquired from her experience to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking by co-creating and co-designing research background calls and advising on the research proposals to receive the funding, as well as advising the PEC on all aspects of its work. Ify is also committed to raising awareness and engaging in consultancy work on issues within her experience and expertise. Her background in social work has greatly enriched her knowledge and expertise to mitigate the risks of the long-term impact of trauma and abuse.

Rozina is a Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) member. She is working on co-creating and co-designing research background calls, advising on the research proposals to receive the funding, co-producing and providing feedback on the PEC outputs, attending meetings with policymakers and advising the Centre on all aspects of its work.

Rozina has experience in working with NGOs, research projects and advisory panels, sharing her lived experience to inform policy, evidence and practice, including with the Causeway Charity and the University of Liverpool.

While Grow Traineeship at Shelter, she has worked to support communities at risk of homelessness, facilitating campaigns against homelessness and learning new skills.

Rozina’s passions are cooking and supporting people and communities, which she brings together in her role as a residential chef for her local community organisation working with refugees and people seeking asylum.

Christine Mutshipay is the Lived Experience Engagement Co-ordinator at the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre. She is a survivor of sexual exploitation and trafficking, now using her lived experiences to advocate for and support women and girls across the country. Christine has a background in advanced children and family social work and is currently pursuing an MA in Human Trafficking, Migration & Organised Crime, and holds two further degrees in Working with Children, Young People and Families, and Advanced Children and Family-Based Social Work. Christine is a Lived Experience Coordinator at the Modern Slavery Policy and Evidence Centre, and volunteers for Emerge Worldwide; an organisation committed to raising awareness of sexual exploitation and trafficking of women and girls. Alongside her advocacy, she is a youth pastor at Ruach City Church and enjoys the opportunity to care for and mentor young people. Christine also holds a qualification in Beauty Therapy and enjoys pampering herself, friends, and family. In her free time, she loves reading and spending time with loved ones.

Marija is a human rights lawyer with a research interest in modern slavery and human trafficking, business and human rights, labour rights, migration and refugee law, and regional human rights regimes. She holds DPhil, MPhil, and Magister Juris degrees from the University of Oxford, and a law degree from Serbia. .

Marija is currently a Research Fellow in Business and Human Rights at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, the University of Oxford, and a Co-Investigator on behalf of the Bonavero Institute at the Modern Slavery and Human Rights PEC. She also holds a Senior Lectureship at the Essex Law School. She previously held a Research Fellowship at the Centre for International Law, the National University of Singapore, and a Lectureship in Law in Serbia.

She is the author of State Responsibility for ‘Modern Slavery’ in Human Rights Law (Oxford University Press, 2023) and her recent work includes a research project on the experiences of modern slavery survivors in the UK prisons and a legal analysis of compatibility of the UK’s Treaty with Rwanda and the Safety of Rwanda Bill 2024, Illegal Migration Act 2023, and Nationality and Borders Act 2022 with the UK’s international obligations towards victims of modern slavery.

Marija’s academic work seeks to contribute to both theory and practice of human rights law and is policy-oriented and impact-driven. Her legal consulting roles include collaborations with prominent international and civil society organisations in the human rights field.

Dr Alicia Heys is a Senior Lecturer in Modern Slavery at the Wilberforce Institute, part of the University of Hull, where she works on issues around modern slavery and organised crime. Alicia is interested in bridging the gap between academia and practice, and is the Chair of the Humber Modern Slavery Partnership. She led on the project developing interactive workshops for regional partnerships and is a Co-Investigator of the Modern Slavery and Human Rights PEC on behalf of the Wilberforce Institute.

Wendy Asquith is a Research Fellow in the Department of Politics at the University of Liverpool. In her recent work, Wendy has collaborated with colleagues in countries across sub-Saharan Africa to deliver the Antislavery Knowledge Network’s online exhibition. She is interested in how creative approaches can enable more equitable and inclusive partnerships and more effective policy interventions in international development.

Wendy enjoys working collaboratively and specializes in interdisciplinary research with interests in histories of humanitarianism, international institutions and postcolonial politics, which grew out of doctoral research on Haitian cultural diplomacy.

She is a Co-Investigator at the Modern Slavery and Human Rights PEC on Behalf of the University of Liverpool.

Dr Sofia Gonzalez is a Research Fellow in Business, ESG & Modern Slavery at the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law. She leads the Modern Slavery PEC's research work on business and modern slavery. She is also developing a relevant research programme on Modern Slavery and businesses' ESG responsibilities for the Bingham Centre's Business Network.

Before joining the Bingham Centre she worked as a consultant for the Walk Free Foundation, looking at the garment and investor sectors reporting under the UK and Australian Modern Slavery Acts. Sofia has also undertaken research on modern slavery looking at FTSE100 companies and the UK construction sector.

Sofia holds a PhD in Business Ethics & Sustainability from King's College London. Her thesis looked at heterogenous business responses to CSR programmes in emerging markets. She also has teaching experience at King's College London leading seminars and delivering lectures in the Business School and the Department of International Development.