Faustine Petron
(she/her)Young Leader 2026
Faustine is a Doctoral Researcher and multi-award-winning campaigner from the UK.
In 2022, she exposed and brought national attention to a previously overlooked policy loophole: Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) was not mandated beyond the age of 16, despite young people aged 16–19 being at increased risk of domestic abuse and legally required to remain in education until they turned 18.
While still an undergraduate at the University of Cambridge, Faustine founded the Make It Mandatory campaign, calling on the British government to mandate RSE for all young people up to the age of 18. The campaign aimed to ensure teenagers had access to education on vital issues such as healthy relationships, consent, coercive control, and image-based sexual abuse.Her petition on Change.org has attracted over 106,000 signatures, and she has worked closely with survivors, expert organisations, and policymakers to push for this change in the law. Following years of sustained campaigning, the UK government committed to mandating RSE up to age 18 in February 2026.
Alongside her activism, Faustine continues to research and speak publicly on preventative education while undertaking a PhD drawing on Black feminist theory to explore women’s resistance and activism against gendered and state violence in Britain.