Dr Cath Hill

Dr Cath Hill is a Social Work academic at Lancaster University and a registered social worker in the UK, where she specialises in social work with children and young people and trauma informed approaches to victimisation and abuse. Cath and her son, who was ten at the time, survived the Manchester Arena Bombing in 2017. Aware that many young people affected by that attack were struggling with their mental distress, and some were unable to access support, Cath founded Manchester Survivors Choir, a peer support group for young survivors and their families. Through this voluntary work she identified a need to advocate for young victims. This led to her developing and leading the Bee the Difference research project, a collaborative project with young survivors and disaster response charity the National Emergencies Trust, which highlighted the support needs of young people affected by terrorism. She is a trustee for UK charity Survivors Against Terror, on the victims advocate group for Victim Support Europe and a survivor’s advisory panel member for the National Emergencies Trust. She has advised both the Home Office and Department of Education in the UK on how to support young people affected by sudden traumatic incidents.