The group Survivors Against Terror is a new organization which is made up of the survivors, families and loved ones of the numerous terror attacks that took place in England last year.
They aim to lobby the Government to improve the support they provide for victims and on their counter-terrorism policies.
Brendan Cox, who is the husband of Labour MP Jo Cox, who was killed, and Mike Haines, whose brother David was beheaded on camera when being captive by ISIS, are among the founders.
They launched Survivors Against Terror on Jan. 29. On their website, it says their aim is to “Our view is that terrorism can be defeated. But only if everyone in the country pulls together and fights it more effectively […] As survivors and family members, our experience of support from the government and service providers has been mixed. Often this has been exemplary, but in other cases families and survivors have been left with little support. We will reach out to other survivors and bereaved families to understand what is, and isn’t working and will talk to the government and other service providers about the gaps we find.”
“Terrorism is not new, but still causes pain and anguish. Our country has taken on and defeated bigger threats in the past, and we know if we work together and look after those bereaved or injured, we can and will defeat this.”
One of their main aims is that victims get better care following the attacks and receive more support. Charlotte Dixon-Sutcliffe told The Independent she felt “isolated and powerless” when she lost her husband in the Brussels bombings, saying “I want to make sure nobody goes through that, that nobody is casting around desperately looking for help for them and their child and finding brick walls.”
The group is also saying that they “will work to build a voice for survivors,” adding that “terrorism is not a new phenomenon but it continues to cause huge pain and anguish.” They have reached out to social media companies to take better action and encouraged media to treat survivors with more respect. They also plan to survey a ranging group of victims and go into schools to talk about the impact of this hate and how to combat it.
