Advocacy, integrity and acts of resistance: being brave in times of adversity – some more personal thoughts by Gus Ironside, Senior Advocacy Coordinator

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In last month’s blog, I shared my reflections on advocacy in a new era of normalised misogyny. In the space of a few short weeks since that post, dramatic developments have taken place in the Western world that have massive implications for human rights, democracy and our fundamental freedoms. Extreme misogyny continues to be the signature characteristic shared by the motley collection of exceedingly powerful but shockingly nihilistic men now shaping all our lives, reaching its full crystallisation with the arrival in America of the alleged rapists and sex traffickers, Andrew and Tristan Tate.

I have been deeply struck by the stark contrast in character of politicians and billionaires such as Donald Trump, JD Vance, Kemi Badenoch, Nigel Farage, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, and the colleagues I work alongside every day as an Independent Advocate at Connected Voice Advocacy. Having now moved in to a management role as Senior Advocacy Coordinator, I am extremely proud of the personal integrity of the outstanding advocates in our team.

Integrity is a key personal attribute necessary for the advocacy role. Independent Advocates have to be free from conflict of interest, be independent, and have clarity of purpose in order to be truly person-led when amplifying the voices of the people we advocate for and empowering them to take action. As Independent Advocates, we are in a very privileged position; we build strong, trusting relationships with some of the most vulnerable and marginalised people in our communities. Every day we challenge people in positions of authority, from psychiatrists to social workers, benefits agencies and chief executive officers. In order to do this, advocates have to be very clear in our intent and we have to be brave, sometimes being the only dissenting voice in a room full of authority figures.

The current crisis of leadership in the Western world has seen immensely rich and powerful men such as Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg meekly acquiesce with the increasingly authoritarian Trump administration in the US Government; Bezos recently ordered the newspaper he owns, The Washington Post, to write every day “in support and defence of two pillars; personal liberties and free markets…viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others”. In other words, The Washington Post writers now have to fall in line with the themes of the Trump administration, rather than holding the US Government to account, as it has previously done. Similarly, Meta CEO Zuckerberg responded to the incoming administration by removing independent third party fact-checking from all of Meta’s social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads. 

Clearly, great wealth and power are no guarantors of personal integrity. As the extent of the new age of authoritarianism becomes clear, many US and UK citizens of good heart are urgently considering how they can take action to defend human rights and democracy and fight for social justice. Many citizen activists are looking for and sharing ideas for acts of resistance.

Independent Advocates are a rich source of knowledge, skills and experience in relation to acts of resistance, and the actions we take in our professional roles are often transferable to informal advocacy. Acts of resistance are also acts of empowerment: 

We all need to be brave, step up, and take action in times of adversity. We do not know how 2025 will continue to unfold, but events in America are likely to continue to have a significant impact on the UK. The VCSE sector is in a unique position to provide support and share information as we head into deeply troubled and unchartered waters, politically.  

At Connected Voice, we are always looking at how we can connect people and address unmet need in our sector and communities and we provide a wide range of services and training. Follow us on our website, social media, email newsletters, or Connected Voice magazine.