Having overcome a childhood marked by violence, abuse and neglect, Benjamin Perks has always drawn strength from an innate sense of optimism. Now Head of Campaigns and Advocacy at UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, he helps protect young people in similar situations all over the world.

“I think it was very clear that we were in a bad spot, though, being dealt a bad hand, but I was somehow optimistic that things would be better.”

Having recently authored a book about his experiences, Trauma Proof, Benjamin Perks reflects in this episode on a lifetime campaigning for all children to be safe, seen, and soothed, and on how an encounter with a special teacher put his life back on track.

“When I held my son in my arms, I knew that what had happened to me was now unimaginable to myself… that made me ask the question, if I can heal from it, if I can recover and not transmit it to my child, can we do this for the whole of humanity?”