Trauma and Violence prevention

An outline image of two birds breaking out of a cage

Our focus is on the prevention of all forms of violence, abuse and trauma, inclusive of culture, gender, sexuality, age, black minority and ethnic group, and social status. Our work spans the experiences of  victim/survivors, bystanders, perpetrators and practitioners.

Our research interests encompass all aspects of violent crime and trauma, looking at the impact of violence, the response to violence and abuse, and strengthening the evidence base to influence policy and practice, with the overall aim of preventing violence and reducing harm.

We are particularly interested in developing innovative interdisciplinary methods through which social scientists (psychologists, sociologists, criminologists, social policy makers) join with colleagues in all relevant disciplines, such as health and education, to develop new ways of combating violence, abuse and trauma, or new ways of understanding violence and abuse in order to raise public awareness and/or engage broader public audiences in debates about violence prevention.

Areas of research work undertaken include:

  • Implementation and evaluation of interventions and programmes aimed at domestic abuse perpetrators
  • Helpline services for male victims of domestic abuse 
  • Understanding attitudes towards sexual violence
  • Understanding support needs of military and veteran families in coping with visible and nonvisible traumas
  • Implementation and evaluation of an active bystander programme to respond to domestic violence, coercive and controlling behaviour and sexual violence
  • Understanding the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
  • Understanding police decision making around domestic abuse, particularly in relation to risk assessment and coercive control
  • Peer mentoring and peer support workers with lived experience
  • The experience of domestic abuse cyber stalking and harassment
  • The experience of violence, trauma and abuse by emergency services and healthcare staff
  • Policing and vulnerability
  • Problem solving in policing and partnerships

Members

  • Amy Johnson
  • (theme lead)
  •  
  • Gemma Thornton (PhD student)

Associate Members

  • Professor Erica Bowen (external)
  • Dr Rosie Erol (College of Policing)
  • Dr Holly Taylor-Dunn (The Open ºüÀêÊÓƵ)

Current Projects

  • Evaluation of West Mercia Women’s Aid helpline for male victims of domestic abuse (Claire McLoone-Richards & Rosie Erol)
  • Understanding support needs of military and veteran families in coping with visible and nonvisible traumas (Gabriela Micha)
  • (Gill Harrop)
  • Review of Problem Solving in Warwickshire Police (Rosie Erol)
  • (Gabriela Misca, with Relate UK)
  • Evaluation of the Tyre Tagging project (Rosie Erol & Lois Donnelly)

Current PhD student projects:

  • Lois Donnelly: The Family Courts and victims of Intimate Partner Abuse: experiences and perceived impact of Special Measures
  • Carolyn Ball: How does the experience of intimate partner violence victimisation influence men’s experience as fathers?
  • Harriet Bromley: A strengths-based approach to exploring resilience in domestic and sexual violence advocates.

Recent Reports and Publications

  • Taylor-Dunn, Holly and Erol, Rosie (2022) Improving the ‘victim journey’ when reporting domestic abuse cyberstalking to the police – A pilot project evaluation. Criminology and Criminal Justice. pp. 1-22. ISSN Print: 1748-8958 Online: 1748-8966
  • Richardson, Jane, Erol, Rosie and Bueno, Allain  (2022) A Reflection on the Tensions of Acting in Dual Roles of Doctoral Researcher and Practitioner when Evaluating a Lifestyle Intervention for Breast Cancer Patients. Journal of Cancer Education. ISSN Electronic: 1543-0154 Print: 0885-8195
  • Erol, Rosie  and Scurlock-Evans, Laura  (2022) Evaluation of the Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Panel in Worcestershire. Project Report. ºüÀêÊÓƵ of Worcester.
  • Grubb, A. R., Brown, S. J., Hall, P., & Bowen, E. (2021).  From deployment to debriefing: Introducing the D.I.A.M.O.N.D. model of hostage and crisis negotiation.  Police Practice and Research: An International Journal, 22(1), 953-976. doi:10.1080/15614263.2019.1677229
  • Harrop, Gillian (2021) Colliding Identities During COVID-19: Identifying and Addressing the Challenges of Being an Academic Mother During a Global Pandemic. Frontiers in Education, 6 (6432). ISSN 2504-284X
  • Misca, Gabriela  and Thornton, Gemma (2021) Navigating the Same Storm but Not in the Same Boat: Mental Health Vulnerability and Coping in Women ºüÀêÊÓƵ Students During the First COVID-19 Lockdown in the UK. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. p. 648533. ISSN Online: 1664-1078
  • Taylor-Dunn, H., & Erol, R. (2021). Improving the safety and well-being of domestic abuse survivors: the role of a specialist organisation in supporting the work of Independent Domestic Violence Advisors. Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 1-22.
  • Bowen, E., Erol, R. and Scott, H. (2020) Insight, Inclusion, Impact Women's Involvement Worker Toolkit: learning from experience at Anawim. Anawim and ºüÀêÊÓƵ of Worcester, Worcester. 
  • McLoone-Richards, C. (2020) The boys won’t leave the girls alone!”:The importance of advocacy and educational leadership in addressing School-Related-Gender-Based-Violence (SRGBV). In, Issues in Education Quality.  Elmaouhal, E., Zniber, M. & Barakat, O. (eds.), Agadir, Ibn Zohr ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
  • McLoone-Richards, C. & Robinson, C. (2020) ‘I know I am just a student but…’: the challenges for educators in students to develop their advocacy skills in protecting children. Early Years: An International Research Journal, DOI:1080/09575146.2020.17409036
  • Scherman, R., Misca, Gabriela  and Tan, T. (2020) The Perceptions of New Zealand Lawyers and Social Workers about Children Being Adopted by Gay Couples and Lesbian Couples. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. Article no. 520703. ISSN Online: 1664-1078
  • Grubb, A. R., Brown, S. J., Hall, P., & Bowen, E. (2019).  The self-perceived successful hostage and crisis negotiator profile: A qualitative assessment of negotiator competencies.  Police Practice and Research: An International Journal, 20(4), 321-342.  doi:10.1080/15614263.2018.1473772
  • Grubb, A. R., Brown, S. J., Hall, P., & Bowen, E. (2019).  From “sad people on bridges” to “kidnap and extortion”: Understanding the nature and situational characteristics of hostage and crisis negotiator deployments.  Journal of Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, 12(1), 41-65.  doi:10.1111/ncmr.12126
  • Grubb, A. R., Brown, S. J., Hall, P., & Bowen, E. (2019).  “There’s nothing that compares to it”: A grounded theoretical analysis of the experiences of police hostage and crisis negotiators.  International Journal of Conflict Management, 30(3), 369-394.  doi:10.1108/IJCMA-01-2019-0003
  • Richards, C.M. (2019) “Is it safe?”…Creating safe reflective spaces and places for practitioners in mentoring and supervision of safeguarding children. In, Gasper, M.& Walker, R. (eds) Mentoring, Coaching and Supervision in the Early Years: theory and practice. London, Bloomsbury.
  • Richards, C.M. (2019) ‘Looking Back in Anger’ the impact of mother and child trauma experiences in the context of Domestic Violence and Abuse. In, Fleet, A. & Reed, M. (eds.) Thinking about Pedagogy in Early Education: Multiple Early Childhood Identities. London, Routledge.
  • Donnelly, Lois Catrin and Calogero, R.M. (2018)  Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 48 (3). pp. 165-173. ISSN Online 1559-1816
  • Taylor-Dunn, H., Bowen, E., Gilchrist, E. (2018) Reporting Stalking and Harassment to the Police - A Qualitative Study of Victims’ Experiences. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
  • Taylor-Dunn, H., Bowen, E., Gilchrist, E. (2017) The Victim Journey - A participatory research project seeking the views and experiences of victims of stalking and harassment. 

Information for prospective PhD students

We welcome proposals from prospective, self-funding students which explore a range of issues and approaches in the field of trauma and violence prevention. Please see the research school pages for details on how to apply. 

Topics may include:

  • Domestic abuse
  • Sexual violence/abuse
  • Child abuse
  • Human trafficking/sexual exploitation
  • Perpetrator interventions
  • Bystander intervention/violence prevention
  • Stalking and harassment (including cyber)
  • Policing and vulnerability

Please visit this link for current, self-funding PhD projects that will be supervised by members of this research theme within the Interpersonal Relationships & Wellbeing Research Group. 

Contact

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This theme is part of the Interpersonal relationships and Wellbeing research group