Aneeta Prem MBE founded Freedom Charity in 2009 and is Chief Executive of TNA UK, The Facial Pain Charity. She is known for her work on forced marriage, FGM, dishonour abuse, children’s safeguarding and trigeminal neuralgia. Her experience spans frontline charity leadership, public service, government and parliamentary work, national media commentary and living with bilateral trigeminal neuralgia.
About Aneeta Prem MBE
Aneeta Prem MBE is an author, campaigner, magistrate and charity leader. She has spent her public life bringing difficult subjects into the open, from forced marriage and FGM to hidden neurological pain, and making sure people know where to find help.
Born and raised in Bethnal Green, within the sound of London’s Bow Bells, Aneeta has family roots in Himachal Pradesh, India, known as the Land of the Gods. Her father, Chandra Shekhar Prem, was an author, poet and educator who served as Principal of Republic College, an all-girls’ college in India. His belief in education helped shape Aneeta’s own understanding of what becomes possible when girls are given knowledge, confidence and opportunity. Her mother remains a much-loved and constant source of strength.
Freedom Charity and safeguarding
In 2009, Aneeta founded Freedom Charity with Lord Toby Harris to challenge forced marriage, female genital mutilation and related forms of coercion and control.
Aneeta uses the term “dishonour abuse”, rather than the official term “honour-based abuse”, because she believes that dishonour belongs to the perpetrator, never the victim.
Freedom Charity works to prevent abuse through education, safeguarding awareness, public campaigns and practical routes to specialist help. Through the charity, Aneeta has worked with children, schools, professionals, policymakers and communities to improve understanding of abuse, strengthen protection and encourage earlier intervention.
More than 100,000 copies of Aneeta’s safeguarding novels, But It’s Not Fair and Cut Flowers, have been donated through Freedom Charity to schools, young people, professionals and community organisations.
For Aneeta, prevention education is a vital part of child protection. Children need the language and confidence to recognise when something is wrong, understand that abuse is never their fault and know where they can seek help safely.
Books and education
Aneeta wrote But It’s Not Fair and Cut Flowers to help begin conversations that children and adults can otherwise find difficult.
The novels explore forced marriage, female genital mutilation, consent, pressure, secrecy, friendship and the importance of approaching a trusted adult. They are written for young people and for the parents, teachers and safeguarding professionals responsible for their welfare.
The books are supported by lesson plans designed for PSHE teaching as part of Aneeta’s wider commitment to prevention education. They are not a substitute for established safeguarding procedures or specialist professional support.
Trigeminal neuralgia and patient voice
Aneeta became Chief Executive of Trigeminal Neuralgia Association UK in 2020. Her leadership is informed by her own experience of bilateral trigeminal neuralgia, the years she spent seeking an explanation for her pain and the microvascular decompression surgery she underwent in 2019.
Living with trigeminal neuralgia has given Aneeta a deeply personal understanding of persistent pain, hidden disability and what can happen when people feel that their experiences are not being heard.
Her work with TNA UK focuses on patient support, public understanding and ensuring that the voices of people affected by trigeminal neuralgia and facial pain are represented. She brings the same qualities to health advocacy that have guided her safeguarding work: persistence, compassion and a belief that every person deserves to be taken seriously.
Public service
Aneeta has served as a magistrate since 2002, sitting in adult, family and youth courts. She has also contributed to the recruitment, training and mentoring of other magistrates.
As a former member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, Aneeta’s responsibilities included standards, estates and property, forced marriage and female genital mutilation. She is also a trustee of The Neurological Alliance and co-chair of Learn About Britain.
Earlier in her life, Aneeta became the first qualified female Black Belt karate instructor in the UK. Teaching karate strengthened her understanding of confidence and personal safety, as well as the pressures experienced by girls and young women.
Across her work in justice, safeguarding, education and health, Aneeta has remained guided by the same principle: people should not have to fight alone to be heard, protected or believed.
Recognition
In 2015, Aneeta received an honorary doctorate from the University of Winchester in recognition of her contribution to human rights and education.
She has been named by the Evening Standard as one of London’s most influential people and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2023 New Year Honours for charitable services.
Beyond public life
Behind Aneeta’s public work is a life grounded in family, loyalty and friendship. She values writing, quiet time and the companionship of her Shar-Pei, India.
Her public record covers difficult and sometimes painful subjects, but the purpose behind it is hopeful: to give people knowledge, confidence and a better chance of being safe, supported and heard.
I was born and raised in Bethnal Green, within the sound of London’s Bow Bells. My public life has been shaped by a simple conviction: people should not be abandoned because abuse is hidden, pain is invisible, or those in authority fail to listen.
In 2009, I founded Freedom Charity because forced marriage and FGM were still being hidden behind culture, family pressure and silence. The charity works with children, schools, professionals and families, while providing clear routes to specialist help.
My campaigning helped move forced marriage from a hidden family issue into a matter of criminal law, safeguarding and public protection. I have also worked to strengthen awareness of child marriage, virginity testing, FGM and the wider systems of coercion that can trap people in fear.
Living with trigeminal neuralgia has shaped my work as CEO of TNA UK, The Facial Pain Charity. I have worked to strengthen patient voice, helpline support, expert webinars, digital access and practical information for people affected by trigeminal neuralgia and facial pain.
I am also the author of two safeguarding novels used in PSHE teaching, But It’s Not Fair and Cut Flowers. These books help children, schools, families and professionals talk safely about abuse, pressure, secrecy, consent and the right to seek help. Through Freedom Charity, more than 100,000 copies have been donated to children, schools, professionals and community settings.
My work is rooted in one belief: no child should be trapped by fear, no person should be silenced by pain, and no one should be left unheard when the right help could change, or save, their life.
I bring safeguarding, law, education and lived experience together to turn difficult issues into practical change.
For expert commentary, government or parliamentary briefings, speaking invitations, safeguarding education and partnership enquiries, contact Aneeta through the appropriate route.
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“We have the power—and the duty—to end abuse and isolation. Together, we can save lives.”
For journalists, producers and event organisers
Aneeta Prem MBE is available for interviews and speaking on safeguarding, forced marriage, FGM, dishonour abuse, violence against women and girls, trigeminal neuralgia and patient voice.
