Miguel was abused as a sixteen year old boy by the religious brother who was responsible for the scouts Catholic group he was attending in the Abbey of Montserrat, the religious heartland of his native Catalonia. When he reported him to his superior, instead of contacting law enforcement they covered up the crime. When he was ready to press charges, after receiving therapy, the criminal statute of limitations had run out.

In 2019, he went public with his story appearing in the Netflix documentary Examination of Conscience, a ground-breaking investigation about the clergy sex abuse scandal in Catholic Spain. Afterwards, an additional eleven victims of his abuser corroborated his story. An internal investigation acknowledged that his perpetrator had been a sexual predator who abused children over three decades.

Based on his experience of being let down by the criminal justice system, he started a change.org campaign to reform the criminal statute of limitations. After delivering 567,000 signatures in Parliament, in June 2021 the Spanish Congress amended the criminal code to give survivors of child abuse 17 additional years to sue their perpetrators. Based on his experience, he has the strong conviction that only a well-organized global child rights movement can put enough pressure on governments to ensure they change their legislations to eliminate archaic, predator friendly, arbitrary statute of limitations that stop victims from having effective access to criminal and civil justice remedies.

In February 2020, he published his biography, The Silence Playbook, narrating his journey from victim, to survivor, to human rights activist. He currently lives in London and works as a Consultant Child Psychiatrist for the National Health Service.

Jennifer Freeman has been a successful and dedicated advocate to protect children, women and others from sexual abuse, child pornography, discrimination, and exploitation. She has obtained hundreds of millions of dollars for victims and survivors, and has secured accountability from medical institutions such as Rockefeller University, religious institutions such as the Catholic Church, youth organizations such as the Boy Scouts and YMHA, individuals such as Jeffrey Epstein, abusing family members and child pornography distributors and possessors, public and private schools, employers such as financial institutions, coaches, camp personnel, clerics, and others. She brought her first child sex abuse case in 1997 and one of the first Title IX claims against a NY college. As the Chair of CHILD USAdvocacy, she has advanced statutory change for child sex abuse survivors by advocating for New York’s Child Victims Act, statute of limitations reform in other states, and the Amy Vicky & Andy Act in Congress, and she serves on a Global Task Force seeking time-bar reform in other countries. She is a recognized commentator and speaker on these issues on MSNBC, PBS, and national and
local news, including:

Dr Matthew McVarish, from Glasgow, Scotland, is a multi-award-winning Human Rights Activist, and survivor of childhood sexual abuse. The Scottish Government commissioned his research entitled, “The Quality of Silence”, outlining the varied sociological, economic, and cultural obstacles to reporting childhood sexual abuse faced by survivors in the 40+ countries where he’s worked. Matthew has given lectures to the Icelandic, Serbian, and Scottish governments, as well as Scotland’s Police, Crown Office, and Procurator Fiscal. He has chaired numerous global discussions on children’s rights for the UN, and with ECPAT International in Bangkok, Matthew co-created the world’s first Global Survivor Forum, gathering formidable survivor activists from around the world. He is now a SAGE Member of the Brave Movement, and their representative on the Council of Europe’s Lanzarote Committee.

Vinka Jackson, psychologist (sexual trauma), CSA survivor, children’s rights advocate, teacher. Founder and creator of Derecho al Tiempo, the organization that led a ten-year path to achieve the historical Law ending the SOL for child sexual abuse in Chile. Author of “Agua fresca en los espejos”, first incest and child sexual abuse testimonial in Chile (since 2007), and “Mi cuerpo es un regalo” (children, since 2013).

Dr. Ann Olivarius is Chair of the Executive Committee of McAllister Olivarius, an international law firm specializing in cases of sexual misconduct and discrimination. Ann has achieved landmark settlements for survivors of abuse, successfully suing children’s homes, care homes, prominent schools, and major international religious bodies, including the first ever civil claim brought against the Jehovah’s Witnesses for child abuse. She has also coordinated international efforts to bring perpetrators to justice.