Standards for Employing Formers in P/CVE

The active involvement or employment of former extremists (Formers) in preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) has been a feature of the P/CVE landscape for over a decade. While divisive, a consensus is emerging that what is considered productive involvement of Formers is dependent on several factors related to the individual, the programme type, and the geographical and political context of the PCVE intervention. For years, leaders in the PCVE field have argued that standards are needed to delineate these factors and to guide PCVE programmes that choose to include Formers. The Involving Formers project entailed extensive dialogue and consensus-building efforts between international practitioners (including Formers) and academics working with Formers, manifesting through a series of international conferences, an edited book, and a Delphi study utilising interviews and surveys. This report presents the international expert consensus on the standards that programmes involving Formers in PCVE should adopt to safeguard programmes, service users, and staff. The standards cover areas such as hiring and screening practices, compensation and professional support, and programme structures. We recommend that PCVE programmes, practitioners, and funders working in this space should: a) publicly promote the standards to facilitate their recognition as third-party voluntary standards; b) develop reasonable plans to implement and provide feedback on the standards in their own practices; and c) support the establishment of a body to locate and support the wider development of standards in P/CVE for all practitioners.