About
Yasmin KhanCBE

Current and recent leadership.

Yasmin’s most recent national role was as the Welsh Government’s National Advisor on Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence, a position she held from 2018 to 2026. In that role she advised ministers and senior officials on the implementation of the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015. She chaired and co-chaired national working groups, and established the BME VAWG Survivor Group in response to the 2024 riots, influencing both policing and government policy.

She continues to lead the Halo Project, which she founded in 2011. In 2017 she established the first Black and minoritised refuge in the Tees Valley. She developed the United Kingdom’s first Forced Marriage and Honour-Based Violence case scrutiny group, which has since informed national practice.

In 2020 she authored the Tees Valley Inclusion Project’s first-ever police super-complaint, exposing widespread failures in the investigation of sexual abuse across England and Wales. The complaint led to systemic recommendations implemented in partnership with HMICFRS, the College of Policing, and the National Police Chiefs’ Council.

In 2022 she served as an independent panel member on the Cultural Review of the London Fire Brigade, focusing on violence against women, domestic abuse, and sexual violence. The review played a pivotal role in exposing entrenched misogyny and institutional racism, and shaped urgent reform.

She is a Governor of Teesside University, where she serves as International EDI Lead with responsibilities for standards and safeguarding.

Early career and community roles.

Yasmin’s earliest national work was on the Better Government for Older People programme between 1998 and 2000, contributing to the Middlesbrough pilot that involved older residents in shaping health, housing, transport, and community services.

From 2001 to 2007 she led the North East arm of the European Union EQUAL Programme, tackling xenophobia and creating employment and enterprise opportunities for Black and minority ethnic communities in Teesside. The project was recognised nationally as one of the most successful EQUAL initiatives in the United Kingdom.

She chaired the Cleveland Police Strategic Independent Advisory Group from 2003 to 2008, providing independent advice on diversity, community cohesion, and public confidence in policing. Between 2004 and 2008 she led procurement policy and strategy at Housing Hartlepool, embedding fairness, value for money, and inclusive practice into the organisation’s supply chains. From 2005 to 2011 she advised the Crown Prosecution Service North East Race Scrutiny Group on the fair treatment of communities and the impact of prosecutorial decisions in race and hate crime cases.

National and parliamentary engagement.

In 2014 Yasmin participated in a parliamentary briefing as part of a UK Summit on early childhood forced marriage and violence against women.

Since 2018 she has served as International Ambassador for the Honour Abuse Research Matrix, known as the HARM Network, representing the network internationally and promoting global awareness and research collaboration on honour-based abuse.