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The benefits system: source of support or hindrance to victims of violence?

    Previous VISION research showed how 4% of domestic violence victims lose their job as a result of abuse and that half of unemployed women have experienced intimate partner violence in their lives.

    A report just published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) further confirms high levels of trauma and mental distress among people not in employment and approaching benefits services for support. The report focuses on those in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) aimed at people with an impairment or health condition that affects how much work they do.

    VISION researcher Sally McManus, with colleagues Claire Lapham and Ann Conolly from the National Centre for Social Research, analysed the government’s main mental health study. They found that nearly one in three (30%) ESA recipients screened positive for post-traumatic stress disorder. This was more than twice the rate for Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimants (12%), and ten times that of employed people (3%). The analyses show that the claimant population experienced high levels of stress, in which self-confidence was low and anxiety high. Compared to those in employment, few ESA claimants owned their home and many faced serious debt arrears.

    Sally presented findings from this study as oral evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee’s Inquiry into Safeguarding Vulnerable Claimants, including domestic violence victims. She drew attention to calls from Women’s Aid for reform they highlight is needed to make the benefits system the lifeline survivors need, rather than a source of re-traumatisation and further harm.

    Women’s Aid recommendations include implementing a named domestic abuse lead in every Jobcentre Plus and ensuring staff receive regular, specialist domestic abuse training, so that work coaches and other frontline staff are better able to recognise claimants experiencing domestic abuse. Specialist domestic abuse services need to be properly funded to support and advocate for survivors in making their claims to DWP. Extending the domestic violence easement to up to a year would also help, alongside exempting those who are moving to or from refuges from repayment of Jobcentre Plus advances.

    The report can be downloaded from the DWP website:

    Claire Lapham, Anne Conolly, Sally McManus (2024): A health, social and economic profile of ESA recipients: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2014 DWP ad hoc research report no.79.

    Photograph licensed by Adobe Stock

    VISION gender-based violence research findings presented at European conference

      The European Network on Gender and Violence (ENGV) is an interdisciplinary, international network supporting exchange and collaboration among researchers, scholars, and professionals. Each year, the ENGV hosts a conference that provides a forum for current research related to gender-based violence (GBV). The annual event provides an excellent opportunity for many of the VISION researchers to present their findings and to engage and connect with others.

      This year, the ENGV conference was held at Vilnius University, Lithuania, from June 26-28. Eleven VISION / VASC colleagues attended and shared their GBV research in either a presentation or a poster. VISION GBV topics included measurement, intersectionality, migration and forced sex and marriage.

      Presentations:

      • Niels Blom and Vanessa Gash, The effects of intimate partner violence and abuse on job loss and time off work
      • Ruth Weir and Sally McManus, Findings from the interdisciplinary VISION consortium: Measuring violence to reduce its impact
      • Jana Kriechbaum, Normative Borders: The paradox around insecure-migrant women experiencing intimate partner violence in post-Brexit Britain
      • Hannah Manzur, Inequality Dimensions of Violence: Disparities and Disproportionalities in Victimisation and Fear by Gender, Ethnicity and Migrant-status
      • Ladan Hashemi and Sally McManus, The Multifaceted Nature of VAWG in LMI Countries: The Case of Forced Sex and Forced Marriage in Iran

      Posters

      We are also thrilled to announce that the 2026 ENGV annual conference will be held at City St George’s 24-26 June at the Clerkenwell campus. Planning will begin in spring 2025 with a Call for Proposals announced in the summer. Check the VISION website for details next year or email us at VISION_Management_Team@city.ac.uk to be added to the ENGV 2026 email group distribution list to receive updates.

      Photograph: (left to right) Annie Bunce and Polina Obolenskaya in front of their poster at the ENGV conference 2024.

      Commercial determinants of violence highlighted at World Safety Conference by Prof Mark Bellis

        This September, on behalf of the VISION research consortium and Liverpool John Moores University, Professor Mark Bellis gave the plenary violence prevention address to World Safety Conference in in New Delhi, India.

        World Safety 2024 is the World Health Organization’s biennial global conference on injury prevention and safety promotion, covering all aspects of violence and unintentional injury.

        Mark’s plenary dealt with the commercial determinants of violence based on a paper published earlier this year with his VISION colleagues, Professor Sally McManus and Dr Olumide Adisa, and others.

        In his presentation, Mark outlined how, as well as governments, public sector organisations and charities, commercial organisations also have a major part to play in the prevention of violence. The plenary considered commercial influence on violence through political, scientific, marketing supply/waste chain, labour & employment financial and reputational management practices. For some industries such as the arms and alcohol industries their relationships the causes of violence are already relatively well understood. However, mining, financial, social media, clothing and other manufacturing industries are also contributors to a growing violence problem.

        The plenary presentation addressed commercial impacts on child maltreatment, sexual and domestic violence, youth violence and elder abuse. It also explored how companies can, and should, move from being part of the violence problem to leaders in implementing solutions. 

        Green space may be important in the prevention of crimes

          The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals such as Goal 16, Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels, highlight the importance of using policy tools, for example urban planning, to prevent crimes. However, existing evidence of the association between green space and crime is mixed. Some studies indicate that the inconsistencies may be due to the variance in types of vegetation and the rates of crime reported across regions and countries.

          Therefore, UK Prevention Research Partnership funded consortia, GroundsWell and VISION, worked together to assess the conditional association between green space and crime. Groundswell researchers Dr Ruoyu Wang, Dr Claire L. Cleland, Dr Agustina Martire, Prof Dominic Bryan, and Prof Ruth F. Hunter collaborated with VISION researchers Dr Ruth Weir and Prof Sally McManus to consider the influence of vegetation type such as grassland and woodland, crime type such as violence and theft, and the rates of crime reported in Northern Ireland.

          They found that the association between green space and crime varies by vegetation type, crime type and rates of crime. The analyses showed that relatives were:

          • More grassland may be associated with lower crime rates, but only in areas with relatively low crime rates.
          • More woodland may also be associated with lower crime rates, but only for areas with relatively high crime rates.
          • The associations between green space and crime varied by type of crime.

          Check out their recent publication, Rethinking the association between green space and crime using spatial quantile regression modelling: Do vegetation type, crime type, and crime rates matter?, where they discuss their findings further as well as the implications for government approaches to consider green space as a potential crime reduction intervention. Policymakers and planners should consider green space as a potential crime reduction intervention, factoring in the heterogeneous effects of vegetation type, crime type and crime rate.

          To read the article or download free of charge:

          Rethinking the association between green space and crime using spatial quantile regression modelling: Do vegetation type, crime type, and crime rates matter? – ScienceDirect

          To cite:

          Wang, R., Cleland, C. L., Weir, R., McManus, S., Martire, A., Grekousis, G., Bryan, D., & Hunter, F. R. (2024). Rethinking the association between green space and crime using spatial quantile regression modelling: Do vegetation type, crime type, and crime rates matter?. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening.

          Illustration / photograph licensed under Adobe Photo Stock

          Mental health service responses to violence: VISION symposia at the European Psychiatric Association

            An aim of the VISION programme is to examine the nature and extent of contact that people with experience of violence have with various health and justice services.

            Findings on mental health services were presented in a series of symposia at the European Psychiatric Association’s Section on Epidemiology and Social Psychiatry this year.

            The first brought together six studies on experiences of violence and adversity and implications for mental health service use. These included King’s College London’s Anjuli Kaul presenting on Sexual Violence in Mental Health Service Users and Sian Oram on Mental Health Treatment Experiences of Minoritised Sexual Violence Survivors, with further contributions from Emma Soneson (Oxford), Maryam Ghasemi (Auckland), and Ladan Hashemi and Sally McManus (both City St George’s).

            A second symposium highlighted the value of the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey to violence research, with Sally McManus presenting on Threatening or Obscene Messages from a Partner and Mental Health, Self-harm and Suicidality.

            Finally, a third symposium featuring VISION researchers Angus Roberts, Rob Stewart and others and highlighted how natural language processing can be used with information collected in mental health settings. Sharon Sondh (South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust) presented on classifying experiences of violence in mental healthcare records.

            Learning across statutory reviews

              This VISION policy briefing summarises themes arising from the symposium, Learning across statutory review practices: origins, ambitions and future directions, held as part of the 2024 VISION Annual Conference on 11 June.

              The symposium was led by Dr Elizabeth Cook, City, UoL, and Dr James Rowlands, University of Westminster.

              The following panellists introduced several of the statutory reviews and shared their thoughts on lessons learnt and the future:

              • Dr Bethan Davies, Cardiff University: Wales Single Unified Safeguarding Review (SUSR)
              • Professor Emeritus Jonathan Dickens, University of East Anglia: Child safeguarding
              • Frank Mullane, Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse (AAFDA): Ambitions for learning and change across systems
              • Professor Emeritus Michael Preston-Shoot, University of Bedfordshire: Adult safeguarding
              • Sumanta Roy, Imkaan: Domestic Homicide Reviews

              After the series of presentations, as part of breakout roundtable discussions, conference attendees were invited to explore how different statutory reviews are conducted and practised, their ambitions, and challenges for the future.

              This briefing is for practitioners and managers who participate in or lead statutory reviews. The briefing will also be of interest to policy makers and senior leaders from local and national government who commission or oversee statutory review processes.

              The policy is available in the public domain, Learning across statutory review practices: Origins, ambitions, and future directions (figshare.com).

              For further information, please contact Lizzie at elizabeth.cook@city.ac.uk.

              Reflections on producing evidence syntheses on violence and abuse

                The VISION systematic review team, Dr Natalia Lewis, Dr Elizabeth Cook, Dr Jessica Corsi, Dr Sophie Carlisle and Dr Annie Bunce, presented at the London Evidence Syntheses and Research Use Seminars on 17 July 2024. The event was an initiative jointly hosted by the EPPI Centre (at UCL) and the Centre for Evaluation at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

                The team presented under the collective theme Producing evidence syntheses on violence and abuse: reflections on the disciplinary variations and practicalities, with the aim of prompting conversation about how systematic review methodologies can be adapted across disciplines. Dr Natalia Lewis (Systematic Review Lead, University of Bristol) introduced the session, describing the emergence of systematic reviews at the top of the ‘hierarchy of evidence’ that is often referenced in evidence-based medicine. Accompanying systematic reviews are a range of reporting standards, tools and guidance stipulating recommended practices for conducting reviews. However, as the team discussed in their presentations, such standardised frameworks and approaches do not provide space for reflection on the process and implications of adapting these methodologies to evidence on violence and abuse.

                The seminar included the following presentations:

                • Dr Elizabeth Cook (City, University of London): Evidence syntheses in a global context: A systematic review of sex/gender disaggregated homicide.
                • Dr Jessica Corsi (City, University of London): Evidence synthesis on legal records: challenges and adaptations.
                • Dr Sophie Carlisle (Health Innovation East Midlands): Evidence synthesis in the context of UK domestic and sexual violence services: Involving professional stakeholders.

                The presentations are available to view and download below.

                Dr Natalia Lewis, Producing evidence syntheses on violence and abuse: reflections on the disciplinary variations and practicalities

                Lewis – IntroductionDownload

                Dr Sophie Carlisle, Evidence synthesis in the context of UK domestic and sexual violence services: involving professional stakeholders

                Carlisle – Involving stakeholdersDownload

                Dr Elizabeth Cook, Evidence synthesis in a global context: A systematic review of sex/gender disaggregated homicide

                Cook – Homicide in a global contextDownload

                Dr Jessica Corsi, Evidence synthesis on legal records: Challenges and adaptations

                Corsi – Evidence synthesis on legal recordsDownload

                The seminar was held in hybrid format. The talks were recorded and are available through the following link: https://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/Coursesseminars/Previousseminarsandevents/tabid/3317/Default.aspx

                VISION Knowledge Exchange Manager wins City Staff Excellence Award

                  VISION is pleased to announce that Kimberly Cullen, Knowledge Exchange Manager of the research consortium and the Violence & Society Centre (VASC), won the 2024 City Excellence Award for Outstanding collaboration with business, practice and the professions (Professional Services).

                  Kim was nominated by her VASC and VISION colleagues for the pivotal role she has played in developing, sustaining and enhancing collaborative relationships between policymakers and practitioners to optimise the impact of research into reducing violence. Her stakeholder engagement and communications skills have been instrumental in forging strong links with the VISION Advisory Board and other important connections and networks.

                  Many congratulations to Kim!

                  Gene Feder elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences’ Fellowship

                    Professor Gene Feder OBE, Professor of Primary Care at the Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol, and the VISION Director, was recently elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences’ esteemed Fellowship in part in recognition of his ground-breaking national and international research on domestic violence and abuse.

                    Gene joins a respected Fellowship of approximately 1,400 researchers working alongside the Academy to influence research and health policy in the UK and worldwide.

                    The Academy is the independent, expert body representing the diversity of medical science in the UK. Its mission is to advance biomedical and health research and its translation into benefits for society. The Academy’s elected Fellows are the most influential scientists in the UK and worldwide, drawn from the NHS, academia, industry and the public service.

                    The VISION consortium congratulates Gene on this prestigious accolade.

                    For further information, please see: 2024: Professor Gene Feder elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences Fellowship | Centre for Academic Primary Care | University of Bristol

                    New infographic illustrating lived experience as essential knowledge

                      In February 2024, the Violence, Abuse, and Mental Health Network (VAMHN) Lived Experience Advisory Group members and several UKPRP VISION Consortium researchers explored together the role of lived experience as a form of knowledge and evidence. They addressed lived experience’s placement within the “evidence hierarchy” and the impact of language on engagement.

                      Key points included the significant influence of labels and power dynamics in determining which experiences are deemed valuable, the potential negative connotations of the term “lived experience,” and the necessity for lived experience to be integrated into research processes rather than being an afterthought.

                      Discussions underscored the evolving nature of lived experience, the challenges in showcasing expertise, the importance of ethical considerations, and the need for ongoing support and safe spaces for meaningful engagement. The workshop emphasised that lived experience should be a foundational element in research, akin to an integral ingredient, not merely an optional addition.

                      The discussions were summarised as a colourful and exciting infographic, illustrated by Jenny Leonard (www.jennyleonardart.com).

                      Illustration licensed by VAMHN and Jenny Leonard Art