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VISION responds to Parliamentary, government & non-government consultations

    Consultation, evidence and inquiry submissions are an important part of our work at VISION. Responding to Parliamentary, government and non-government organisation consultations ensures that a wide range of opinions and voices are factored into the policy decision making process. As our interdisciplinary research addresses violence and how it cuts across health, crime and justice and the life course, we think it is important to take the time to answer any relevant call and to share our insight and findings to support improved policy and practice. We respond as VISION, the Violence & Society Centre, and sometimes in collaboration with others. Below are the links to our published responses and evidence from June 2022.

    1. UK Parliament – Women and Equalities Committee – Inquiry: Community Cohesion. Our submission was published in February 2025.
    2. UK Parliament – Call for evidence on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Our submission was published in February 2025.
    3. UK Parliament – Public Accounts Committee – Inquiry: Use of Artificial Intelligence in Government. Our submission was published in January 2025.
    4. UK Parliament – Public Accounts Committee – Inquiry: Tackling Homelessness. Our submission with Dr Natasha Chilman was published in January 2025. See the full report
    5. Home Office – Legislation consultation: Statutory Guidance for the Conduct of Domestic Homicide Reviews. Our submission was published on the VISION website in July 2024.
    6. UK Parliament – Women and Equalities Committee – Inquiry: The rights of older people. Our submission was published in November 2023
    7. UK Parliament  – Women and Equalities Committee – Inquiry: The impact of the rising cost of living on women. Our submission was published in November 2023
    8. UK Parliament – Women and Equalities Committee – Inquiry: The escalation of violence against women and girls. Our submission published in September 2023
    9. Home Office – Legislation consultation: Machetes and other bladed articles: proposed legislation (submitted response 06/06/2023). Government response to consultation and summary of public responses was published in August 2023
    10. Welsh Government – Consultation: National action plan to prevent the abuse of older people. Summary of the responses published in April 2023
    11. Race Disparity Unit (RDU) – Consultation: Standards for Ethnicity Data (submitted response 30/08/2022). Following the consultation, a revised version of the data standards was published in April 2023
    12. UK Parliament – The Home Affairs Committee – Call for evidence: Human Trafficking. Our submission was published in March 2023
    13. UN expert – Call for evidence: Violence, abuse and neglect in older people. Our submission was published in February 2023
    14. UK Parliament – The Justice and Home Affairs Committee – Inquiry: Family migration. Our submission was published in September 2022 and a report was published following the inquiry in February 2023
    15. Home Office – Consultation: Controlling or Coercive behaviour Statutory Guidance. Our submission was published in June 2022

    For further information, please contact us at VISION_Management_Team@city.ac.uk

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    Prior homelessness and associations with health and violent victimisation

      By Dr Natasha Chilman, Research Associate, UKRI Population Health Improvement (PHI-UK), Population Mental Health Consortium, Kings College London

      In the United Kingdom, we have the highest rate of homelessness compared to other high-income countries. For many people homelessness is a temporary, although often very impactful, experience in their lives. However, there is a paucity of research and data looking at people who are formerly homeless and living in private households (i.e., rented or owned accommodation).

      This blog describes a new study which fills this gap, conducted by Dr Natasha Chilman from King’s College London and colleagues, including Professor Sally McManus from VISION.

      The study authors analysed data from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Surveys, which is a nationally representative survey of adults living in private households in 2007 and 2014. Out of 13,859 people, 535 people reported previous experience of homelessness.

      Some of the key findings of the study were:

      • A staggering 40% of people who formerly experienced homelessness had experienced violence in their homes at some point in their lives, compared to 7% of people who had never been homeless.
      • A quarter (24%) of people who formerly experienced homelessness reported experience of sexual abuse, compared to less than 5% of people who had never experienced homelessness.
      • Almost half (45%) of the formerly homeless group were currently experiencing depression or anxiety, compared to just 15% of people who had never experienced homelessness. People who formerly experienced homelessness were also experiencing more severe symptoms of these common mental disorders.
      • There were strong associations between former homelessness and health conditions, across common mental disorders, physical health conditions, alcohol/substance dependence, and multimorbidities. These associations persisted even after adjusting for a range of potential confounders, including indicators of socio-economic position and smoking.
      • Adjusting for adverse experiences including violence and abuse attenuated associations between former homelessness and alcohol/substance dependence related health outcomes, but not mental/physical health.

      The findings from this study highlight the urgent need for long-term integrated healthcare support for people who are formerly homeless to continue after they have secured private housing. There were severe inequalities in experiences of violence and sexual abuse for people who have experienced homelessness, underscoring the importance of both violence and homelessness prevention, and of trauma-informed approaches to support.

      To read the article or download the paper free of charge:

      The public health significance of prior homelessness: findings on multimorbidity and mental health from a nationally representative survey | Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences | Cambridge Core

      To cite:

      Chilman N, Schofield P, McManus S, Ronaldson A, Stagg A, Das-Munshi J. The public health significance of prior homelessness: findings on multimorbidity and mental health from a nationally representative survey. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences. 2024;33:e63. doi:10.1017/S2045796024000659

      Or for further information, please contact Natasha at natasha.chilman@kcl.ac.uk