About Us
Prevent Watch is an independent, community-led initiative which supports people impacted by Prevent.Â
We are the only organisation in the UK dedicated exclusively to monitoring, documenting, and providing casework support to individuals and families affected by the Prevent Duty.
Our work gives us a direct, evidence-based window into how Prevent operates in practice and how its harms are experienced disproportionately by communities.
- With over 10 years of experience, we have supported 850 cases to challenge Prevent.
- We are at the forefront of efforts to remove the Prevent strategy, and we advocate for this within local communities and to councils, Parliament and the UN.
- Our cases feature in over 20 reports calling for the withdrawal of Prevent, including by Amnesty International, Runnymede Trust, RSI, CRIN and others.
Dr Layla Aitlhadj and Anna Sekular are the Directors and Senior Caseworkers at Prevent Watch, and have been supporting people impacted by Prevent since 2017.
Having supported 850 cases involving Prevent, together they have the most diverse and extensive case experience of how Prevent plays out in different contexts.
Layla has published extensively on Prevent and its broader implications across multiple platforms, as well as contributed to and co-ordinated submissions to numerous international rights bodies. She continues to represent Prevent Watch in workshops, forums and presentations and in briefings to policymakers and oversight bodies.
Anna has a diverse and in-depth case knowledge, grown from supporting individuals and families through our helpline and tailoring the follow up in every case to ensure those who contact us achieve their desired outcomes. She has also presented on behalf of Prevent Watch at various conferences in the UK and globally.
Our Services
We provide a FREE help line and support services for people impacted by Prevent.Â
Our cases inform reports and briefing papers by us and other NGOs. Â
If our case study subjects agree, we use their voices to inform media material.Â
We maintain a directory of lawyers to support cases so rights are protected.Â
Our Impact
Almost 9000 individuals were targeted by Prevent last year. Of these, 31% were aged 14 and under, and over 50% were under 20.
At Prevent Watch, 70% of our cases involve children. At least 80% of these child clients come from referrals made in the education sector, making the securitisation of schools and educational discourse a core concern.Â
Our free helpline receives between 15-20 calls per month, depending on the political context at any given time. Â
Of these calls, many are from people who think they or their children may have encountered Prevent but are not sure. Many children who are referred to Prevent have autistic traits that have been conflated with extremism.Â
Of our calls that develop into cases, most of them involve:Â Â
- Parents who are anxious their children will be taken away
- Anxiety and harm related to family life intrusions via Prevent
- Trauma related to the long-term impact of data collection and retention
We use all our cases as evidence of the harms of Prevent, but only with the permission of our clients. We always protect their identities. Â
Our cases are cited by organisations and read by key figures, and we maintain a constant dialogue with them, identifying emerging trends and providing sources from the frontline against Prevent.Â
We are pleased that 95% of individuals who reach out to Prevent Watch fully achieve their desired outcomes.Â
People’s Review
of Prevent Launch
The People’s Review of Prevent (PROP) provides an alternative to the 2024 government review, which dismissed criticisms of Prevent.
When 100 groups boycotted participating in the government review, we co-authored this report with the support of our advisors and clients.Â
We believe that academic analysis should be strongly case-based. This is because annual Prevent statistics are misleading.
Annual Events
Take a glimpse of our previous events.
2025
2024
2022
2021
2020
2025
2024
2022
2021
2020
Download our annual reports
