What do we mean by “Meaningful Engagement”?

Meaningful engagement means ensuring that people who are or have been impacted by an issue are essential partners in developing, implementing, and evaluating the effectiveness of strategies to address the issue. While there are many ways to measure whether engagement is meaningful, the ultimate test of “meaningfulness” is whether or not the participants feel a sense of belonging in the process. Meaningful engagement of people with lived experience of violence begins at the moment you realise someone might be experiencing violence. Meaningful engagement of people with lived experience of violence begins at the moment you realise someone might be experiencing violence. (-The Meaningful Engagement Handbook)

Resources: CTI’s Meaningful Engagement Toolbox, We Name It So We Can Repair It: Rethinking Harm and Accountability in the Anti-Trafficking Sector

Recommended citation: “Meaningful Engagement.” Movement Glossary. Collective Threads Initiative, 2026. https://www.collectivethreads.org (date accessed).