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VISION-funded research: Surviving Economic Abuse survey initial findings released

    Tackling economic abuse should be part of the solution to meet the new government’s ambitious target to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. It is important that the government’s measurement approach can understand the range of ways that economic restriction, exploitation and sabotage that victim-survivors experience at scale across the UK.

    Recent survey results from Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) tell a powerful story that highlights experiences of economic abuse across the UK. The full report will be launched by SEA in March 2025, but their early release of key findings include:

    • Economic abuse is often understood to only be about creating dependency through restriction, but it can take many forms e.g., having a partner or ex-partner steal money, refuse to pay bills, or scare their partner into taking out credit. Early analysis suggests that a wider range of behaviours may continue post-separation than previously thought.
    • The data shines a light on the dangerous situation for young women- an area that SEA and VISION are seeking funding to explore further. 18–24-year-olds experienced more economic abuse than any other age group, for example 12% of this sample had been prevented from having log-in information (e.g. passwords, usernames) to key accounts such as online banking, utilities accounts, emails by a partner or ex-partner compared to 4% of all women.
    • Black, Asian and racially minoritised women in the UK may be more than twice as likely to experience economic abuse from a partner or ex-partner than White women, with women with a Black/African/Caribbean or Black British ethnicity particularly at risk.
    • Disabled women in the UK may be nearly twice as likely to experience economic abuse from a partner or ex-partner as non-disabled women

    The VISION consortium was delighted to financially support SEA’s research, A rapid impact survey to monitor the nature and prevalence of economic abuse in the UK, through our Small Projects Fund in spring 2024. Their full report will be widely shared in 2025, including on the VISION website and through our networks.

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    Migrants’ experiences of violence while in insecure migration status

      Violence is a major public health issue. Moreover, there is evidence that violence is significantly related to social inequality. Existing studies have found links between violence and gender, ethnicity, place of residence and socioeconomic status.

      Although economic globalization impacts trade, goods, and services, the movement of people has been increasingly restricted since the 1990s. The number of people globally who live with insecure migration status is difficult to estimate, but includes people worldwide undertaking irregular journeys and crossing international borders without authorization, people living without the correct immigration documentation, and people in temporary or dependent statuses in destination countries.

      The global movement of people in the context of strict immigration laws and policies places significant numbers of people in insecure migration status worldwide. Insecure status leaves people without recourse to legal, governmental or social protection from violence and abuse.

      This review synthesized qualitative studies that reported how migrants associated physical and physically enforced sexual violence they experienced with their insecure migration status. VISION researchers, Andri Innes, Annie Bunce, Hannah Manzur, and Natalia V. Lewis, generated robust qualitative evidence showing that women experienced sexual violence while in transit or without status in a host state, and that they associated that violence with their insecure migration status. This was the case across the various geographic routes and destination countries.

      They found evidence that women associated intimate partner violence with lacking (legal) access to support because of their insecure migration status. Women connected their unwillingness to leave violent circumstances, and therefore their prolonged or repeated exposure to violence, with a fear of immigration removal produced by their insecure migration status.

      To protect people in insecure migration status from experiencing violence that they associated with their migration status, it’s necessary to ensure that the reporting of violence does not lead to immigration enforcement consequences for the victim.

      To download the paper: Experiences of violence while in insecure migration status: a qualitative evidence synthesis | Globalization and Health | Full Text

      To cite: Innes, A., Bunce, A., Manzur, H. et al. Experiences of violence while in insecure migration status: a qualitative evidence synthesis. Global Health 20, 83 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-024-01085-1

      For further information, please contact Andri at alexandria.innes@city.ac.uk

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      United to End Violence Against Women and Girls: An Online Animated Campaign  

        Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a pressing issue in Iran, a Middle Eastern country marked by its patriarchal structure and systematic and pervasive gender discrimination. Educational programmes addressing this issue are scarce, and cultural barriers often hinder open discussion. The United to End Violence Against Women and Girls campaign aims to break this silence through a series of animated videos and images designed to inform public discourse and to empower victims to seek support.

         The United to End Violence Against Women and Girls project was led by VISION researchers Ladan Hashemi and Sally McManus, in collaboration with colleagues from other UK universities including the University of Bristol, Goldsmiths University, Animation Research Centre at the University for the Creative Arts, and Leeds Beckett University. 

        They worked with an animation production team in Iran, a social media advisor, and two advisory groups. The advisory groups were Mehre Shams Afarid, an Iran-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), and IKWRO, a London-based charity providing services to women victims of violence from the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region—to incorporate culturally specific insights.

        Although the project initially focused on Iran, engaging with the UK-based NGO revealed an interest in extending its reach. As a result, English subtitles were added to make the animations accessible to a wider audience. This collaboration helped the content resonate with audiences both in Iran and within the global diaspora community, particularly those from the MENA region.

        The animations are grounded in evidence from a survey of 453 women in Iran, which explored the manifestation of various forms of VAWG in Iran and women’s perspectives on how to eliminate it. The survey was designed by Fatima Babakhani, CEO of Mehre Shams Afarid.

        Key findings from participants’ open-ended responses to the survey showed that, despite structural inequalities and deeply ingrained societal, cultural, and religious norms that perpetuate VAWG, change is possible through education and legal reforms.

        As one survey participant noted: “Unfortunately, many still don’t understand what violence truly is. Raising awareness is the solution.”

        The first four United to End Violence Against Women and Girls campaign animations focus on coercive control, economic abuse, technology-facilitated abuse, and active bystander interventions, with two more animations in development.

        With guidance from an Iranian social media advisor, a digital strategy was developed to maximise the campaign’s impact. Instagram was chosen as the primary distribution platform, as it is the most widely used social media platform in Iran, with over 47 million users. The animations are also shared on YouTube to further extend the campaign’s reach.

        Influencers and women’s rights activists with followings from thousands to millions were partnered with to amplify the campaign’s reach. The online campaign officially launched 25th November, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls.

        By leveraging evidence-based content and strategic partnerships, we hope to spark meaningful conversations and drive change across Iran and the diaspora communities from the MENA region.

        Join us in raising awareness and advocating for change. Please follow and share the campaign links on your social media to help spread the message.

        Link to Instagram page

        Link to YouTube channel

        This project was funded by City St George’s, University of London Higher Education Impact Fund (HEIF) Knowledge Exchange and by the UKPRP VISION research consortium.

        For further information, please contact Ladan at ladan.hashemi@city.ac.uk

        Domestic abuse in cancer care: Improving the identification and support

          Although few studies have explored people’s experiences of domestic abuse and cancer, we know the two co-occur. The few studies we do have show that cancer can trigger an escalation of abuse. But there are no published domestic abuse interventions in the cancer setting.

          In an attempt to plug that gap, Sandi Dheensa, University of Bristol researcher, and colleagues, including VISION Deputy Director Estela Capelas Barbosa, have conducted a service evaluation on a domestic abuse intervention for hospital-based cancer professionals. Their study, Identifying and responding to domestic abuse in cancer care: a mixed methods service evaluation of a training and support intervention – European Journal of Oncology Nursing, is the first to evaluate a DA training (and support) intervention for cancer professionals in England.

          The key findings demonstrate that cancer and DA frequently co-occur, and that training and support intervention of hospital-based cancer staff increased the rate of DA identifications. There is an appetite for DA and cancer training amongst hospital-based cancer staff.

          The evaluation contributes further evidence of the benefit of hospital-based domestic abuse coordinator roles and contributes new evidence for the feasibility of adapting the role for a specific context.

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

          Identifying and responding to domestic abuse in cancer care: a mixed methods service evaluation of a training and support intervention – European Journal of Oncology Nursing

          To cite:

          Identifying and responding to domestic abuse in cancer care: a mixed methods service evaluation of a training and support intervention. Dheensa, Sandi et al. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, Volume 0, Issue 0, 102724

          Or for further information, please contact Sandi at sandi.dheensa@bristol.ac.uk

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          VAWG data dashboard consultation highlights usefulness of tool

            The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) developed a prototype violence against women and girls (VAWG) data dashboard in 2022. The webpages presented statistics and charts on violence against women and girls in England and Wales, drawing on multiple sources. However, due to reprioritisation at ONS, maintenance of the dashboard stopped and as of April 2024 it was no longer accessible.

            VISION developed a consultation to ascertain the usefulness of a VAWG data dashboard as a result. The call was open from March to May 2024, and 102 responses were received. Most participants responded in their capacity as individuals (n=61), although 25 stated that they were responding on behalf of an organisation and four on behalf of a group. Some participants both responded as an individual and on behalf of an organisation or group.

            Consultation participants responded as people from across a variety of roles and sectors. The
            most commonly cited were working in research or education (n=40) and in policy or planning
            (n=28), 27 people responded as someone with lived experience and 13 as members of the
            public. The remainder comprised those in service provision (n=17), a campaign role (n=10) or
            some other capacity (8).

            Consultation results

            Many participants had heard of the data dashboard before the VISION consultation (n=51), although 28 reported that they had not. Of those who had heard of the dashboard before, most had made use of it (n=39).

            Most participants reported that having a dashboard that brought together data on violence
            and abuse would help them either ‘somewhat’ (n=12) or ‘a lot’ (n=39).

            Participants were asked what they found to be useful about the data dashboard:

            • Data discovery
            • Finding data and finding it faster
            • Breakdowns and local profiles
            • Comparisons
            • Authoritative context
            • Source material

            Participants were asked for their thoughts on the limitations or what was missing from the dashboard:

            • Wider coverage in relation to topics (health, disability, suicide, law, family courts, policy), types of violence and abuse (homicide, forced marriage, sexual violence), and particular groups (men, perpetrators)
            • Deeper context in terms of much more nuanced contextual discussion of what the data means, ‘data without context is misleading’
            • Critical interrogation such as the highlight of methodological limitations
            • Interactive functionality with more scope for further breakdowns by local authority areas and police forces for example
            • Improved search function
            • Positive action such as a ‘section about work being done to support victims/reduce cases’
            • Human stories meaning to go beyond numbers and to tell the human stories that underpin them

            Recommendations

            Through this consultation, approximately 100 people told VISION that a VAWG data dashboard is
            something that they valued having and wish to have again. These included people with lived
            experience of violence and abuse, people working in health, justice, specialist and other
            services, researchers and academics across disciplines, and members of the wider public.

            A violence and abuse data dashboard is needed because it has:

            • Symbolic value: indicating that violence against women and girls matters to the
              Government, and
            • Practical value: as a functional and easy to use tool facilitating access to high
              quality data spanning a range of types of violence, groups, areas and years.

            In April 2024, ONS’ prototype VAWG data dashboard was withdrawn due to reprioritisation of
            resources within that organisation. Since then, a new Government has come into office with a
            stated mission to halve violence against women and girls within the decade. How progress towards this commitment is monitored will be essential to its success. General population health and crime surveys, alongside other data sources, will be key and that includes a revitalised, fit for purpose VAWG data dashboard. To instill trust and collective investment in this goal, a public platform for transparent monitoring is needed and the dashboard could be an effective, useful tool.

            Next steps

            VISION is a cross-sectoral consortium of academics and government and service partners
            working with UK data on violence and abuse. We are aware that further development and relaunching of a data dashboard will require a collaborative effort from relevant departments of
            state, data providers (not least ONS) and external funding. Drawing on our work in this area
            we aim to coordinate this effort, with three initial objectives:

            • Resource: Identify partners and funding source(s)
            • Define: Agree clear definitions to best capture and monitor subgroup and temporal
              trends in VAWG and violent crime in the population
            • Design and test a revised violence and abuse data dashboard with people from
              across sectors

            To download the report:

            Consultation: Is there a need for a Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) data dashboard

            Or for further information, please contact Sally at sally.mcmanus@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

              Mental health outcomes of being a close relative of a serious assault victim

                There is a now sizeable body of evidence that shows how violence can harm health, across different populations (e.g., violence experienced by older people or by people with insecure migration status) and contexts (e.g., violence within the workplace).

                However, much less is known about the effects of violence on the close relatives of victims. This is particularly surprising considering the critical role that relatives play in providing support, care, and advocating for victims in the aftermath of violence.

                VISION researchers, Dr Elizabeth Cook and Professor Sally McManus, address this gap in their recently published, Indirect victims of violence: mental health and the close relatives of serious assault victims in England, an open access article in Social Science & Medicine. They conducted a secondary analysis of the 2014 APMS (a cross-sectional, household mental health survey of 7,519 adults in England). Lizzie and Sally wanted to find out what proportion of the population was closely related to a victim of serious assault, and to assess whether being a relative was associated to poorer mental health outcomes.

                They found that approximately 1 in 20 adults were closely related to a serious assault victim. The analyses showed that relatives were:

                • more likely to be anxious and twice as likely to be fearful in their neighbourhood
                • more likely to be dealing with multiple, other types of adversity such as their own experiences of serious assault and financial strains

                Check out their piece, Families of victims of violent assault have double the risk of anxiety – new study, in The Conversation, where they discuss their findings further as well as the implications for government approaches to counting the costs of the effects of violence for society.

                To read the article or download it free of charge:

                https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953624007329

                To cite:

                Cook, E. and McManus, S. (2024). Indirect victims of violence: mental health and the close relatives of serious assault victims in England. Social Science & Medicine.

                To contact the authors:

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