24 Hour Vigil
Raising awareness of abuse, safeguarding failures, and injustice - outside Parliament
On 15 April 2026 at 12pm, a 24-hour vigil will take place outside the Houses of Parliament. Organised by RAINA Advocacy, this is a peaceful public vigil - a space to stand together, raise awareness, and centre voices that are too often ignored.
What this vigil is about
This vigil brings attention to interconnected issues that continue to impact families across the UK:
domestic abuse
child safeguarding failures
institutional harm
family court injustice
At its core, it is about voice - and what happens when people are not heard.
It stands for:
children unheard
survivors dismissed
families failed by systems meant to protect them
A simple framing - but one that reflects experiences many have been raising for years.
Why this moment matters
The vigil is rooted in a clear intention: truth, accountability, and change. For many, these issues are not new. They have been raised, documented, and lived - often without consistent response or resolution.
This moment doesn’t try to overcomplicate that. It creates space to acknowledge it, publicly and collectively. A quiet but visible reminder that these experiences exist - and continue.
A 24-hour presence
Holding the vigil over 24 hours is deliberate. It reflects something of the endurance many people navigating these systems experience - the time, the repetition, the persistence it takes to be heard.
It also creates continuity. A sustained presence, outside Parliament, that asks for attention to be held - not just briefly, but over time.
Why Parliament
The location matters. To gather outside Parliament is to place lived experience alongside decision-making. It brings these issues into a space where policy is shaped and asks that they not be kept at a distance. Not as an abstract debate - but as something grounded in real lives.
A collective act of voice
The message of the vigil is clear:
We will stand.
We will speak.
We will not be silent.
There’s strength in that simplicity.
Because for many, being heard has not been straightforward. And so, choosing to stand -visibly and together - becomes part of that process. Not loud for the sake of it. But present. And difficult to ignore.
How to be part of it
The vigil invites people to engage in different ways:
attend in person
be part of the 24-hour presence
share online
support and amplify
There is no single way to take part - just a shared intention to stand alongside those affected.
Final reflection
This vigil doesn’t claim to resolve everything. But it does something important. It holds space. It centres voices. It makes visible what is too often overlooked. And in doing so, it asks a simple question: What does it take to be heard - and what needs to change when people aren’t?
