Photo competition winner shows 'good society' in action

A photo of a young girl giving evidence in court has won our members' photography competition, held to illustrate the positive impact charities have on individuals and communities and capture the good society in action.

Victim Support, a charity for victims and witnesses of crime, submitted the image to demonstrate a typical court scene, because photography is not allowed during real court proceedings. More than 40 charities entered the competition and the judges selected the winner from a shortlist of ten photos.

Martyn Lewis, NCVO chair and broadcaster, announced that Victim Support was the winner at a drinks reception at our Annual Conference yesterday. All ten shortlisted photos were on show at the reception.
 
Victim Support will receive a cheque for £100 to help with their work to support people affected by crime.

Paul Fawcett, head of marketing and communications at Victim Support, said:

"We submitted this image because we felt it beautifully illustrated the alienation that young people can still face as a witness in court. Children have to give evidence every day and even with special measures to help protect them, it's still a difficult and potentially frightening environment for them. Restrictions on photography in court made this a hard situation to portray but the image is such a powerful way of communicating a complex and important message."

Martyn Lewis, NCVO chair, said:

"This has been a truly inspirational competition. The quality of entries has been fantastic all round. The photographs clearly convey and highlight the important work voluntary and community organisations are doing up and down the country to build a good society."

The competition judges were Martyn Lewis and Guardian photographer Eamonn McCabe. The competition was sponsored by print company c3imaging.