“Protecting Yourself and Your Family”: Unseen Victims Responds to Scrutiny Over Promoting Safeguarding…

Unseen Victims urges families of those arrested or jailed to prioritise their own safety and well-being above loyalty or ill informed doubt.

Our UK-based support, advice and advocacy organisation Unseen Victims has faced public scrutiny and criticism recently following on from encouraging robust safeguarding, which urges loved ones supporting someone accused or convicted of a crime to prioritise their own safety and the safety of their families—even when that means challenging someone they care about.

Today we are launching our latest campaign, titled “Protecting Yourself and Your Family”, we are hoping to spark debate for encouraging individuals to confront red flags, question harmful narratives, and avoid blindly defending one version of events.

“This message is not about alienating people from their loved ones—it’s about protecting them from becoming victims themselves,” said Emma Wells, founder of Unseen Victims. “In the last decade, I have personally supported countless individuals who believed they were doing the right thing by standing by someone—only to be harmed themselves emotionally, financially, or worse.”

Unseen Victims supports families navigating the UK criminal justice system, offering emotional guidance, advocacy, and peer support. The campaign has emerged in direct response to the pattern the organisation has seen repeatedly: people becoming secondary victims because they ignored early warnings or trusted a narrative that didn’t align with the facts.

“It’s far easier to dismiss red flags than it is to challenge them,” said Wells. “But that instinct to protect someone we care about should never come at the cost of our own wellbeing or the safety of our children.”

The campaign makes it clear: self-safeguarding is not betrayal—it’s essential. While some have raised concerns that this stance risks undermining the presumption of innocence, Unseen Victims maintains that supporting a person does not mean excusing dangerous or manipulative behaviour.

“We’ve seen individuals cover up abuse, ignore coercion, and justify controlling behaviour, all in the name of misplaced loyalty,” Wells said. “And every time, the aftermath is devastating. That’s why we are elevating this message now—and why we will not soften it.”

Unseen Victims provides guidance for families on setting boundaries, identifying manipulative behaviours, and accessing support, particularly in cases involving violence or sexual offences—where the risk to loved ones is often greatest.

This campaign also challenges victim-blaming and misinformation, which Wells says continue to silence survivors and protect many offenders.

“We are not judging families for believing someone they love—we are urging them to stay safe while doing so,” Wells explained. “Because no matter what someone is accused of you and your family come first. Every time.”

Unseen Victims is continuing to promote the campaign across the UK and welcomes open dialogue with professionals, survivors, and families.

“This is about breaking the cycle of silence and harm,” Wells said. “Because if we wait until someone becomes a victim to act, we’ve already failed them.”

#SafeguardingFirst #ProtectYourself #FamilySafetyMatters #SafetyBeforeLoyalty #RecogniseRedFlags #ChallengeHarmfulNarratives