Lowri Hawkins

Lowri is a survivor of child sexual exploitation and has been incredibly brave in going public with what happened to her.

She provided evidence against her abuser which resulted in his conviction and imprisonment. The crimes committed against her and the court case that followed has had a significant impact on her health and well-being. Despite this, she has volunteered to support agencies to improve their response to child sexual exploitation.

Lowri has given up a lot of time to engage with practitioners, senior leaders and the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner. She has  provided them with feedback on how policing and other services could improve the service delivered to children.

Lowri's feedback has been used to develop the regional response to child sexual exploitation in Gwent.  Policy and procedure have been amended to reflect her voice.

A new training package has been created for all front line police officers and partners, to create a child-centred culture in policing. Case studies and the feedback were used to train the staff and Lowri appeared in a film that is used as part of the training. The feedback has also been used at a national level to brief Welsh Government to influence national policy and practice.

Lowri is currently studying a course in social care as she is committed to helping protect vulnerable children. Lowri has been able to put her traumatic experience to use. She is determined to help protect vulnerable children, and at her young age is influencing and driving change.