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Report launch: A transformative justice framework to address adolescent relationship abuse

    Despite a general awareness of the prevalence of harm young people are experiencing in their relationships, there is little data and evidence supporting the prevention of and responses to such harm through the adoption of a survivor centred transformative justice approach.

    Talia Kensit, founder and former CEO of Youth Realities, explored adolescent domestic abuse as a Fellow with the Churchill Fellowship, a UK charity which supports individual UK citizens to follow their passion for change, through learning from the world and bringing that knowledge back to the UK.

    Her travels and research resulted in Prevention, Intervention and Healing: Addressing Adolescent Relationship Abuse, a framework of best practice upheld by the theory of transformative justice. It is Talia’s recommendation that in order to address the epidemic of harm experienced by young people in their intimate relationships, we must implement polices and practice through prevention, intervention and healing.

    The Violence & Society Centre at City St George’s, UoL, and the UK Prevention Research Partnership VISION consortium are pleased to host Talia’s Churchill report launch on Wednesday 6 November from 4 – 6 pm at City St George’s, UoL, Clerkenwell campus.

    Talia will also be joined by:

    •  Ruth Weir, City St George’s, UoL, Taking a collaborative approach to understanding more about abuse in teenage relationships
    • Christine Barter, University of Central Lancashire, Qualitative findings looking at the nature and impact of IPVA in young people’s relationships
    • Jeff Temple, University of Texas, Dating violence prevention program: implementation and effectiveness

    Seating, drinks and nibbles will be provided.

    To register for the event: Select tickets – Report launch: A transformative justice framework to address adolescent relationship abuse – City St George’s , University of London, Clerkenwell campus (tickettailor.com)

    For questions about the event: violenceandsociety@city.ac.uk

    All those registering will receive an email by 30 October from the Violence and Society Centre with the room and building number where the launch will be held on our Clerkenwell campus.

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

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

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

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

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

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

      Definition and measurement of violence in the Crime Survey for England and Wales

        The definitions and methodology used in surveys to measure violence have implications for its estimated volume and gendered distribution. The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) uses quite a narrow definition of ‘violence against the person’ which excludes crimes which are arguably violent in nature.

        VISION researchers Elouise Davies, Polina Obolenskaya, Brian Francis and Niels Blom worked with colleagues Jessica Phoenix, Merili Pullerits and Sylvia Walby to expand the CSEW’s measurement of violence to include threats, robbery, sexual violence and mixed violence/property crimes as violence. 

        The team investigates the implications of using an expanded definition of violence on the subsequent estimates of interpersonal violence and its distribution (the proportion of incidents of violence committed towards women, and the proportion of incidents that are committed by domestic relations rather than acquaintances or strangers). Additionally, they investigate how the expanded definition of violence shows an increased health burden of violence by investigating the number of injuries and the number and proportion of victims that are strongly emotionally impacted.

        This results in a shift in the gender distribution of violence, with a higher proportion of violence against women (from 39% to 58%) and by domestic perpetrators (from 29% to 32%).

        Impacts of violence – injuries and emotional harm – are also affected by the change in definition and disproportionally so for women.

        For further information, please see: Definition and Measurement of Violence in the Crime Survey for England and Wales: Implications for the Amount and Gendering of Violence | The British Journal of Criminology | Oxford Academic (oup.com)

        Or please contact Elouise at e.davies4@lancaster.ac.uk

        Illustration licensed by Adobe Photo Stock

        Green space may be important in the prevention of crimes

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

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

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

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

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

          To read the article or download free of charge:

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

          To cite:

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

          Illustration / photograph licensed under Adobe Photo Stock

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

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

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

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

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

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

            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:

              Photography licensed by Adobe Photo Stock

              New book & upcoming launch- Tackling Domestic Abuse & Sexual Violence: A Systems Approach

                Tackling Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence: A Systems Approach is a newly edited collection, curated by University of Suffolk colleagues, Dr Olumide Adisa (and Co-Investigator at VISION, and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Violence & Society Centre, City St George’s) and Professor Emma Bond, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research and Knowledge Exchange.

                The book’s chapters use retrospective case studies to engage with a systems approach to discover new thinking and applications that may best suit the area of domestic abuse and sexual violence (DASV). All the chapters showcase systems approaches in varying ways to ignite new inquiries and conversations about grappling with the greater complexity of problems.

                Dr Adisa and Professor Bond, together with their collaborators, will launch the book at a special event at City St. George’s University of London on Tuesday, 26 November at 5.30 pm. They will explain the book and share their inspiration for the themes covered. A panel of speakers will share their collective vision for systems change in tackling DASV in different systems. The event will also feature poetry (spoken word) performances based on lived/living experiences of domestic abuse and as a survivor-centred response to the book’s themes.  

                Dr Adisa said:

                “I am incredibly excited about the launch event. I have been overwhelmed by the positive and heartwarming reaction to the book from those committed to tackling the problem of DASV and those sadly affected by DASV. I have been impressed with the brilliant contributions made by all the authors who are deeply committed to bringing about change. This event is an opportunity to hear from some amazing speakers and forge new encounters and connections, united in our quest to reduce DASV and mitigate its devastating impact on children, families, and communities.”

                Professor Sally McManus, Director of the Violence and Society Centre, and Co-Deputy Director, VISION, said:

                “Dr Adisa works at the forefront of systems thinking. This new collection – co-curated with Prof Bond – brings a radical new approach to addressing violence and abuse, rooted in diverse real-world examples of challenge and change. The book houses many rich voices, distinct yet drawn together through common themes of complexity and hope.”

                Please join Dr Adisa, Professor Bond, and their fellow collaborators at their 26 November book launch at The Pavilion, University Building, City St George’s, from 5:30 – 7 pm. Drinks and nibbles will be provided.

                Registration is required for this free event: Select tickets – Book launch: Tackling Domestic Abuse & Sexual Violence – A Systems Approach – The Pavilion, University Building, City, University of London (tickettailor.com).

                This book launch is hosted by the UK Prevention and Research Partnership consortium, Violence, Health and Society (VISION) (MR-V049879) and the Violence and Society Centre at City, University of London (VASC).

                VISION/VASC Webinar Series: Measuring the global burden of morbidity associated with violence against women and children

                  This event is in the past.

                  We are pleased to announce our next webinar for the VISION and Violence & Society Centre (VASC) Webinar Series on Tuesday, 1 October 2024, 1300 – 1350.

                  Joht Chandan, Clinical Professor of Public Health at the University of Birmingham, will present his research on measuring the global burden of morbidity associated with violence against women and children.

                  Joht has spent considerable time working on designing and delivering a public health approach to abuse and violence. This includes research into finding what works to support survivors of violence, abuse and maltreatment as well as methods to improve surveillance in the context of violence against women and children. For example, his research has shown that survivors of domestic abuse are nearly three times more likely to suffer from mental ill health during their lifetime and have above-average rates of diabetes, heart disease and death.    

                  To register for the event in order to receive the Teams invitation, please contact: VISION_Management_Team@city.ac.uk

                  The purpose of the series is to provide a platform for academia, government and the voluntary and community sector that work to reduce and prevent violence to present their work / research to a wider audience. This is a multidisciplinary platform and we welcome speakers from across a variety of fields such as health, crime, policing, ethnicity, migration, sociology, social work, primary care, front line services, etc. If interested in presenting at a future Series webinar, please contact: VISION_Management_Team@city.ac.uk

                  The VISION/VASC Webinar Series is sponsored by the UK Prevention and Research Partnership consortium, Violence, Health and Society (MR-V049879) and the Violence and Society Centre at City, University of London.

                  Workplace bullying and harassment harms health

                    Workplace bullying and harassment (WBH) is bad for people’s health, and this negative health impact can manifest in a variety of ways and be long-lasting.

                    Over a decade ago the UK government initiated the Fair Treatment at Work survey, aiming to ‘place the issue of bullying at work on employers’ agendas’, yet there has been no major initiative since.

                    Using data from the 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, VISION researchers Annie Bunce, Ladan Hashemi and Sally McManus, along with Carrie Myers and Charlotte Clark from City St George’s, University of London and Stephen Stansfeld from Queen Mary, University of London, examined the prevalence and nature of WBH among workers in England, and associations with mental health.

                    A clear picture of the severity of the problem of WBH in England is painted by four key findings.

                    1. One in ten people in paid work reported having experienced WBH in the past year. This is likely to be an underestimate due to underreporting for various reasons;
                    2. Those who reported bullying were more likely to be in a financially disadvantaged position;
                    3. Over half of people who reported having been bullied at work identified the perpetrator as a line manager; and
                    4. Clinically diagnosed common mental disorder was more than twice as likely in employees with experience of WBH compared with those without, and those exposed to WBH were also twice as likely as others in paid work to screen positive for PTSD.

                    Taken together these findings demonstrate that WBH is common in UK workplaces, it may be driven and exacerbated by issues of inequality, power and hierarchical organisational structures, and it is associated with depressive and anxiety disorders severe enough to warrant health service intervention and treatment.

                    This power dynamic should not be forgotten when addressing issues in the workplace, but the complexity of workplace environments creates challenges for identifying, understanding and addressing bullying. Reports of WBH can coincide with performance concerns from managers, and, whilst behaviours intended as legitimate performance management activities might be misinterpreted as bullying by the employee, it is also possible that HR practitioners attribute managerial bullying behaviours to legitimate performance management practice to exonerate mangers and protect the organisation.

                    This links to a recently published piece for The Conversation by Sally McManus and Kat Ford (Bangor University), which sets out how companies can influence and perpetuate violence in society, including via employment practices that conceal the extent of bullying, sexual harassment and other forms of workplace violence (for further information see Six ways companies fuel violence (theconversation.com).

                    Also, structural issues in the workplace can create pressure for managers which they then take out on those they manage, managers can be victims of WBH themselves, and organisational culture may perpetuate WBH.

                    Given such complex power dynamics, it is recommended that organisations involve employees at all levels in the development of policies, and collaboratively review the implementation and performance of policies regularly to ensure they are working for the people they are intended to protect. Rather than prescribed ‘tick box’ policies and responses, creative methods incorporating employees’ perspectives may more likely lead to meaningful change.

                    Crucially, managers and HRs might not be the most approachable people for victims of WBH. For example, other VISION research has found this to be the case for victims of intimate partner violence and abuse (see VISION Policy Series: The impact of intimate partner violence on job loss and time off work in the UK – City Vision).  Therefore, alternative sources of support need to be available within organisations, such as unions and counselling services.

                    For further information please see the full paper available at: Prevalence and nature of workplace bullying and harassment and associations with mental health conditions in England: a cross-sectional probability sample survey | BMC Public Health (springer.com)

                    Or please contact Dr Annie Bunce at annie.bunce@city.ac.uk

                    Illustration licensed by Adobe Photo Stock

                    The story so far: Co-production in Lambeth

                      By Elizabeth Cook, Senior Lecturer in Criminology & Sociology at City St George’s, University of London

                      As the VISION consortium approaches the end of its third year, work continues on consolidating the learning from various large datasets in crime and justice, health, and specialist services.

                      What we know is that these datasets are structured in different ways, collected by different agencies, and curated for quite different purposes. They represent particular ways of knowing about violence and abuse: they can help to identify patterns (e.g., what determines whether victim-survivors of sexual violence and abuse access support), prevalence (e.g., of workplace bullying and harassment), trends over time, and associations (e.g., between intimate partner violence, suicidality, and self-harm). However, we also know that large datasets struggle to capture the complex, and sometimes messy, realities of violence and abuse experienced by communities, especially those that are marginalised and minoritised.

                      Peer action research in Lambeth

                      In Lambeth, working in collaboration with peer researchers has made visible the evidence gaps that emerge at the intersection of multiple systems of inequality, including racism and misogyny.

                      We are lucky to be partnered with Lambeth Peer Action Collective (LPAC), High Trees and Partisan as part of a peer action research project. The aim of the project is to explore the role that trusted adults and trusted spaces can play in protecting young people from exposure to violence. Currently, there are 11 peer researchers that work as part of the LPAC: a collective of young people and youth organisations campaigning for change in their community. They are supported by High Trees, a Community Development Trust in Tulse Hill, eight partner youth organisations, and Partisan, a Black-led Community Interest Company providing culturally sensitive mental health support.

                      What has been achieved so far?

                      The project builds upon research conducted by the previous cohort of LPAC researchers conducted between December 2021 and August 2022. This project identified the impacts of violence on young people in Lambeth and the structural conditions of poverty, housing, education, urban regeneration, and public safety that were experienced unequally across the community.

                      Developing these findings further, the second cohort of peer researchers have been participating in weekly research training sessions led by High Trees and supported by VISION. The group has been learning everything they need for the next stage: from safeguarding and finances, to developing research questions, critical thinking skills, and how to evaluate research methods. This month, the LPAC researchers are getting ready to put into practice the interview skills that they have been learning each week in preparation for the next stage of the project – recruitment.

                      There has been amazing progress so far – not only in forming a research question and defining key concepts, but in developing a shared space for researchers to feel like change is possible and to collaborate with others who want the same.

                      What have we learned?

                      There are ongoing conversations about how peer action research can work to redress the imbalance between ‘researcher’ and ‘researched.’ These conversations seem even more relevant to research on violence and abuse, where the issue of power is central to both.

                      So far, the weekly sessions with peer researchers as well as our meetings with High Trees have taught us a lot about how power operates within institutions and the ways that it can be shared if there is a will to share it. This can be reflected in adequate resourcing, decision-making, access, and sharing skills and knowledge. The project has underlined the importance of respect in research: for different forms of expertise, within spaces, and within research relationships. The project has also challenged adult-centric assumptions about what we suppose that young people need to live better lives.

                      As mentioned previously, this project highlights the evidence gaps that occur at the intersection of multiple inequalities. In doing so, peer action research can also shape how we utilise large datasets, recognising how different social realities are reflected within existing data (or not).

                      In this sense, this collaboration has also made hyper-visible the question of: what and who is research for? As others have suggested, action research is not so much a methodology, but a way of thinking about research: it is a way of approaching a specific problem through community, participation, and curiosity. It is not necessarily driven by knowing more about something, but by wanting to change something with what you know.

                      We hope that this research continues in that spirit!

                      Further information

                      Do check out the LPAC’s manifesto for change and their previous report!

                       Photograph is copyrighted to Lambeth Peer Action Collective and not for use.