What do we mean by “People with Lived Experience”?

People with lived experience means someone who has personally experienced an issue, such as someone who has been homeless, experienced racism, or been sexually abused. People who advocate from their lived experience also likely have built up learned experience – such as healthcare qualifications, skills learned from professional development, and knowledge gleaned from community organising. Thus, some people who have lived experience of the same issues will have different learned experience from each other. Sometimes people with lived experience refer to themselves as survivors, but this language has often been prescriptive within criminal legal systems or nongovernmental organisations focused on crime victims. (- The Meaningful Engagement Handbook)

Resources: Meaningful Engagement Handbook

Recommended citation: “People with Lived Experience.” Movement Glossary. Collective Threads Initiative, 2026. https://www.collectivethreads.org (date accessed).