The Human Rights Factor // Vicki Prais - Human Rights Lawyer, Podcaster, Writer + Mentor

Episode Notes

What an enlightening conversation with Vicki Prais. Having taken a commercial legal career path, my lens on  the human rights legal sphere is rather limited, however, it's such an important area as human rights impact us all at a personal level. So, I loved speaking with Vicki about her career path and various human rights issues - it was incredibly thought provoking.  

Vicki Prais is a human rights lawyer, podcaster, writer and mentor. We chatted about everything from current and topical human rights issues impacting the world right now (including freedom of expression and bodily autonomy) to Vicki’s podcast “The Passion Factor” which helps those navigating a career in human rights.

It was so interesting to hear about Vicki’s career in human rights and the impactful work she has been involved which is centred around dignity behind bars, torture prevention, prisoners’ rights and prison reform. “London is my home but the world is my workplace” captures the spirit and international reach of Vicki’s work so well, which has taken her working on a myriad of projects from Kosovo to Geneva.

We dived into restrictions on freedom of speech and expression in the context of a report that Vicki is working on at the moment relating to creatives and academics in Belarus and how censorship is playing out at a wider global level. 

I was particularly curious to find out, via a human rights lens, the issues around the vaccine roll out and where rights to medical freedom and bodily autonomy sit amongst any attempt to make this mandatory.

Finally, I love how Vicki explained that being a lawyer “plus” is what makes her Legally Different - a lawyer plus....a podcaster, mentor and writer. There certainly seems to be movement towards the “lawyer plus”, which I believe is healthy in order to grow beyond singular labels, and Vicki is such an inspiring example of this!

In this episode we cover:-

Vicki’s path into law and a human rights careerComing from a family of lawyers and having a passion for individual civil libertiesVolunteering at a prison creche whilst at UniversityInternational experience in Geneva with human rights organisations helping the UNA masters in human rights and civil liberties.Qualifying as a solicitor and working in immigration and asylum lawCurrent legal career Going solo - 24 years in Vicki craved autonomy and decided to be her own boss in 2019 August and is now an independent human rights consultantKey areas – dignity behind bars, torture prevention, prisoners rights and prison reformCurrent work – ‘typical’ day / week (although there’s no such things as typical human rights)Current interesting  project – a report on ill treatment of creatives and academics in BelarusVicki’s proudest work momentCurrent human rights issuesFreedom of speech / expression – Belarus and beyondIssues around the current pandemicVaccine roll out and the human rights stance on making it mandatoryNon-lawyer projects + passionsWriting a monthly column for Comment CentralVicki’s podcast “The Passion Factor”Mentorship – supporting young professionalsPersonal Mental and emotional health when doing tough work focusing on human livesThe concept of “proper selfishness”What Vicki would tell her younger self if she could have a chat with her!Why Vicki is Legally Different

CONTACT INFO + LINKS

Vicki's website

Vicki's Twitter

Vicki's LinkedIn

Legally Different:-

Instagram:@legallydifferent Email: [email protected]

Thank you for tuning in!

Lauren