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Computational text analysis on unstructured police data: A scoping review

 

Police reports made following attendance at events such as crashes, domestic violence and theft often contain rich contextual details including indicators of mental health issues or abuse types, and persons/entities involved and their relationships, which are not typically captured in structured administrative data, interviews or official statistics. However, the sheer volume of information along with strict data access protocols render manual analysis impractical. Computational text analysis methods offer a feasible and effective approach to automatically process this underutilized data source.

The research team led by Dr Wilson Lukmanjaya (University of New South Wales) included VISION Research Fellow Dr Darren Cook. The team conducted an overview of studies using computational text analysis (e.g., text mining, natural language processing (NLP)), on unstructured police data, serving as a guide for researchers interested in employing similar methodologies. 

Their article, Computational text analysis on unstructured police data: A scoping review, was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA-SCR guidelines, following the two screening processes (title/abstract and full text screening) and the development of a pre-defined protocol. A search was conducted across seven electronic databases covering the past 20 years.

After removing duplicate entries and screening titles/abstracts and full-text publications, 61 studies met the inclusion criteria. Included studies were published between 2004 and 2024, with most from the United States, Australia and the Netherlands.

The scoping review indicates applications of computational text analysis on unstructured police data have moderate to high performance. Common limitations included variable data quality, with reliability depending on the level of detail provided by the police report’s author, and failure to report ethical implications or methodological limitations.

Computational text analysis can extract key information from unstructured police data. However, future research should clearly report ethics approvals and implications, and methodological limitations. 

Recommendation

  1. Establishing a structured data-sharing framework between law enforcement and researchers is crucial to facilitate access and support high quality, impactful research in this field.

To download the paper: Computational text analysis on unstructured police data: A scoping review

To cite: Lukmanjaya, W., Halmich, C., Butler, T., Cook, D., Karystianis, G. Computational text analysis on unstructured police data: a scoping review. Crime Sci (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40163-026-00272-2

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Perpetration of intimate partner violence and suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, and non-suicidal self-harm: a cross-sectional secondary analysis using the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey

Intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization is associated with suicidal behaviour. Suicidal behaviour may also be raised among those who perpetrate IPV compared to those who do not; general population-based evidence is, however, lacking.

The research team, led by Dr Sophie Carlisle (Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust) with VISION researchers Professor Sally McManus, Professor Louise Howard, and Dr Vishal Bhavsar and others, aimed to investigate the associations between using violence against an intimate partner with suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt and non-suicidal self-harm in the past year.

In contrast to previous research focusing on those in contact with criminal justice or health services or with IPV perpetrator programmes, this study presents the first examination of the association between IPV perpetration and suicidality in a recent UK general population sample, which can contribute to the development of a national picture of this association and inform population level strategies to address both suicide and IPV perpetration.

The research team analysed data from the 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. Logistic regressions estimated associations between IPV perpetration and suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, and self-harm. Associations were estimated for men and women separately, and the team explored interaction in estimates by IPV victimization.

There were greater odds of suicidality and self-harm among self-reported perpetrators of IPV compared to the general population. Many of these associations were accounted for by non-IPV life adversities, IPV victimization and substance use. Improving the identification and management of IPV perpetration, and developing targeted safety planning and interventions for this group could reduce suicide for perpetrators and victims of IPV.

Future research generating adequately powered evidence on differences in these associations based on age or ethnic group, could inform targeted prevention/intervention strategies. Future work assessing the impact of increasing severity, or frequency, of IPV perpetration on risk of suicidality could also be helpful in informing future intervention strategies. Finally, further work should also consider the relevance of suicidality to a variety of harmful behaviours perpetrated within IPV. There remains limited evidence for interventions to reduce suicidality for perpetrators of IPV, including perpetrators who are also IPV victims.

Recommendation

Targeted identification and support for perpetrators of IPV could positively impact responses to suicidality and non-suicidal self-harm.

To download the paper: Perpetration of intimate partner violence and suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, and non-suicidal self-harm: a cross-sectional secondary analysis using the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey

To cite: Carlisle S, Whyte R, Saunders K, McManus S, Oram S, Howard L, Bhavsar V. Perpetration of intimate partner violence and suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, and non-suicidal self-harm: a cross-sectional secondary analysis using the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2026 Mar 26;35:e16. doi: 10.1017/S2045796026100559. PMID: 41883282.

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Gendered violence and epistemic injustice in Iran: women’s civic aspirations for justice

Iranian women perceive themselves as active participants in overcoming barriers that have historically silenced them. Their perspectives on eliminating violence against women (VAW), with a particular focus on how they challenge the structural and epistemic injustices that underpin such violence, are analysed in a recent publication, Gendered violence and epistemic injustice in Iran: women’s civic aspirations for justice.

In their article, Dr Nadia Aghtaie (University of Bristol), Dr Ladan Hashemi (VISION Senior Research Fellow at City St George’s University of London), and Fatemeh Babakhani (Mehre Shams Afarid, Non-Governmental Domestic Violence Organisation for Women and Children, Urmia, Iran), draw on a qualitative, purposive voluntary sample via an anonymous Instagram survey, chosen for its accessibility and reach among women and girls in Iran. A total of 453 respondents aged 16–59 answered the open-ended question, “Write your views and suggestions regarding violence against women and how to eliminate it,” and their responses were thematically analysed. While this method enabled wide participation, it also introduced likely sampling bias towards internet users—particularly younger, urban, and tech-savvy participants.

Participants identified a wide range of violence, including emotional, physical, sexual, coercive control, and street harassment. However, the most prominent themes that emerged were the need for raising awareness, among both women and men, about what constitutes violence, and the demand for comprehensive legal reforms to address and prevent VAW.

Many responses indicated a desire to reshape cultural and religious norms that have historically contributed to women’s marginalisation. The participants’ narratives highlighted how women’s experiences of violence are frequently dismissed, minimised, or rendered unintelligible in dominant public discourses. By articulating their understandings of violence and proposing solutions, these women actively resisted such injustice and asserted themselves as credible knowers.

Overall, respondents acknowledged the intersecting structural, cultural and religious norms that perpetuate VAW in Iran. Yet their responses were not solely diagnostic; they were also future-oriented and hopeful. They strongly believed that education, awareness-raising and legal reforms are catalysts for change and emphasised the right to be heard and valued as credible sources on their views on VAW.

To download the paper: Gendered violence and epistemic injustice in Iran: women’s civic aspirations for justice

To cite: Aghtaie, N., Hashemi, L. & Babakhani, F. Gendered violence and epistemic injustice in Iran: women’s civic aspirations for justice. Humanit Soc Sci Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-026-06952-3

For further information: Please contact Ladan at ladan.hashemi@citystgeorges.ac.uk

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Non-intimate femicide in England and Wales: A ‘continua’ approach

A key pledge in the Labour Party’s 2024 election manifesto was to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) over the next ten years. It is well known that violence and abuse experienced by women and girls incorporates a multitude of contexts outside of (as well as within) family and intimate relationships, therefore, any strategy aimed at significantly reducing VAWG will need to extend beyond the domestic sphere, including lethal violence. Despite important advances in domestic homicide (DH) prevention in recent years, 55 per cent of adult women (16+ years) killed across England and Wales were not categorized as DH.

Dr Caroline Miles (University of Manchester) and VISION Co-Investigator Dr Elizabeth A Cook (City St George’s University of London) specifically address the killing of women and girls outside of family and intimate relationships, referred to here as ‘non-intimate femicide’ (NIF), in their recently published article, Non-intimate femicide in England and Wales: A ‘continua’ approach.

There have been numerous high-profile killings of women and girls by male strangers in the UK over the past few year (for example, Sarah Everard, Sabina Nessa, sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, and three girls, Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar killed in Southport). These cases attracted high levels of public attention as is often the outcome of intense media interest in particular femicides. Attracting less media attention are the killings of women and girls by men with whom they are acquainted but not intimately connected to (or in some cases, not recognized as such). There is currently a dearth of data, knowledge and policy aimed at preventing NIF, a problem which Caroline and Elizabeth strive to redress.

The research underpinning this article derives from the first exclusive study of NIF in England and Wales, presenting a statistical analysis of the victim, suspect and incident characteristics for all cases involving women who were killed by non-intimate partners or family members between 2002 and 2022. Using Homicide Index data for England and Wales (2002–2022), the researchers provide original insight into the victim, perpetrator and incident characteristics in NIF cases, and reveal important differences between intimate and NIF, as well as high levels of missing or poorly recorded data. They argue for a more accurate recording of NIF, alongside a ‘continua thinking’ approach to femicide research, which documents the killing of all women and girls across a range of intimate and non-intimate contexts. Caroline and Elizabeth write that by adopting a ‘continua of violence’ approach to femicide, which recognizes how ‘gender links violence at different points on a scale’, a nuanced and inclusive understanding of femicide can be developed that is not restricted to those categorized as ‘intimate’ or ‘domestic’.

If the current UK Labour Government are to succeed in their 2024 pledge to halve VAWG over a ten-year period, it is crucial that they focus on the whole continuum of lethal VAWG, including those killed by strangers and people known to them in some capacity who are not intimate partners or family members. NIF accounts for substantial proportions of female homicide victimization and although a key focus in recent years has been on learning more about the contexts of DH, the pathways leading to and circumstances surrounding the killing of women outside of intimate and kin relationships remain to a large extent unknown. 

Recommendation

Recent work to improve the recording of femicide and measure sex/gender motivations acknowledges some non-intimate contexts of femicide; however, in order to fully understand the gendered contexts of NIF, it is essential to improve the quality of data recording for all forms of femicide and to mainstream sex/gender motivation data collection across the whole continuum of femicide.

To download the paper: Non-intimate femicide in England and Wales: A ‘continua’ approach

To cite: Caroline Miles, Elizabeth A Cook, Non-intimate femicide in England and Wales: A ‘continua’ approach, The British Journal of Criminology, 2026;, azag005, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azag005

For further information: Please contact Elizabeth (Lizzie) at elizabeth.cook@citystgeorges.ac.uk

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Service duration, determinants of case closure and case completion for victim-survivors accessing domestic abuse support services

Demand for specialist domestic abuse (DA) support services is high, in the United Kingdom (UK) and worldwide, and resource is scarce. The length of time victim-survivors spend in service depends on multiple factors, but what determines whether they successfully complete support, or their case is closed for another reason, is less well understood.

The purpose of the current study, Service duration and determinants of case closure and case completion for victim-survivors accessing specialist domestic abuse support services, was to improve understanding of the relationship between length in service, case completion and possible needs and vulnerabilities of specialist service users.

VISION researchers Dr Annie Bunce, Dr Elouise Davies and Dr Estela Capelas Barbosa analysed Women’s Aid Federation of England’s (WAFE) case management and outcomes management system, On Track, the largest national dataset on domestic abuse. 

To further examine the influence of reason for case closure, which the team explored as determinants of case completion, a series of multinomial logistic regressions were conducted, controlling for potentially confounding variables. Stakeholders from Women’s Aid and five other third sector organisations provided input into the study design and interpretation of results.

Most survivors accessing DA services needed community-based services (n = 210,599) and spent an average of just under three months in service. Those who needed more intensive support (e.g. accommodation, refuge) stayed in service for longer on average- 130 days and 115 days, respectively. The survival analysis revealed that cases were less likely to close for people with additional vulnerabilities. Results from the multinomial logistic regressions demonstrated that, for those whose case had been closed, additional vulnerabilities meant they were more likely to have disengaged, had a service-related closure or an unknown reason for case closure.

The limited supply of services impacts on the level of unmet needs for victim-survivors of domestic abuse. If services continue having to do more and more with less, they will be forced into a position of having to trade-off between spending time supporting people to cater to multiple needs and vulnerabilities, and getting people in and out of the door to ensure the slot is available for the next victim-survivor who needs it. 

Recommendation

  1. It is critical that DA services are resourced adequately to support those with multiple needs and additional vulnerabilities to complete a period of time in service. This is something that should be considered by commissioners of DA services.

To download the publication: Service duration and determinants of case closure and case completion for victim-survivors accessing specialist domestic abuse support services

To cite: Bunce, A., Davies, E. & Barbosa, E.C. Service Duration and Determinants of Case Closure and Case Completion for Victim-Survivors Accessing Specialist Domestic Abuse Support Services. J Fam Viol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-026-01052-x

For further information: Please contact Annie at annie.bunce@citystgeorges.ac.uk

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People with mental illness and exposed to assault experience greater mortality

 

Various studies over the years have noted a link between mortality and mental illness, however, the contribution of violence exposure to mortality in people with mental illness remains under-researched. This latest study, The association between violence exposure and general and cause-specific mortality in people using mental health services: cohort study, closes the gap with the finding that people with mental illness, who are exposed to assault, experience greater mortality than those who are not exposed.

The research team led by Dr Nabihah Rafi (Kings College London) included VISION researchers Professor Robert Stewart and Dr Vishal Bhavsar. They examined the association of violence exposure, such as being physically assaulted, with general and cause-specific mortality in a population using mental health services.

Assembling a cohort study using electronic health records from a mental health and substance use treatment provider in south-east London, records were linked to acute medical admission and emergency department presentation data, as well as to a national mortality register with death certificates for deaths registered in England and Wales.

Results indicated that exposure to violence among users of mental health services is associated with increased mortality compared with non-exposed individuals. They may have worse physical health for a range of reasons, such as the metabolic effects of psychiatric treatment, which in turn might influence cause-specific mortality risk (e.g. diabetes-related mortality). Violence exposure, including repeated exposure, might influence mortality risk through a reduced capability to manage existing physical illness, increasing the risk of progression of pre-existing morbidity.

Further findings about the association between those using mental health services and being exposed to violence also suggest:

  1. Psychological stress that could, over time, cause stress to body systems
  2. An increase in unhealthy behaviours, including alcohol use and smoking, which are important drivers of mortality in people with mental illness
  3. An indication with relationship stress, which some evidence suggests may affect mortality risk
  4. An Influence of mortality risk through a reduced capability to manage existing physical illness, increasing the risk of disease progression.

Recommendations

  1. The association between violence exposure and mortality from natural causes in people with mental illness warrants further research attention to understand the contributory pathways, including through shared causes of both violence exposure and mortality.
  2. Strategies to improve the identification and assessment of violence exposure in people with mental illness could improve the quality of care by reducing health inequalities, as well as by uncovering wider healthcare needs in patients exposed to violence.

To cite: Rafi N, Stewart R, Jewell A, Shetty H, Bhavsar V. The association between violence exposure and general and cause-specific mortality in people using mental health services: cohort study. BJPsych Open. 2026 Jan 12;12(1):e35. doi: 10.1192/bjo.2025.10938. PMID: 41521785.

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Definitions of non-intimate partner and family-related femicide/feminicide

Significant public and media attention often follow the killing of women and girls outside of intimate or domestic relationships – or non-intimate partner and family-related (non-IPF) femicide/feminicide. However, less attention is paid to non-IPF femicide/feminicide in research and policy including an agreed definition. 

What is currently known about these cases falls into a range of overlapping structural contexts, circumstances, and relationships, creating challenges for measurement. Non-IPF femicide/feminicide could include ‘stranger’ femicides or the killing of women and girls by acquaintances, employees, employers and clients. There is also the context of misogynist extremism, trafficking and organised crime, so-called ‘honour’ killings and more. Thus, a diverse range of relationships, contexts and circumstances emerge across non-IPF femicide/feminicides that require definition and synthesis.

A scoping review, Definitions of non-intimate partner and family-related femicide/feminicide: A scoping review, conducted by VISION researcher Dr Elizabeth Cook with colleagues Dr Caroline Miles and Merili Pullerits, identifies current definitions of non-IPF femicide/feminicide and the types of evidence that exist in relation to these killings.

The primary research question for the scoping review was: What definitions of non-intimate femicide exist and what types of evidence are available in relation to this type of femicide? The search strategy included electronic database searches (MEDLINE Complete, Social Policy and Practice, APA PsychInfo, Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text; Sociology Source Ultimate; Web of Science), citation-tracking, and hand searching non-governmental organisation websites (e.g., EIGE, UNODC, Femicide Watch). Sources were eligible for inclusion if they reported on women or girls aged 10 or above killed by non-intimate or non-domestic relations. Restrictions were not placed on study context, design or publication language. In total, 126 studies (140 reports) met the inclusion criteria.

The research shows that non-IPF femicide/feminicide encompasses a wide range of types (e.g., sexual femicides, work-related homicides) as well as relationships (e.g., strangers, acquaintances, clients, and employers). However, the team also found that a large proportion of studies did not substantively engage with the gendered contexts and motivations of killings.

Key findings

  • Few reports define non-intimate partner or family-related femicide/feminicide
  • Legal frameworks in Latin America and the Caribbean are key sources of definitions
  • Reports noted specific risks for minoritised women (e.g., Black or migrant groups)
  • Reports identified specific age groups at risk: adolescents and older age victims
  • Definitions operate over three axes: space/location, intimacy, and circumstance

Recommendations

  1. Future research should provide clearly reported and explicit definitions of non-IPF femicide/feminicide including how ‘non-intimacy’ is qualified (e.g., emotional, physical, sexual, or other notions of trust, dependency, or care).
  2. Further research is required to unpack previously described ‘grey areas’ of intimate and non-intimate relationships (e.g., casual sexual partners, adolescent relationships, and dating relationships). This type of research would also provide opportunity to identified potential misclassification of femicide/feminicide.
  3. A significant number of quantitative reports were based on studies of sexual homicide which were focused on forensic characteristics of homicides and perpetrators behaviours and traits, rather than the structural circumstances in which these killings were committed. Future analysis should seek to foreground and interrogate the gendered social structures and relations that surround these femicides/feminicides.
  4. Further research is required that compares intimate and non-IPF-femicide/feminicide cases including victim, perpetrator, and incident characteristics, risk factors, and motives
  5. The availability of data on non-IPF femicide/feminicide is arguably lacking in comparison to data on intimate femicide/feminicide. The publication of various statistical classification frameworks is a promising development but requires application and testing in different jurisdictions.
  6. There is a specific need for intersectional analyses of non-IPF femicide/feminicide to understand how structures and histories of oppression create the conditions in which the killing of women is committed and rationalised (e.g., policing killings of Black women, or sexual femicides of migrant women).

To cite: Elizabeth A. Cook, Caroline Miles, Merili Pullerits, Definitions of non-intimate partner and family-related femicide/feminicide: A scoping review, Social Science & Medicine, 2026, 118917, ISSN 0277-9536, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118917

For further information: Please contact Lizzie at elizabeth.cook@citystgeorges.ac.uk

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Employment consequences of intimate partner violence and abuse

Intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) is a global problem. Despite its prevalence, few studies have investigated the employment impact of IPVA, with existing studies spread across multiple disciplines including criminology, economics, and public health. Investigating the employment impacts of IPVA are crucial for understanding the consequences to victim-survivors and wider society.

This systematic review, Employment consequences of Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse, conducted by VISION researcher Dr Niels Blom and Flavia Andrea Lamarre, provides an overview of the main findings on the topic and identified research gaps and opportunities for future research.

Niels and Flavia identified studies via Embase, APA PsycInfo, PubMed, Social Sciences Citation Index, and two related reviews. The studies concerned the association between IPVA and absenteeism, time off from work, unemployment, and/or job loss and were peer-reviewed, English-language, quantitative studies. 

Overall, the 48 identified studies indicated a clear relationship between IPVA and absenteeism/time off work, but evidence was more mixed regarding the association between IPVA and job loss or unemployment. The limitations of current research were discussed, which included that the far majority of studies concerned the United States, investigated only victimization among women, and few used nationally representative data. Male victim-survivors, differences by ethnicity or socioeconomic class, perpetration, and how employment circumstances may help or hinder victim-survivors’ labor market involvement had received limited attention in the literature.

Filling these gaps would provide a stronger evidence-base for effective policies, enabling victim-survivors to retain their employment.

Recommendations

  1. Managers and colleagues should have access to training and assistance in aiding victim-survivors where appropriate, potentially with mandatory training for managers and HR staff.
  2. The large majority of studies stemmed from the United States, which makes it less evident whether the found associations also apply to other societal contexts. Cross-national or cross-state research could help.
  3. For a topic where employment is the central aspect, there has been remarkably little attention to employment circumstances and employers’ role. Further research is needed to examine variation across these aspects to understand what enables victim-survivors to retain employment and long-term productivity. 
  4. A minority of the studies included men. Future work could explore what explains gender differences in the employment impact of IPVA, and when they are more pronounced. Differences by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and age have received limited attention, warranting further research.
  5. There has been a limited amount of work on IPVA perpetrators and their employment. Further work in this area is important.

To cite: Blom, N., & Lamarre, F. A. (2025). Employment Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse: A Systematic Review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380251395105

For further information: Please contact Niels at niels.blom@manchester.ac.uk

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Frontline practitioner’s understanding of the roots of violence, and why it matters for policy and prevention

Violence continues to be a concern for policymakers and communities, notably so in urban contexts in which socio-demographic change, retrenched social support and evolving forms of exclusion affect its distribution and intensity. While many European cities experience relatively low levels of violence, the caveat to this is that many sub-areas and specific communities experience considerable variations in the form and intensity of such violence.

In this paper, Violence reduction in a changing European urban context: Frontline practitioner’s understanding of the roots of violence, and why it matters for policy and prevention, the research team, including VISION Co-Investigator Dr Elizabeth Cook, present findings from a comparative, qualitative study investigating how key stakeholders – civic and policy actors working at the interface of violence prevention and European urban communities – perceive its cause and overall nature.

Lizzie and colleagues explored the accounts of key support workers, practitioners and local policymakers because they represent essential intermediaries in processes of policy implementation, transfer and reform. The perspectives of practitioners provide insight into how social problems are constructed and under what conditions, which groups are most affected by these conditions, how solutions to such problems should be delivered in city settings (and delivered more effectively) and who should be assigned responsibility for generating effective responses. 

Informed by scholarship on street-level bureaucracy and local knowledge, the paper presents accounts that connect the risk of violence with austerity conditions and their erosion of vital social and institutional fabrics, which thereby worsening localised violence in these ‘ordinary’ cities.

The research team identified the key operating theories, ideas and observations circulating among civic actors tasked with tackling urban violence. Local practitioners understand violence to be linked to macro-economic conditions and social inequalities that sit outside their jurisdiction, but which ultimately present major challenges to the fabric of local urban life and risks to particular communities. Their commentaries build a cumulative picture that is in many ways at odds with the main thrust of many of the policies, political discussions, policing priorities and resource cuts evident in many cities across Europe in recent years.

The strongest shared conclusion is that urban violence cannot be tackled where these deeper conditions, influences and a lack of resources remain unaddressed.

Recommendations

  1. Support and invest in long-term collaborative partnerships and policy initiatives which take account of the spatial discrepancies within cities.
  2. Encourage connections between civic and state authorities which could help to relieve these frustrations, rebalance power relations and provide accountability in top-down approaches to cities experiencing destructive social, political and economic change.
  3. To increase trust in political institutions, policies must also tackle the scarcity of investment in public services, while encouraging better representation of marginalised communities in decision-making processes.

To cite: Cook, E. A., Jankowitz, S., & Atkinson, R. (2025). Violence reduction in a changing European urban context: Frontline practitioner’s understanding of the roots of violence, and why it matters for policy and prevention. European Urban and Regional Studies, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/09697764251386774

For further information: Please contact Lizzie at elizabeth.cook@citystgeorges.ac.uk

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More adults showing signs of drug dependence in England

VISION co-Deputy Director, Professor Sally McManus, has published an article for The Conversation, Drug use is changing in England – with more adults showing signs of dependence. Written with Sarah Morris from the National Centre for Social Research, the article is based on their research using the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) 2023-2024 with colleagues.

The APMS is the longest running mental health survey series in the world and provides a picture of how mental health is changing across England. The national study includes people from across English society, not just those that currently use NHS services or have in the past. A random sample of approximately 7,000 adults aged 16 to 100 living in England were asked questions about their mental health, whether they used any of a range of illicit drugs, and if they had experienced signs of dependence, such as symptoms of withdrawal or increased tolerance.

Findings

  • Drug use may be more widespread
  • Non-medical use of prescription opioids may be more widespread
  • In the 16- to 24-year-old age group, the signs of drug dependence were similarly common in men and women which is a noticeable shift from past APMS findings
  • Cannabis dependence is rising
  • There appears to be a lack of specialist support as about one adult in every five who showed signs of drug dependence reported they’d ever received support or treatment for drug use

For further information: Please contact Sally at sally.mcmanus@citystgeorges.ac.uk

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