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Sexual violence against Palestinians

VISION Director and University of Bristol professor, Gene Feder, has written an opinion piece, Sexual violence against Palestinians, for the BMJ with colleagues Rubin Minhas, Neve Gordon, Mishal Khan and Nick Maynard.

Conflict related sexual violence (CRSV) occurs across conflict and coercive settings and can be perpetrated by state and non-state actors. Strong accountability for CRSV is required, regardless of who the victims or perpetrators are. Reports across multiple settings show patterns of conflict related sexual violence against Palestinian people. Evidence of CRSV is dispersed across accounts of detention, gendered abuse, humiliation, displacement, and harms to children. The authors bring the evidence together to show why efforts to secure accountability must tackle sexual violence, regardless of setting.

Sexual violence in conflict is a grave violation of human dignity that can inflict profound physical and psychological harm; its consequences can fracture communities and endure across generations. All credible patterns of sexual violence must be subject to accountability, regardless of who the victims or perpetrators are or where the violence occurs.

To download the opinion piece: Sexual violence against Palestinians

To cite: BMJ 2026;395:e101118

Health outcomes of victim-survivors accessing specialist domestic abuse services

Domestic abuse (DA) is a public health problem with wide-ranging impacts for victim-survivors and services responding to it. The purpose of the current study was to explore relationships between victim-survivors’ experiences of abuse, additional needs/vulnerabilities and sociodemographic characteristics, and physical and mental health outcomes and health care help-seeking behaviours following DA.

In the study, Health outcomes of victim-survivors accessing specialist domestic abuse services: the role of abuse experience, vulnerabilities and sociodemographic characteristics, VISION researchers Annie Bunce, Elouise Davies and Estela Capelas Barbosa, conducted a secondary analysis using Women’s Aid Federation of England’s (Women’s Aid) case management and outcomes measurement system, On Track, the largest national dataset on DA.

The team used a series of logistic regression models to understand the relationship between:

  • abuse types (physical, sexual, emotional, financial, coercive control, technology-facilitated abuse (tech abuse) and threats to kill);
  • needs/vulnerabilities (disability; offending, drug and alcohol-related support needs; pregnancy, recourse to public funds and accessing by-and-for services);
  • health outcomes (perpetrator caused harm to or loss of unborn child;
  • attempted strangulation;
  • self-harm (disclosed);
  • feeling depressed or suicidal;
  • injury requiring GP treatment; and
  • injury requiring Accident and Emergency (A&E) treatment).

Stakeholders from Women’s Aid and five other third sector organisations input into the study design and interpretation of results.

The study found:

  • Ninety-six percent of victim-survivors accessing DA services (n = 77,785) were female
  • Almost half (41.24%) had felt depressed/suicidal
  • 5.59% disclosed having self-harmed
  • Almost one quarter (23.41%) had suffered a strangulation attempt
  • 2.54% had suffered harm to or loss of their unborn child caused by the perpetrator
  • Just under 10% had an injury requiring A&E treatment
  • 7.33% had an injury requiring GP treatment

Associations with the type of abuse varied by health outcome, for example physical abuse followed by threats to kill were most strongly associated with attempted strangulation and injuries requiring GP and A&E treatment, whilst tech abuse was most strongly associated with self-harm and feeling depressed/suicidal. Vulnerabilities/needs were more consistently associated with health outcomes, with those with a disability; drug, alcohol or offending support needs, or living in temporary/unstable accommodation more likely to experience negative outcomes across the board, and almost all needs/vulnerabilities being associated with adverse mental health outcomes (with the exception of pregnancy and accessing specialist by-and-for services, which appeared to have a protective effect).

The results highlight the almost inevitable harms to mental health for victim-survivors of DA, the dangers of non-physical types of abuse such as threats to kill and tech abuse and the heightened risk of attempted strangulation. These findings have particularly important and timely implications for the training of health care professionals. Alongside improvements in health care settings, health care professionals, specialist support workers, researchers and policymakers must continue to explore more integrative and collaborative ways of working to further improve the response to DA and intervene before irreversible damage is done.

To download the article: Health outcomes of victim-survivors accessing specialist domestic abuse services: the role of abuse experience, vulnerabilities and sociodemographic characteristics

To cite: Bunce A, Davies E, Barbosa EC. Health outcomes of victim-survivors accessing specialist domestic abuse services: the role of abuse experience, vulnerabilities and sociodemographic characteristics. BMC Womens Health. 2026 May 23;26(1):363. doi: 10.1186/s12905-026-04518-8. PMID: 42177560; PMCID: PMC13374347.

For further information: contact Annie at annie.bunce@citystgeorges.ac.uk
 
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Costing the mental health harms of sexual and physical violence in adulthood

The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Project showed that mental health disorders account for the greatest share of disease burden among survivors of intimate partner violence against females and of sexual violence against children. Economic costings of sexual violence in adulthood is often not costed and tends not to address the longer-term mental health harms despite the strong associations.

In the study, Costing the mental health harms of sexual and physical violence in adulthood: A prevalence-based analysis in England, VISION researchers Sally McManus, Ladan Hashemi, Anastasia Fadeeva, Niels Blom and Estela Capelas Barbosa, with Sylvia Walby, estimated the annual cost of experience of violence throughout adulthood, in terms of reduced quality of life and health service costs.

Data were analysed from multiple sources, including the probability sample Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey and service delivery costs. Results showed that the estimated cost of long-term reduced quality of life adults in England experienced because of violence during adulthood was £3767 million in 2019, with associated healthcare costs in that year of £4130 million. Costs of long-term lost quality of life and healthcare were evident in both women and men, although higher in women. Costs associated with combined sexual and physical violence were particularly high, the great majority of these costs resulting from experience of violence in women. Combined sexual and physical violence in women was associated with the highest cost per victim.

Both sexual and physical violence have sizeable and independent associations with long-term mental health and treatment and service use. Violence reduction has potential to reduce health service costs and increase population level quality of life.

Research Highlights

  • Economic costings rarely quantify long-term mental health harms of sexual violence in adulthood.
  • Both sexual and physical violence are associated with sizeable costs.
  • The costs result from long-term mental health harms as well as treatment and service use.
  • Most of the mental health related costs of violence fall to women.
  • Interventions that reduce violence have potential to reduce health service costs and improve quality of life.

To download the article:  Costing the mental health harms of sexual and physical violence in adulthood: A prevalence-based analysis in England

To cite: Sally McManus, Sylvia Walby, Ladan Hashemi, Anastasia Fadeeva, Niels Blom, Estela Capelas Barbosa, Costing the mental health harms of sexual and physical violence in adulthood: A prevalence-based analysis in England, Public Health, Volume 258, 2026, 106400, ISSN 0033-3506, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2026.106400.

For further information: contact Sally at sally.mcmanus@citystgeorges.ac.uk
 
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New VISION Policy Briefing Series on ethnicity inequalities and violence

In collaboration with Imkaan, the UK’s only national feminist umbrella organisation dedicated to addressing violence against Black and minoritsed women and girls, VISION Research Fellow, Dr Hannah Manzur, wrote two policies on the intersectionality of ethnicity, sex, gender, and violence focussing first on access to specialist services and second, through a systems theory approach.

The first policy briefing, Ethnic Inequalities in Violence Series: Specialist Services, is based on VISION research on ethnic inequalities, gendered violence, and specialist services. The research team finds critical inequalities in Black and minoritised women’s access to support and emphasises the need for a sustainably funded ‘By and For’ Sector.

The second policy briefing, Ethnic Inequalities in Violence Series: Systems Response, also uses VISION research on ethnic inequalities but looks at violence risks, harms, and service responses from a systems theory approach. This briefing identifies compounding disadvantages, intersecting inequalities, and critical gaps and disparities in victim-survivors’ services access and treatment.

 

Supporting Specialist Services for Black and Minoritised Women Victims of Violence: Access, Impact, & Resources

Specialist services provide life-saving support to people experiencing domestic and sexual violence, including trauma-informed and VAWG-sensitive care, counselling, legal and medical support, safety planning, advocacy, and crisis interventions delivered by trained caseworkers and practitioners. Led by Black and minoritised women, specialist ‘By and For’ services[1] are particularly important in offering essential holistic, wrap-around support, including intersectional advocacy, tailored to the specific needs and experiences of Black and minoritised women victim-survivors. Despite this, specialist services, particularly the ‘By and For’ sector, are constrained by chronic underfunding, limited inclusion and recognition of their expertise, and increased demand for services in an increasingly hostile political landscape for Black and minoritised communities and victim-survivors of violence.

Key Recommendations

  1. Funding: adequate, secured, and sustainable funding for specialist services with increased and ring-fenced ‘By and For’ funding.
  2. Recognition: formally recognise ‘By and For’ services as a distinct and essential model of VAWG prevention.
  3. No Recourse for Public Funds (NRPF): urgently repeal the NRPF condition.
  4. Data: introduce a data firewall for migrant victims, improve national ethnicity data, fund specialist services’ data-infrastucture projects, and engage ‘By and For’ expertise.
  5. Accessibility: evaluate national accessibility to specialist services, especially ‘By and For’ closures and reductions.
  6. Training: statutory services training in service provision tailored to Black and minoritised women victims.
  7. Collaboration: investment in collaborative partnerships, training, and referral protocols, led by ‘By and For’ expertise.

 

Ethnic Inequalities in Violence: Addressing Compounding Disadvantage and Institutional Engagement through a Systems Response to Violence

From data to policy to services, the systems designed to address the complex needs of violence victim-survivors of violence often fall short. Disjointed services, difficult pathways to support, and critical gaps in service provision create a complex system which victim-survivors, particularly those experiencing domestic and sexual violence, are expected to navigate to access support. For Black and minoritised victim-survivors of domestic and sexual violence, violence  causes and contexts, risks, harms, and support needs are shaped by both intersecting inequalities and compounding disadvantages. The combination of existing social disadvantages, under-funded and non-specialist public and specialist services, and disjointed and complex systems[2] requires urgently addressing from an intersectional and systems-based response to violence prevention and victim support.

Key Recommendations

  1. Systems-level responses: Targeted interventions and support provision must be integrated into a systems-level approach through cross-sectoral and multi-agency collaboration. Include funded advisory roles for specialist ‘By and For’ services representatives as systems leaders, not only referal partners.
  2. Build data and evidence linkages and expand cross-sectoral comparative research.
  3. Remove cross-sectoral barriers to support, including repealing the NRPF, introducing data-sharing firewalls, and enhance statutory duties.
  4. Invest in comparative and intersectional research which integrates multiple social contexts and axes of inequality.
  • [2] VISION’s systems theory approach was led by Dr Olumide Adisa. See for example: Adisa 2024, 2025.

 

To download the briefings:

To cite the Specialist Services briefing: Manzur, H. 2026. Supporting Specialist Services for Black and Minoritised Women Victims of Violence: A VISION Research and Policy Briefing in collaboration with Imkaan. London: VISION, Imkaan. https://doi.org/10.25383/city.33524527

To cite the Systems Response briefing: Manzur, H. 2026. Ethnic Inequalities in Violence: Addressing Compounding Disadvantage and Institutional Engagement through a Systems Response to Violence. A VISION Research & Policy Briefing in collaboration with Imkaan. London: VISION, Imkaan. https://doi.org/10.25383/city.33527260

For further information: contact Hannah at hannah.manzur.4@citystgeorges.ac.uk

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Domestic Violence and Abuse-Related Suicide: Evidence from Six Years of Irish Coronial Data

Domestic violence and abuse (DVA) and suicide are both major public health concerns, yet the relationship between them is less well understood. For people experiencing DVA, understanding their connection is key if support services and interventions are to respond effectively.

A new study, Domestic Violence and Abuse-Related Suicide: Evidence from Six Years of Irish Coronial Data, co-authored by Gemma Cox, Sarah Dangar, Katerina Kavalidou, and VISION researcher, Lizzie Cook, contributes new evidence to this emerging area of research. The study is the first in Ireland to examine the intersection between DVA and suicide using six years of national coronial data from the Irish Probable Suicide Deaths Study (IPSDS).

Using a mixed-methods approach, the study draws on coronial records of suicides to investigate the prevalence, circumstances, and characteristics where a link to DVA had been document. A total of 3622 cases of suicide were screened for evidence of DVA; of thse, 15 DVA-related suicides were identified, all of which were female. A series of composite narratives are used to highlight the complex interaction of factors shaping DVA and suicide.

The study highlights the importance of recognising DVA within wider suicide prevention efforts. However, it also raises important questions about how experiences of DVA are identified and recorded within coronial systems that investigates these deaths.

This paper will be of interest to researchers, clinicians, mental health professionals, domestic abuse practitioners, suicide prevention specialists, policymakers, coroners, voluntary and communtiy sector organisations, and others working across health, social care, and justic sectors.

To download the article in the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine: Domestic violence and abuse-related suicide: evidence from six years of Irish coronial data

To cite: Cox G, Cook E, Dangar S, Kavalidou K. Domestic violence and abuse-related suicide: evidence from six years of Irish coronial data. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine. Published online 2026:1-8. doi:10.1017/ipm.2026.10220

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

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Sexual violence along migration routes: A qualitative systematic review and evidence synthesis

While all types of violence happen in the context of migration without state authorization, states have no directly tangible and clearly articulated incentives to protect migrants who travel in this way from violence. Migrants in transit, particularly those who travel informally without documents, are exceptionally vulnerable to exploitation from criminal gangs and smuggling networks, abuse by border forces, corrupt policing, and exposure to petty crime and violence during the journey.

The systems and structures that govern international migration without state authorisation create conditions of vulnerability for migrants, and sexual violence requires separate attention. Sexual violence in any context has unique causes and consequences and reporting follows distinct patterns, linked to different social meanings and gender dynamics. Thus, there is good reason for treating sexual violence differently from other more general forms of violence.

There is little or limited incentive for states to prevent sexual violence against migrants who might be travelling without authorization or be in the process of escaping adversity in their home state. These individuals who are not part of citizenry cannot easily call upon available mechanisms to report and seek support and retribution for crimes of sexual violence perpetrated against them. Yet, there is precedent to consider sexual violence an international ‘wrong’ and to advocate for the consolidation of action against it (for example in United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1825, which established sexual violence in conflict as warranting consolidated international action).

VISION researcher Alexandria Innes and Merili Pulleritis (City St George’s, University of London) conducted a systematic review and evidence synthesis to systematise and synthesize qualitative evidence of sexual violence experienced by migrants travelling without state authorization, during the course of their journeys. 

Their article, Sexual violence along migration routes: A qualitative systematic review and evidence synthesis, finds that sexual violence is widespread in the context of migration without state authorisation, and structurally embedded feature of undocumented migration. Findings were grouped around the six themes of agency, economics, climate of violence, normalisation of violence, perpetrators, and gender.

Data showed that migrant women expressed agency by adopting preventative or protective measures against expected sexual violence, at times including engagement in unwanted sexual contact. Economic deprivation intersected with sexual violence during migration journeys, increasing risk of sexual violence. The most severe cases of sexual violence were not mitigated by money. In some cases sexual violence victimisation was considered to be the only available way to prevent deportation or death.

Sexual violence was severe and indiscriminate, and included forced witnessing, and forced sex act perpetration on other migrants. Sexual violence along migration routes is executed by various types of perpetrators, including organised and systematic perpetration by state agents such as border guards and police, and by smuggling and trafficking gangs. Sexual violence is also carried out by opportunists who are often migrants in transit, or people who reside along the route. Sexual violence is used against men, women, trans and non-binary migrants, and people of all ages, but there are important gendered differences in the experience of sexual violence before and during a migration journey.

Sexual violence along irregular migration routes is an urgent issue demanding a response. Sexual violence is structurally embedded in the governance of international migration, suggesting the need for significant systemic change. This problem requires dedicated attention and resources directed towards prevention and protection.

To download the article: Sexual violence along migration routes: A qualitative systematic review and evidence synthesis

To cite: Innes, A., & Pullerits, M. (2026). Sexual violence along migration routes: A qualitative systematic review and evidence synthesis. PLOS ONE, 21(8), e0355474. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0355474

For further information: contact Andri at alexandria.innes@citystgeorges.ac.uk

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Public expectations for effective First Responder communication

Effective public communication during Mass Casualty Incidents (MCI) is essential for safeguarding life, maintaining order, and sustaining trust in emergency responders. Yet, high-pressure, information-scarce environments make this communication challenging.

The mixed methods study, Insights into Public Attitudes for Effective First Responder Communication during a Simulated Mass Casualty Incident, developed by VISION researcher Darren Cook (City St George’s University of London) and colleagues, examines public preferences for communication from emergency services during MCIs, drawing on data from a large-scale immersive training exercise.

Participants either completed a structured survey assessing the importance of specific communication attributes (N = 217) or participated in qualitative interviews (N = 181). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of questionnaire data identified a broad dimension of desired communicative leadership, with a distinct directive-authoritative dimension emerging for Police and Local Authorities.

Thematic analysis of interview data identified four overarching communication principles:

  1. Communication Strategies
  2. Emotional and Psychological Support
  3. Proactivity and Efficiency
  4. Building Trust and Resilience

Findings converge on a central requirement: effective communication during MCIs must balance clear, authoritative direction with transparent, empathetic engagement. Members of the public expect responders to provide both honest prognostic information and reassurance that acknowledges emotional needs.

This work highlights the need for emergency services to adopt a nuanced communication model that integrates leadership, clarity, and emotional intelligence. Embedding these principles into training and operational doctrine may enhance public cooperation, trust, and resilience during future large-scale emergencies.

To download the article: Insights into Public Attitudes for Effective First Responder Communication during a Simulated Mass Casualty Incident

To cite: Cook, D., Waring, S., Humann, M. & Alison, L. J. (2026). Insights into Public Attitudes for Effective First Responder Communication during a Simulated Mass Casualty Incident. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14685973.

For further information: contact Darren at darren.cook@citystgeorges.ac.uk

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Doing co-analysis justice: Guiding principles

Our inspiration to create principles for co-analysis with those with lived experience of the criminal justice system stemmed from a previous participatory project which prompted conversation about the benefits and challenges of doing co-analysis ‘properly’. This project asked what does best practice look like and how can those with lived experience effectively take part?

Participatory or co-produced research is increasingly common. However, people with lived experience tend to be involved in the earlier and/or latter stages of research projects and less so in the nitty gritty middle stage. Therefore, VISION and Revolving Doors’ staff and lived experience team members collaborated to develop guidelines to inform the co-analysis process. These principles were created to support the flourishing landscape of research involving people with lived experience in the analysis and interpretation of results, equipping teams with guidance to facilitate meaningful and positive co-analysis.

The principles are organised into six themes:

  1. Supporting diversity in co-analysis
  2. Prioritise emotional safety and support
  3. Address power, hierarchy and tokenism to ‘level the playing field’
  4. Relationship building and team dynamics
  5. Training and shared learning
  6. Experiment with creative methods and outputs

Inspired by this last theme, accompanying the principles is a co-designed illustration that visually represents some of the ideas shared. The image is above and also available for download below.

This resource is for researchers, regardless of background and experience, and practitioners and managers who work with people with lived experience of the issues being studied. The principles will also be useful for those with an interest in teaching or training co-production methods, and anybody involved in the funding or ethical review of research projects embedding lived experience expertise.

We are keen to know how the principles work in practice. If you use them to guide your work, we warmly welcome feedback on how helpful you found them. Please let Annie know at annie.bunce@citystgeorges.ac.uk.

To read the guidance: Doing co-analysis justice: Guiding principles

To find out more about the project: Exploring guiding principles for ‘Doing Co-Analysis Justice’

To find out more about Revolving Doors’ work: Revolving Doors – Breaking the cycle of crisis and crime

With thanks to the following individuals and organisations who co-developed the principles:

  • Revolving Doors: Lauren, Anthony, Charlotte, Charlie, De’Qeon, Jeanette, Leigh, Lucy, Mark, Rimona, Tony and Warren.
  • Dr Annie Bunce, VISION consortium, City St George’s University of London
  • Dr Danica Darley, University of Sheffield
  • Dr Elizabeth (Lizzie) Cook, VISION consortium, City St George’s University of London
  • Dr Les Humphreys, VISION consortium, University of Lancashire
  • Professor Sian Oram, VISION consortium, Kings College London
  • Dr Polina Obolenskaya, VISION consortium, City St George’s University of London
  • Professor Sally McManus, VISION consortium, City St George’s University of London

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Disability and intimate partner violence in England: Gender stratified analyses

By Dr Ladan Hashemi, VISION Senior Research Fellow 

Disabled people are widely recognised as being at heightened risk of gender-based violence, and intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of its most common forms. Yet few prior random probability sample surveys in England have examined the full range of IPV (physical, sexual, psychological, and economic abuse) across different types of impairment, for both women and men. 

Existing research in this area has tended to rely on small, service-based samples rather than the general population, to focus on women only, and to treat “any IPV” as a single outcome rather than distinguishing between different forms of abuse. This matters because different forms of IPV have very different risk profiles and levels of visibility, and because without a general population sample of both genders, it isn’t possible to say whether disability affects men and women’s risk in the same way. 

To address this, together with my co-authors Dr Hannah Manzur, Dr Annie Bunce, and Professor Sally McManus, all VISION researchers, we used the 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, a nationally representative survey of 7,546 adults in England, to examine the 12-month prevalence of four types of IPV among people with and without four types of impairment: physical health conditions, sensory impairment, learning impairment, and restricted activities of daily living (ADLs). We tested the same disability types and IPV types for men and women, using models adjusted for age, ethnicity, marital status, and socioeconomic factors. 

Disabled women had almost twice the odds of experiencing psychological IPV, and around two and a half times the odds of experiencing sexual IPV, in the past year compared to non-disabled women. No significant difference was found for physical IPV. Women with a learning impairment reported the highest rates of IPV overall (around one in five had experienced some form of abuse in the past year), and women with restricted ADLs were at particularly high risk of economic abuse. For men, using the same measures and models, we found no significant differences in IPV risk between disabled and non-disabled men. 

This gendered pattern is consistent with the wider evidence base on IPV, in which women experience more frequent and more coercive forms of abuse than men, and it suggests that disability compounds this risk specifically for women. Disabled women’s risk was concentrated in the less visible forms of abuse (psychological and sexual, rather than physical), which points to a real gap: safeguarding responses attuned mainly to physical harm may be missing much of what disabled women experience. Isolation, dependency on a partner for care, and barriers to disclosure are all likely to play a part. 

The lack of a significant association for men may reflect several factors. Our sample of disabled men reporting IPV was relatively small, particularly for sexual IPV, which widens the uncertainty around these estimates. Disability may also interact with stigma and barriers to disclosure for men differently than for women, and the broader evidence base on men’s experiences of IPV, disabled or not, remains much thinner than for women. Further research with larger samples of disabled men would help clarify this pattern. 

These findings support investment in violence prevention programmes specifically designed for disabled women, particularly those with learning impairments or multiple impairments, and highlight the need for routes to disclosure that don’t rely on abuse being physically visible. They also point to the importance of coordination between domestic abuse services, disability support services, and health and social care, particularly where a partner also provides care. 

To download the article: Disability and intimate partner violence in England: Gender stratified analyses of a probability sample survey

To cite: Hashemi, L., Manzur, H., Bunce, A. et al. Disability and intimate partner violence in England: Gender stratified analyses of a probability sample survey. BMC Public Health (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-28489-5

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

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Temporal trends in teenage relationship abuse among Welsh adolescents

Teenage relationship abuse (TRA) includes physical, emotional and sexual abuse in young people’s intimate relationships and is a growing public health concern. TRA has significant associations with other risk markers including (cyber)bullying, sexting and substance use, as well as negative short and long-term health and social consequences. It affects young people under 16 but remains largely invisible in national data. This study examines temporal trends (a pattern in data that shows how something changes over time) in TRA prevalence among Welsh adolescents and the age gradient in TRA by school year group.

The research team, led by VISION Senior Research Fellow Ruth Weir (City St George’s UoL), and  her consortium colleagues, Niels Blom (University of Manchester) and Polina Obolenskaya (City St George’s) and Katy Barrow-Grint (City St George’s) and Edna Ogada and Honor Young (Cardiff University), provide the first temporal trends in TRA among under 16-year-olds.

Data from four survey years (2017, 2019, 2023, 2025) of the Welsh School Health Research Network (SHRN) Student Health and Wellbeing Survey (SHWS) were analysed, comprising 345,796 pupils aged 11–16 from all maintained secondary schools in Wales. TRA victimisation and perpetration were measured using six items.

The team’s analysis confirms that TRA victimisation and perpetration remain prevalent among 11- to 16 year-olds. TRA among adolescents in Wales increased between 2017 and 2023 before declining in 2025, with a mixed pattern. The exception is emotional victimisation which both rose faster and remained at increased levels. Across the four survey years, one in five pupils reported TRA victimisation and one in eight reported perpetration. All six TRA outcomes increased between 2017 and 2023 before declining in 2025.

By 2025, any victimisation and physical perpetration had returned to 2017 levels; emotional victimisation remained elevated; and other outcomes fell below 2017 levels. A key finding across all four survey years is the bidirectional nature of TRA in under 16s. Sole perpetration is rare, most perpetrators are also victims, which challenges a more simplistic victim/perpetrator binary. Study findings have direct implications for prevention – interventions that separate young people into victim and perpetrator groups may therefore be inappropriate for this age group. 

Recommendation

Universal intervention and support are needed before entering secondary school and whilst in attendence. Any intervention should recognise the bidirectional nature of abuse among this age group.

To download the article: Temporal Trends in Teenage Relationship Abuse Among Welsh Adolescents: Analysis of the Student Health and Wellbeing Survey, 2017-2025

To cite: Weir, Ruth and Blom, Niels and Obolenskaya, Polina and Ogada, Edna and Barrow-Grint, Katy and Young, Honor, Temporal Trends in Teenage Relationship Abuse Among Welsh Adolescents: Analysis of the Student Health and Wellbeing Survey, 2017-2025 (June 23, 2026). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=6982259

For further information, contact: Ruth at ruth.weir@citystgeorges.ac.uk

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