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VISION/VASC Webinar Series: Into the Light Index

    We are pleased to announce our next webinar for the VISION and Violence & Society Centre (VASC) Webinar Series on Tuesday, 21 January, 1100 – 1150.

    Deborah Fry, Director of Data at Childlight – Global Child Safety Institute and Professor of International Child Protection Research at University of Edinburgh, will present on the Into the Light Index, published last year on the prevalence of technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and abuse. She will also discuss some of the measurement challenges in this field and how they are documenting and exploring those challenges.

    Professor Fry undertakes primary research to measure the magnitude, drivers and consequences of violence against children, barriers and enablers to appropriate prevention and response systems including in school settings and the effectiveness of existing interventions.

    She leads the data division at Childlight – Global Child Safety Institute. The Data Institute, funded by the Human Dignity Foundation, aims to take a data driven, evidence-based approach to understanding the prevalence of child sexual exploitation and abuse across the globe and translating that data into sustainable action that safeguards children. The mission is to establish a world leading independent institute that gathers, translates and visualises the prevalence of child sexual exploitation and abuse across the world.  

    To register for the event in order to receive the Teams invitation, please contact: VISION_Management_Team@city.ac.uk

    The purpose of the VISION/VASC webinar series is to provide a platform for academia, government and the voluntary and community sector that work to reduce and prevent violence to present their work / research to a wider audience. This is a multidisciplinary platform and we welcome speakers from across a variety of fields such as health, crime, policing, ethnicity, migration, sociology, social work, primary care, front line services, etc. If interested in presenting at a future Series webinar, please contact: VISION_Management_Team@city.ac.uk

    This webinar series is sponsored by the UK Prevention and Research Partnership consortium, Violence, Health and Society (VISION; MR-V049879) and the Violence and Society Centre at City St George’s, University of London.

    Empowering voices against ‘honour’-based abuse: A call to action

      There is an urgent need for specialist support for Middle Eastern, North African (MENA) and Afghan women and girls living in the UK, with many facing the particular risk of ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA).  On 18 October, the women’s rights organisation IKWRO held the impactful “Celebrating Courage: Empowering Voices Against Honour-Based Abuse” conference. It was hosted at City St George’s and proudly supported by the Violence and Society Centre (VASC) and VISION consortium.

      The powerful event featured art, presentations, panels, film, and spoken word performances that shed light on the often-overlooked experiences of ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) and the urgent need for education and prevention.

      HBA disproportionately affects women and girls, it frequently goes unrecognised and is often conflated with domestic violence. Through this event, IKWRO, VASC and VISION aimed to illuminate the unique aspects of HBA and foster a deeper understanding of its implications.

      A diverse group of speakers, including survivors, advocates, lawyers, and researchers, shared their insights and experiences. This included powerful testimonies from victims/survivors, bravely recounting their experiences of HBA. Their voices resonated throughout the room, creating a sense of solidarity and support, while also providing a safe space for discussion.

      Over 100 people attended. A conference highlight was the strong presence of representatives from police and central government. Their attendance demonstrated a commitment to addressing HBA and offered them and other attendees a unique opportunity to engage directly with key figures at the forefront of the fight against HBA.

      One salient moment during the conference occurred when VISION researcher Dr Ladan Hashemi, during the discussion with the police officers regarding enhancements to law enforcement responses, emphasised that “violence constitutes violence, and abuse constitutes abuse, regardless of an individual’s identity or background. It is essential for law enforcement agencies to acknowledge their obligation to prevent and mitigate HBA in the United Kingdom”.

      The event also featured innovative approaches to communicating the issue of violence through art and spoken word. These forms of expression not only captivated the audience but also fostered a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding HBA. By bringing art into a conference setting, IKWRO, VASC and VISION wanted to highlight the positive impact of creative communication, showcasing the experiences of survivors and the urgent need for change.

      In honour of the International Day of the Girl Child, this event was an important step toward raising awareness about HBA and the specific challenges faced by women and girls in the UK to police, government, specialist services, academic researchers and the general public.  A world free of abuse and violence requires the prevention of HBA, and for IKWRO that starts in their home base of London.

      Key to the event was the organisation and support of VISION’s Knowledge Exchange Manager, Kimberly Cullen, and Dr Hashemi. IKWRO, VISION, and VACS will continue to work collaboratively to elevate the voices of survivors and advocate for meaningful change in the fight against ‘honour’-based abuse.

      Photo caption: IKWRO and VISION. Photograph supplied by IKWRO.

      Report launch: A transformative justice framework to address adolescent relationship abuse

        This event is in the past.

        Despite a general awareness of the prevalence of harm young people are experiencing in their relationships, there is little data and evidence supporting the prevention of and responses to such harm through the adoption of a survivor centred transformative justice approach.

        Talia Kensit, founder and former CEO of Youth Realities, explored adolescent domestic abuse as a Fellow with the Churchill Fellowship, a UK charity which supports individual UK citizens to follow their passion for change, through learning from the world and bringing that knowledge back to the UK.

        Her travels and research resulted in Prevention, Intervention and Healing: Addressing Adolescent Relationship Abuse, a framework of best practice upheld by the theory of transformative justice. It is Talia’s recommendation that in order to address the epidemic of harm experienced by young people in their intimate relationships, we must implement polices and practice through prevention, intervention and healing.

        The Violence & Society Centre at City St George’s, UoL, and the UK Prevention Research Partnership VISION consortium are pleased to host Talia’s Churchill report launch on Wednesday 6 November from 4 – 6 pm at City St George’s, UoL, Clerkenwell campus.

        Talia will also be joined by:

        •  Ruth Weir, City St George’s, UoL, Taking a collaborative approach to understanding more about abuse in teenage relationships
        • Christine Barter, University of Central Lancashire, Qualitative findings looking at the nature and impact of IPVA in young people’s relationships
        • Jeff Temple, University of Texas, Dating violence prevention program: implementation and effectiveness

        Seating, drinks and nibbles will be provided.

        To register for the event: Select tickets – Report launch: A transformative justice framework to address adolescent relationship abuse – City St George’s , University of London, Clerkenwell campus (tickettailor.com)

        For questions about the event: violenceandsociety@city.ac.uk

        All those registering will receive an email by 30 October from the Violence and Society Centre with the room and building number where the launch will be held on our Clerkenwell campus.

        New book & upcoming launch- Tackling Domestic Abuse & Sexual Violence: A Systems Approach

          This event is in the past.

          Tackling Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence: A Systems Approach is a newly edited collection, curated by University of Suffolk colleagues, Dr Olumide Adisa (and Co-Investigator at VISION, and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Violence & Society Centre, City St George’s) and Professor Emma Bond, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research and Knowledge Exchange.

          The book’s chapters use retrospective case studies to engage with a systems approach to discover new thinking and applications that may best suit the area of domestic abuse and sexual violence (DASV). All the chapters showcase systems approaches in varying ways to ignite new inquiries and conversations about grappling with the greater complexity of problems.

          Dr Adisa and Professor Bond, together with their collaborators, will launch the book at a special event at City St. George’s University of London on Tuesday, 26 November at 5.30 pm. They will explain the book and share their inspiration for the themes covered. A panel of speakers will share their collective vision for systems change in tackling DASV in different systems. The event will also feature poetry (spoken word) performances based on lived/living experiences of domestic abuse and as a survivor-centred response to the book’s themes.  

          Dr Adisa said:

          “I am incredibly excited about the launch event. I have been overwhelmed by the positive and heartwarming reaction to the book from those committed to tackling the problem of DASV and those sadly affected by DASV. I have been impressed with the brilliant contributions made by all the authors who are deeply committed to bringing about change. This event is an opportunity to hear from some amazing speakers and forge new encounters and connections, united in our quest to reduce DASV and mitigate its devastating impact on children, families, and communities.”

          Professor Sally McManus, Director of the Violence and Society Centre, and Co-Deputy Director, VISION, said:

          “Dr Adisa works at the forefront of systems thinking. This new collection – co-curated with Prof Bond – brings a radical new approach to addressing violence and abuse, rooted in diverse real-world examples of challenge and change. The book houses many rich voices, distinct yet drawn together through common themes of complexity and hope.”

          Please join Dr Adisa, Professor Bond, and their fellow collaborators at their 26 November book launch at The Pavilion, University Building, City St George’s, from 5:30 – 7 pm. Drinks and nibbles will be provided.

          Registration is required for this free event: Select tickets – Book launch: Tackling Domestic Abuse & Sexual Violence – A Systems Approach – The Pavilion, University Building, City, University of London (tickettailor.com).

          This book launch is hosted by the UK Prevention and Research Partnership consortium, Violence, Health and Society (VISION) (MR-V049879) and the Violence and Society Centre at City, University of London (VASC).

          VISION/VASC Webinar Series: Measuring the global burden of morbidity associated with violence against women and children

            This event is in the past.

            We are pleased to announce our next webinar for the VISION and Violence & Society Centre (VASC) Webinar Series on Tuesday, 1 October 2024, 1300 – 1350.

            Joht Chandan, Clinical Professor of Public Health at the University of Birmingham, will present his research on measuring the global burden of morbidity associated with violence against women and children.

            Joht has spent considerable time working on designing and delivering a public health approach to abuse and violence. This includes research into finding what works to support survivors of violence, abuse and maltreatment as well as methods to improve surveillance in the context of violence against women and children. For example, his research has shown that survivors of domestic abuse are nearly three times more likely to suffer from mental ill health during their lifetime and have above-average rates of diabetes, heart disease and death.    

            To register for the event in order to receive the Teams invitation, please contact: VISION_Management_Team@city.ac.uk

            The purpose of the series is to provide a platform for academia, government and the voluntary and community sector that work to reduce and prevent violence to present their work / research to a wider audience. This is a multidisciplinary platform and we welcome speakers from across a variety of fields such as health, crime, policing, ethnicity, migration, sociology, social work, primary care, front line services, etc. If interested in presenting at a future Series webinar, please contact: VISION_Management_Team@city.ac.uk

            The VISION/VASC Webinar Series is sponsored by the UK Prevention and Research Partnership consortium, Violence, Health and Society (MR-V049879) and the Violence and Society Centre at City, University of London.

            Celebrating courage: Empowering voices against honour-based abuse

              This event is in the past. For further information on ‘honour’-based abuse and how the event went, please see our blog, Empowering voices against ‘honour’-based abuse: A call to action – City Vision.

              Join IKWRO and the UKPRP VISION consortium for an enlightening and impactful event dedicated to raising awareness and understanding of ‘honour’-based abuse.

              We are proud to partner with women’s rights organisation, IKWRO, and host their upcoming event, Celebrating courage: Empowering voices against honour-based abuse, Friday 18 October 2024 at City, UoL.

              IKWRO works to safeguard and empower women and girls against ‘honour-based’ abuse across the UK. Their mission is to advance Middle Eastern, North African, and Afghan women’s and girls’ rights, tackle discrimination and violence against women and girls, and empower women and girls to access their rights and entitlements in the UK. 

              In honour of the International Day of the Girl Child, this in-person event is dedicated to raising awareness and understanding of “honour”-based abuse, which is predominantly suffered by women and girls.

              Professionals, students, survivors, and anyone interested in understanding and combating honour-based abuse are welcome. This is an opportunity to learn from experts, connect with others in the field, and contribute to a meaningful dialogue on this important issue.

              Event Highlights

              • Panel Discussions with a Q&A Session: An open forum for attendees to engage with our speakers and ask questions about honour-based abuse and how to tackle it effectively.
              • Experts in the field will discuss the nuances of honour-based abuse, its identification, and the challenges in differentiating it from domestic violence.
              • Survivors and advocates will share their personal stories and discuss support systems and empowerment strategies.

              Event Details

              Presentations from the 2024 VISION Annual Conference

                The presentations from the 3rd VISION annual conference are now available for downloading.

                The event was held at Kings College London, Strand campus, on 11 June. The theme was Violence prevention in research and policy: Bridging silos. Keynote speakers, Dr Claudia Garcia-Moreno (World Health Organisation) and Professor Katrin Hohl (City, UoL) considered the changes needed for effective violence prevention from the perspectives of health and justice. Three symposiums highlighted interdisciplinary research from the VISION consortium and partners on:

                – Violence against older people: Challenges in research and policy;

                – Learning across statutory review practices: Origins, ambitions and future directions; and

                – Responding to experiences and expressions of interpersonal violence in the workplace

                Approximately 80 academics, central and local government officials, practitioners, and voluntary and community sector organisations attended from a range of health and crime / justice disciplines.

                All the slides that could be shared are available below. Please feel free to download.

                Photo caption: Symposium 3, ‘Responding to experiences and expressions of interpersonal violence in the workplace’. From left to right: Chair, Dr Olumide Adisa (University of Suffolk) and Panellists Dr Vanessa Gash (City, UoL), Dr Alison Gregory (Alison Gregory Consulting), Catherine Buglass (Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse) and Dr Niels Blom (City, UoL)

                Professor Gene Feder, VISION Director – Welcome – 1 download

                Welcome_VISION-Annual-Conference-2024Download

                Keynote Speaker, Dr Claudia Garcia-Moreno – Violence against women: From research to policy and action – 1 download

                Keynote-Speaker-2_Research-to-policy-and-action_2Download

                Symposium 1 – Violence against older people: Challenges in research and policy – 4 downloads (Hourglass, Office for National Statistics, Public Health Wales & VISION)

                Symposium-1_Older-people-and-violence_HourglassDownload
                Symposium-1_Older-people-and-violence_ONSDownload
                Symposium-1_Older-people-and-violence_PHWDownload
                Symposium-1_Older-people-and-violence_VISIONDownload

                Symposium 2 – Learning across statutory review practices: Origins, ambitions and future directions – 1 download

                Symposium-2_Statutory-Review-Practice_AllDownload

                Symposium 3 – Responding to experiences and expressions of interpersonal violence in the workplace – 3 downloads (Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse, and 2 from VISION)

                Symposium-3_Violence-and-the-workplace_VISIONDownload
                Symposium-3_Violence-and-the-workplace_EIDADownload
                Symposium-3_Violence-and-the-workplace_VISION-2Download

                VISION researchers presenting at UK Data Service Health Studies Conference 2024

                  This event is in the past.

                  Two researchers of the VISION consortium project presented at the Health Studies Conference in July.

                  Dr Elizabeth Cook, Senior Lecturer at City, University of London, presented Indirect victims of violence: mental health and the close relatives of serious assault victims in England.

                  Dr Annie Bunce, Research Fellow at City, University of London, presented Prevalence and nature of workplace bullying and harassment and associations with mental health conditions in England: a cross-sectional probability sample survey

                  The free event was on 1 July at University College London (UCL) and organised by the UK Data Service in collaboration with UCL and the National Centre for Social Research. The conference provided updates from the data producers of key UK social surveys with health-related content, such as the Health Survey for England, Understanding Society and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. There were also presentations by researchers who conducted analyses using health data.

                  Register for the event

                  Illustration at top of page is from licensed Adobe Stock library

                  Book launch: The Ethics of Surveillance in Times of Emergency

                    This event is in the past.

                    The Ethics of Surveillance in Times of Emergency, edited by Kevin Macnish and Adam Henschke

                    Join us for the launch of this exciting, open-source, edited collection from Oxford University Press

                    29 April, Monday, 6  – 7:30 pm

                    The Pavilion (ground floor), University Building

                    City, University of London EC1V 0HB

                    How do we respond to emergencies in ways that are both consistent with democratic and community principles, and that are ethically justifiable? Emergencies place stress on existing infrastructure and communities, and put significant pressure on democratic decision-making. What have we learnt from pandemic surveillance about the challenge of acting in times of emergency? How can philosophy help us understand the ethics of public health surveillance technologies? When should we use surveillance to monitor public responses and protests to crises?

                    We will hear from the editors, authors, and selected discussants.

                    About the Editors:

                    • Kevin Macnish is Digital Ethics Consulting Senior Manager with Sopra Steria. He is a former analyst and manager at GCHQ and the US DOD, and an assistant professor at the universities of Leeds and Twente. Kevin has published academic articles, chapters, and books on ethics and technology. He is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Leeds and a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals’ Research Advisory Board
                    • Adam Henschke is an Assistant Professor with the Philosophy Section at the University of Twente. He works primarily in the ethics of technology, with much of his work focusing on security. He has written on the ethnics of surveillance, the internet of things, human military enhancement, and counter-terrorism. Recent publications include the co-edited books Counter-Terrorism, Ethics and Technology: Emerging Challenges at the Frontiers of Counter-Terrorism (2021) and The Palgrave Handbook of National Security (2021)

                    Register for the event

                    This book launch is sponsored by the Violence and Society Centre at City, University of London

                    Illustration at top of page is from licensed Adobe Stock library

                    Call for Papers: Cyprus and the violence of bordering 50 years on

                      The island of Cyprus is known to most in Europe as a popular holiday destination; the violent history and the ongoing (if stable) conflict on the island is easily forgotten by tourists who enjoy the sunny beaches, the rich archaeological sites, and the club scene of Agia Napa. Yet for half a century Cyprus has remained divided. In August 1974 Turkish forces occupied the island and initiated a process of violent partition against the backdrop of two decades of conflict: first with the British in the fight for independence and then among Greek and Turkish ethnic groups trying to get a footing in national and municipal politics while hamstrung by an unworkable constitution

                      Cyprus is part of an archipelago of hybrid spaces in the eastern Mediterranean. Historically governed under Hellenic, Venetian, Byzantine and Ottoman rule, in 1878 the island was leased to Britain, and then formally annexed as a crown colony in 1914.  The complex international and regional politics of decolonization laid the ground for the partition of the island. Since the 1950s the ‘Cyprus question’ has become a permanent fixture in international politics, and ever since multiple plans have been proposed for the ‘solution’ to the Cyprus question; those that have been implemented have failed to unify the communities and establish peace.

                      This workshop, Partitioning for Peace? Cyprus and the violence of bordering 50 years on, will bring together scholars from various disciplines and paradigms (politics, IR, history, literature, anthropology, media and communications, sociology, journalism, geography, migration studies, border studies, peace and conflict studies) to discuss new research on the past and present of the Cyprus question 50 years on from the events of 1974. We welcome applications from academics, early career scholars, policy professionals, and practitioners working in community-based initiatives.

                      We invite new work responding, but not limited, to the following questions:

                      • Where does the Cypriot experience sit in the context of the global history of territorial partitions?
                      • What is the dynamic relationship between emotion and territoriality that sustains conflict?
                      • In what ways does the partition keep peace on the island (and beyond) and in what ways does it sustain violence?
                      • How does population dislocation compromise prospects for a resolution?
                      • What is the logic of the solutions proposed by the international community and why have they failed?

                      The workshop will take the form of an in-person event on 7th – 8th of November 2024 at City, University of London, with paper presentations and discussion over one day, and a linked panel event.

                      Interested applicants should submit a 500-word abstract and a short 2-page CV in one document by 15 May 2024 to alexandria.innes@city.ac.uk and georgios.giannakopoulos@city.ac.uk with the subject line Partitioning Cyprus.  A small amount of travel support will be available for early career researchers, please indicate if you would like to be considered for this support.

                      The successful applicants will be notified by 1 July 2024. Full drafts will be due by 16 October 2024 for circulation to workshop attendees.

                      Illustration from licensed Adobe Stock library