Hostage International announces new patron on International Women’s Day

As part of our bid to increase awareness of Hostage International and the plight of those we assist, we are pleased to announce that Judith Tebbutt has agreed to be a patron for the charity.

Jude was taken hostage by Somali pirates in September 2011 while she and her husband were on holiday on the Kenyan coast. Her husband David was killed during the kidnap and Judith was taken hostage and held in solitary confinement for six months.

This International Women’s Day, we want to highlight how women are affected by hostage-taking. In the past 12 months we have seen that 28 of the 55 individuals we are working to support have been women.

These include women who have been kidnapped, held in arbitrary detention or those loved ones who have been affected by having a loved one taken captive – mothers, daughters, sisters.

Explaining her wish to further support our charity, Jude said:

“I’ve been involved with Hostage International for many years as a trustee and decided to take a step back from the governance side of things, but I wanted to keep in touch and I enjoy being able to support the charity in a way that helps raise awareness of its work.

“Hostage International exists to support people like me, who have survived the experience of being taken hostage, but also to help the families of those who have had a loved one taken.

“It is nothing short of an extraordinary and brutal situation to live through, but we are on a journey and Hostage International is there to guide people through these exceptional circumstances.”

The charity supports the families of those who have been taken outside their home country, and while we can’t get involved with the resolution of these situations, we have a dedicated team of staff and volunteers who provide bespoke support to every individual throughout their trauma.

Jude added: “I’m looking forward to this role and it will be great to be working alongside fellow former hostage, John McCarthy CBE. As with many hostages and families affected, we all have our own individual and usually very different experiences, but often find that we have a connection and I hope that through this patronage I will be able to help others to connect and better understand the work of this valuable charity.”

International Women’s Day 8.03.23

Jude is pictured above, and to the left with fellow patron John McCarthy CBE.