Fiona Ryan was appointed as the first Northern Ireland Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse in 2020 by the First and Deputy First Ministers. 
Fiona’s role is to represent and promote the interests of victims and survivors who were abused as children in residential institutions in Northern Ireland between 1922 and 1995, as set out in the Historical Institutional Abuse (Northern Ireland) Act 2019. As Commissioner, Fiona understands that the trauma of child abuse can have a deep and lasting impact. Her work focuses firmly on listening to and supporting victims and survivors, understanding their priorities and working to ensure that their needs are recognised and addressed. Since the Office opened in 2020, Fiona and her team have engaged with approximately 1,200 victims and survivors. Prior to her appointment as Commissioner, Fiona was the Chief Executive of Sonas Domestic Violence Charity, the largest provider of frontline support services to women and child victims of domestic abuse in the Republic of Ireland. A member of the monitoring committee of the National Strategy for Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence in the Republic of Ireland, Fiona has advocated on behalf of victims and monitored government commitments to victims under the strategy. |