Justice, Inequality and Gender Based Violence
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: Sch for Policy Studies
Abstract
The proposed research will address the knowledge gap that exists regarding justice, inequality and gender based violence (GBV). The aim is to address how 'justice' (in its wider sense) is understood, sought, and experienced by victims/survivors of GBV and key practitioners. The proposal is original in including the diverse forms of GBV (sexual and domestic violence, forced marriage and so-called honour based violence) and by applying a mixed methods approach to intersectionality. Government research and consultations have consistently shown a justice gap in relation to sexual and domestic violence, forced marriage, and 'honour based violence' [4, 25, 5, 6, 7]. The concept of a 'justice gap' whilst often used to refer to issues of attrition within the criminal justice system (the dropping out of cases), also refers here to a wider gap in our understanding of what 'justice' means. Our own and other research has demonstrated that this wider justice gap is both complex and little understood. For instance, victims/survivors of GBV make decisions about accessing formal and/or informal systems of justice (criminal, civil, restorative), that can appear 'irrational' and be difficult for practitioners to understand, but are linked to GBV experiences and the intersecting inequalities victims/survivors may inhabit. Attrition can similarly exemplify positive as well as negative choices by GBV victims/survivors [8, 9, 10]. A considerable number of domestic violence cases are now being mediated through Sharia court practices, but we have no current understanding of how victims/survivors using religious based arbitration perceive the process and how it may contribute to experiences of 'justice' in the UK (see [11] for Canadian example).
The research aims will be addressed by asking the following research questions:
1) How do victims/survivors and others experience and perceive 'justice'?
2) How does inequality affect access to support pathways and trajectories through the formal and informal justice systems?
3) How are notions of empowerment linked to notions of justice and access to justice?
4) How do practitioners themselves perceive notions of 'justice' whether enacted through formal or informal routes.
5) What would a truly victim focused justice agenda for gender based violence look like?
The team is uniquely placed to carry out the project. By using existing data held by the research team and from national GBV databases, the research will add considerable added value without incurring excessive additional cost. The research has been designed to enable analysis of data relating to: a range of experiences of GBV, the positioning of individuals as victim/survivor and in relation to various forms of inequality (thereby enabling exploration of issues relating to intersectionality), and practitioner perspectives. It will also enable us to look at implications of recent changes in the formal and informal justice systems and policy and contexts of austerity. To address the questions we are proposing to conduct research in five stages: 1) reviews of the relevant literature including mapping of different perspectives on the social function of justice; 2) to build upon and enhance existing, mainly quantitative, data held by the applicants: police and court data on individual victim/survivor pathways through the criminal justice system and third sector victim/survivor data; 3) to collect additional in-depth information about different victim/survivor and practitioner group perspectives and experiences of GBV and justice focusing in particular on victims/survivors (on the basis of type of experience of GBV and inequality) whose experiences are often ignored; and 4) to bring that evidence together through further analysis and a meta-synthesis in order to understand more fully what a victim focused justice agenda would look like across different groups of victim/survivors; 5) final reports, data archiving and dissemination.
The research aims will be addressed by asking the following research questions:
1) How do victims/survivors and others experience and perceive 'justice'?
2) How does inequality affect access to support pathways and trajectories through the formal and informal justice systems?
3) How are notions of empowerment linked to notions of justice and access to justice?
4) How do practitioners themselves perceive notions of 'justice' whether enacted through formal or informal routes.
5) What would a truly victim focused justice agenda for gender based violence look like?
The team is uniquely placed to carry out the project. By using existing data held by the research team and from national GBV databases, the research will add considerable added value without incurring excessive additional cost. The research has been designed to enable analysis of data relating to: a range of experiences of GBV, the positioning of individuals as victim/survivor and in relation to various forms of inequality (thereby enabling exploration of issues relating to intersectionality), and practitioner perspectives. It will also enable us to look at implications of recent changes in the formal and informal justice systems and policy and contexts of austerity. To address the questions we are proposing to conduct research in five stages: 1) reviews of the relevant literature including mapping of different perspectives on the social function of justice; 2) to build upon and enhance existing, mainly quantitative, data held by the applicants: police and court data on individual victim/survivor pathways through the criminal justice system and third sector victim/survivor data; 3) to collect additional in-depth information about different victim/survivor and practitioner group perspectives and experiences of GBV and justice focusing in particular on victims/survivors (on the basis of type of experience of GBV and inequality) whose experiences are often ignored; and 4) to bring that evidence together through further analysis and a meta-synthesis in order to understand more fully what a victim focused justice agenda would look like across different groups of victim/survivors; 5) final reports, data archiving and dissemination.
Planned Impact
By working closely with a range of key third sector, justice and government agencies and organisations (see also Pathways to Impact) we intend to have a direct impact on the creation of victim focused policy and responses to gender based violence (GBV).
Who will benefit?
The most important beneficiaries will be victims/survivors: By exploring the different ways in which victims/survivors experience and perceive 'justice', by including those for whom more formal criminal and civil justice responses have failed to deliver, and exploring the different ways in which justice can be attained, including more informal or alternative approaches, we will widen the current debate of what 'justice' in the context of GBV means and provide a more nuanced picture of what a realistic victim focused justice response would look like. By working directly with the main GBV victim/survivor support organisations including Women's Aid, Welsh Women's Aid, Rape Crisis, Victim Support, IMKAAN, Survivor's Trust, Broken Rainbow, Galup, and others such as the Forced Marriage Unit, National Mediation and Respect, the research will be able to add voice to victim/survivor experiences. By using our close links with the Avon and Somerset and Northumbria police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service the research will feed voices of victims/survivors into the development of victim focused justice responses.
Criminal and Civil Justice Agencies: Recent reports on GBV and access to justice [4, 25, 5, 6, 7] have been critical of both the police and other criminal justice agencies, and their lack of victim focused approaches. By providing detailed analysis of the trajectories of different groups of victims/survivors through the criminal justice system and also detailed and nuanced understanding of a wide range of victims/survivors' perspectives and experiences of different justice pathways and different forms of justice, the research will provide the potential for justice agencies to engage with victims in a way that incorporates the impact of inequalities and allows more realistic approaches to be developed. We will ensure justice agencies benefit from the research by close engagement with justice agencies, and in particular the police forces in the South West and North East of England and Wales, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Police College.
Government Departments: Alongside specific criminal and civil justice agencies, government departments responsible for providing legal frameworks for justice in the case of GBV will benefit from the wider perspective provided by the proposed research, and the research will feed into the Government's GBV prevention and protection policy agendas. Through dissemination meetings with officials in the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Welsh Government the research will make an important contribution to the current policy debate regarding potential limitations of a justice approach focused on criminal justice, and it also has the potential to re-frame the debate by exploring wider experiences and expectations of justice, and existing as well as potential roles of alternative forms of justice.
Specialist GBV Organisations and Advocacy Groups: The research, by widening the justice focus, allows recognition of the important role which advocates, such as Independent Domestic or Sexual Violence Advisors and others providing advocacy support, play in supporting those impacted by GBV irrespective of whether formal sources of justice have been achieved or not. Exploring victims/survivors' experiences and expectations of formal as well as informal and alternative routes to justice also allows a more detailed understanding of the role of empowerment in re-building notions of justice in victims/survivors' lives and within the wider communities in which such services operate. The research will thus enable advocacy agencies to enhance their work with victims/survivors in decisions about and access to justice.
Who will benefit?
The most important beneficiaries will be victims/survivors: By exploring the different ways in which victims/survivors experience and perceive 'justice', by including those for whom more formal criminal and civil justice responses have failed to deliver, and exploring the different ways in which justice can be attained, including more informal or alternative approaches, we will widen the current debate of what 'justice' in the context of GBV means and provide a more nuanced picture of what a realistic victim focused justice response would look like. By working directly with the main GBV victim/survivor support organisations including Women's Aid, Welsh Women's Aid, Rape Crisis, Victim Support, IMKAAN, Survivor's Trust, Broken Rainbow, Galup, and others such as the Forced Marriage Unit, National Mediation and Respect, the research will be able to add voice to victim/survivor experiences. By using our close links with the Avon and Somerset and Northumbria police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service the research will feed voices of victims/survivors into the development of victim focused justice responses.
Criminal and Civil Justice Agencies: Recent reports on GBV and access to justice [4, 25, 5, 6, 7] have been critical of both the police and other criminal justice agencies, and their lack of victim focused approaches. By providing detailed analysis of the trajectories of different groups of victims/survivors through the criminal justice system and also detailed and nuanced understanding of a wide range of victims/survivors' perspectives and experiences of different justice pathways and different forms of justice, the research will provide the potential for justice agencies to engage with victims in a way that incorporates the impact of inequalities and allows more realistic approaches to be developed. We will ensure justice agencies benefit from the research by close engagement with justice agencies, and in particular the police forces in the South West and North East of England and Wales, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Police College.
Government Departments: Alongside specific criminal and civil justice agencies, government departments responsible for providing legal frameworks for justice in the case of GBV will benefit from the wider perspective provided by the proposed research, and the research will feed into the Government's GBV prevention and protection policy agendas. Through dissemination meetings with officials in the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Welsh Government the research will make an important contribution to the current policy debate regarding potential limitations of a justice approach focused on criminal justice, and it also has the potential to re-frame the debate by exploring wider experiences and expectations of justice, and existing as well as potential roles of alternative forms of justice.
Specialist GBV Organisations and Advocacy Groups: The research, by widening the justice focus, allows recognition of the important role which advocates, such as Independent Domestic or Sexual Violence Advisors and others providing advocacy support, play in supporting those impacted by GBV irrespective of whether formal sources of justice have been achieved or not. Exploring victims/survivors' experiences and expectations of formal as well as informal and alternative routes to justice also allows a more detailed understanding of the role of empowerment in re-building notions of justice in victims/survivors' lives and within the wider communities in which such services operate. The research will thus enable advocacy agencies to enhance their work with victims/survivors in decisions about and access to justice.
Organisations
- University of Bristol (Lead Research Organisation)
- Respect (Domestic Violence Prevention Service) (Collaboration)
- Women's Aid (Collaboration)
- Jewish Women's Aid (Collaboration)
- Cardiff Women's Aid (Collaboration)
- Northumbria Police (Collaboration)
- Avon and Somerset Constabulary (Collaboration)
- Welsh Women's Aid (Project Partner)
- Womens Aid (Project Partner)
Publications
Abrahams, H
(2019)
Faith, spiritual abuse and the search for justice
Bates L
(2020)
No longer a civil matter? The design and use of protection orders for domestic violence in England and Wales
in Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law
Bates, L
(2018)
Policy evidence summary 3 - Specialist advocacy for DV and SV
Bates, L
(2018)
Policy evidence summary 1 - Migrant women
Gangoli G
(2018)
Perception and barriers: reporting female genital mutilation
in Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research
Gangoli G
(2019)
What does justice mean to black and minority ethnic (BME) victims/survivors of gender-based violence?
in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
Gangoli, G
(2019)
What does justice mean to black and minority ethnic (BME) victims/survivors of gender-based violence?
in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
Hester M
(2016)
Rape investigation and attrition in acquaintance, domestic violence and historical rape cases
in Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling
Hester M
(2018)
More than support to court: Rape victims and specialist sexual violence services.
in International review of victimology
Hester, M
(2023)
The Measurement of Domestic Abuse - Redeveloping the Crime Survey for England and Wales
in Journal of Family Violence
Lilley, SJ
(2018)
Enabling a victim-focussed 'justice'
Lizzie McCarthy
(2021)
It's time to #FlipTheSexistScript: A Safe blog 20th July 2021
Matolcsi A
(2020)
Unwanted sex with third parties in domestic abuse relationships and its impact on help-seeking and justice
in Journal of Gender-Based Violence
McPhee D
(2021)
Criminal justice responses to domestic violence and abuse in England: an analysis of case attrition and inequalities using police data
in Policing and Society
Mulvihill N
(2022)
Professional authority and sexual coercion: A paradigmatic case study of doctor abuse.
in Social science & medicine (1982)
Mulvihill N
(2018)
The experience of interactional justice for victims of 'honour'-based violence and abuse reporting to the police in England and Wales
in Policing and Society
Mulvihill N
(2022)
UK victim-survivor experiences of intimate partner spiritual abuse and religious coercive control and implications for practice
in Criminology & Criminal Justice
Mulvihill, N.
(2022)
An Introduction to Criminology
Walker S
(2019)
Rape, inequality and the criminal justice response in England: The importance of age and gender
in Criminology & Criminal Justice
Walker, S-J
(2019)
The Measuring Justice Toolkit
Walker, SJ
(2023)
The Use of Chemical Control within Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse
in Violence Against Women
Williamson E
(2020)
Secondary Trauma: Emotional Safety in Sensitive Research.
in Journal of academic ethics
| Description | The extensive datasets and new knowledge produced by the Justice, Inequality and Gender Based Violence project 2015-2018 (Justice project) continue to be applied and used to improve understanding of 'justice' from a victim-survivor perspective. By giving voice to a sizable number of victims-survivors across England and Wales we have explored a wide range of experiences and perceptions of 'justice' related to formal and alternative forms of justice and their intersection with different types of GBV and forms of inequalities. We have examined victim's experiences of justice and their progression through the criminal justice system regarding domestic abuse and sexual violence; experience of justice regarding childhood sexual abuse, 'honour'-based violence, stalking and harassment and abuse mediated by technology. This includes perceptions and experiences of criminal, civil, family court, restorative justice; mediation and arbitration; informal justice, including family and community processes, revenge; political activism and volunteering. We continue to provide high quality evidence and analysis which is being used a) to inform academic debate through publication in peer-reviewed journals (22papers have been published; wide dissemination of the findings via keynote, plenary /panel sessions and workshop delivery at conferences, including British, European and American Society of Criminology conferences and practitioner conferences e.g. in Wales, Devon, London, Berlin and Thessalonika); b) to inform Government policy (via publication of policy evidence briefing papers, oral and written evidence submitted to parliament); c) to inform practice - locally, regionally and nationally - via practitioner-focussed publications e.g. articles in SAFE, targeted research seminars /events with key stakeholders and input into strategy and service development and training /professional development for practitioners and professionals (including NGOs, specialist services, police, social /children's services, housing). We have added to the UK's social science data resources by publishing our extensive, rich dataset of qualitative survivor interview data via UK Datashare, creating further opportunities for others to use the data and to continue building the evidence base regarding effective response to gender-based violence. For example, in 2020, a sub-set of the survivor interview transcripts was accessed and re-analysed as part of a WUN funded collaborative project exploring the impact of repeat domestic abuse victimisation on help-seeking (a paper based on the findings of this secondary data analysis will be published in 2021). And, largely based on our findings from the Justice project in 2020, we received a further research grant, from global charity Oak Foundation (worth £173,243), to provide a programme support on 'Understanding and Responding to Coercive Control'. This work, part of Oak Foundation's 'Issues Affecting Women' programme, builds on the Justice interview data to provide new knowledge, understanding and responses to forms of coercive controlling behaviours used by domestic abuse perpetrators against victims-survivors. A further series of briefings and training material will be produced for professionals, so that staff from a range of sectors (police, legal, housing officers, staff in alcohol and drug misuse units, and those working with victims or perpetrators of domestic violence and abuse) may increase their skills in identifying and tackling coercive control, and to influence policy. |
| Exploitation Route | The findings are being used by the project to impact academic and non-academic audiences, and to inform further stages of the work. Twenty-two publications in academic journals and a practitioner journal have already been published. Another article has been accepted subject to revisions, a book chapter is about to be published, and two articles are nearing completion. Four Briefing Papers and a Toolkit for measuring 'justice' have been published, alongside information regarding key outcomes. These publications will allow others to use our findings and approach. There has been interest from the Socio-legal scholars community, and from scholars working on criminology and victimology to use the models of justice we have indentified. We have presented evidence from the research to All Party Parliamentary Groups. The work has fed into police and crime commissioners' policies in a number of areas regarding the direct use of our findings about the victim-survivor experience of justice, operation of the criminal justice system, and operationalising of breaches of civil remedies. We have held targeted meetings with police forces, with the Home Office and with third sector funders to apply our research in practice and policy development, and held workshops at practitioner conferences and meetings with NGOs to embed our findings in practice and outcome measurement via the Justice Toolkit. A national training programme for social care practitioners has been developed for Research in Practice based on the Justice research, with impacts on practice. |
| Sectors | Government, Democracy and Justice,Other |
| URL | http://www.bristol.ac.uk/sps/research/projects/current/justiceinequality |
| Description | The body of knowledge generated by the Justice project has already been or is currently being used by a range of key third sector, justice and government agencies and organisations to potentially inform policy development and practice at the regional and national level and even internationally. As reported previously, the findings have informed the President of the Family Court's review of Practice Direction 12J (2016); the All Party Parliamentary Group on Domestic and Sexual Abuse; the Justice Select Committee (2016); the Home Office review of the use of Protection Orders to protect victims of domestic abuse (2017) and the Government inquiry into sexual harassment (2017); the development of the North East VAWG strategy (2017); the North East CEDAW shadow report consultation (2018) and a targeted report for Jewish Women's Aid (2018). The findings also informed two recommendations from the Home Affairs Select Committee's Domestic Abuse inquiry ahead of the drafting of the Domestic Abuse Bill (2018), that "insecure immigration status must not bar victims of abuse from protection and access to justice" and "the new Commissioner assess the extent of coverage by IDVAs across the country and makes recommendations to the Government about how to increase provision". Most recently, our findings have informed the development of a rapidly growing body of important work within the housing sector in E&W to tackle domestic abuse. Our research has been used as supporting evidence in the National Housing and Domestic Abuse Policy and Practice Group (NHDAPPG)'s written response to i) the MHCLG's national consultation on housing support for domestic abuse survivors and their children (2019), ii) the New Deal for Renting (2019) and iii) the UK Government's Domestic Abuse Bill (2019). The findings have also been used by the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) to develop their Whole Housing Approach Toolkit, particularly within the development of the private rented sector (PRS) Toolkit. The PRS toolkit highlights the challenges that victim-survivors experience in private tenancies and considers initiatives and offers guidance for engaging landlords and professionals working in the private rented sector (PRS) at a national and local level. It is also a guide for specialist domestic abuse services. The research has directly influenced specialist service provision both nationally and locallyFor example, findings regarding wider 'survivor-focused' justice measures has led to change in practice "where justice is consequently talked about in a different way with survivors/clients". This has had a positive, empowering effect on both service providers and survivors. Used by Women's Aid (2018 onwards) within their nationally recognised IDVA qualification training, and by Research in Practice to inform their national domestic abuse training for social workers, family court advisors, service commissioners, heads of safeguarding across E&W, the research has improved the knowledge and skills of a diverse range of practitioners, helping to reframe the way justice is conceived -and thus achieved - by victims-survivors, increasing their chance of recovery. A wide range of findings/ knowledge produced from the ESRC Justice project continues to be used to inform /influence Government and other policy, both nationally and internationally (including England &Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Australia) as many of the outputs (particularly the journal articles) are gaining a lot of online attention. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
| Sector | Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | APPG: Domestic Violence and Health |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | APPG: Domestic Violence and Migrant Women: Women Living in A Hostile Environment |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/1517-2/ |
| Description | Breifing / request for evidence on use of Protective Orders by the Home Office |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Contribution of emerging evidence to a parliamentary review of practice in family courts |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/publications/president-of-family-division-circular-practice-direction-p... |
| Description | Contribution of emerging evidence to feed into North East EVAWG Strategy |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Contribution of evidence to Government consultation on Domestic Violence Bill via informal secondment to EVAW |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | SJ to add... |
| Description | Cross party Parliamentary working group on sexual harassment in Westminster. |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Evidence presented at APPG on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade April 2019 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Evidence presented to APPG on domestic violence, May 2018 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Evidence provided to APPG on Mental Health and Domestic Abuse, July 2021 |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://www.womensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Womens-Aid-APPG-Report-Final.pdf? |
| Description | Evidence provided to CEDAW shadow report consultation |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Evidence provided to Parliamentary briefing on the Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Findings used in University post-graduate teaching materials ( |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Findings used within post-graduate course teaching materials (Masters in Public Policy and Policy Research) |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Improving the response of social care providers to victims/survivors of domestic abuse via training workshops delivered for Research in Practice |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | In 2018 the PI was approached by Research in Practice (who have a national reputation for supporting high quality training for social care practitioners) to write and deliver a national social care practitioner training programme in 2019 based on the Justice research. As of December 2019, the training has been delivered to 159 practitioners from Social and Children's Services (including social workers, family court advisers, service managers, heads of safeguarding and representatives from a range of specialist national agencies and organisations) across the UK. Feedback collected from participants at the end of each workshop was extremely positive with 85% reporting the likelihood of the workshop having an impact on their own practice as high or very high. Participant feedback also suggested an improvement in their own knowledge, skills and confidence as a direct result of the learning / information /research messages delivered at the workshop (table 1). Table 1 Reported change in practitioners' knowledge / skills / confidence Knowledge very high / high Skills very high / high Confidence very high / high % % % Before workshop 54% 52% 46% After workshop 90% 79% 85% The follow-up survey suggests that the training is already having a (capacity-building) impact on practitioners, e.g. one suggested as a direct result of the workshop they have a "greater awareness and consideration of victim/survivors of domestic abuse within [my] report-writing and recommendations to court" which has benefited "both victims-survivors and myself" as "[I'm] feeling more confident about my assessments in this area of work" (Family court advisor, CAFCASS) and another reported the workshop has improved their knowledge "and understanding in the key element of DA - coercion and control- and how deep this can be ingrained and difficult to (be) identified by professionals" and that since they attended the workshop in May 2019 they have used the knowledge learned to notify the "senior management team of the need for specific training which has been taken on board" (Safeguarding manager). The feedback received so far suggests the training will lead to increased capacity of Social and Children's Services via a more informed / improved response by social care practitioners to victims-survivors and their children within the local authority area. |
| Description | Narrowing the justice gap - development of enhanced survivor focused justice outcome measures |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | In 2018 the research was used in Women's Aid training materials delivered to a wide range of professionals and practitioners across the UK, and influenced the development of specialist service provision in NE e.g. with a North East England domestic violence and abuse support service manager reporting "As part of contract renewals we have built in a number of recovery groups and a program of volunteering. Both these activities are a result of your research and the feedback we have from those we work with. It's quite a significant shift for us and we know our workforce are going to need to get their heads around this, we'll be using your work again to help explain the strategy to the teams as we announce the new structure and programs in the new year." (email from RM, Service Manager at IDAS). Also, close work with another influential domestic abuse organisation in North East England to embed the research findings and incorporate more survivor-focused justice measures into the current outcome monitoring system used nationally by Women's Aid, has indicated that the findings have led to a change in practice where justice is talked about in a different way with survivors/clients which has had a positive, empowering effect on both service providers and survivors e.g. one IDVA suggested "I talk about "Justice" much more with clients since you came in and how justice comes in different ways. Thank you around the awareness of thinking about different types of justice. I have found this has been particularly effective when women have been frustrated with "criminal justice" and we talk about the other types that can be achieved. A particular client of mine, regularly says to me how "she knows now justice isn't just about what happens in the court room" and that is really empowering for her to know that justice comes in many forms. I am thrilled that these wider justice outcomes can be captured." (email from IDVA, MSP). |
| Description | Recommendations made to consultant working on Nottingham City Council to deliver their local strategy for the statutory duty, delivered to members of the council |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Request from Prison Reform Trust (PRT) to inform their proposal for a statutory defence for offending driven by domestic abuse for the Goverments new Domestic Violence Bill |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Research used in development of educational materials for UK schools (Key Stage 3, 4 and above) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Description | Response to the Government's national consultation on the new DV bill |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Response to the Statutory Guidance and Regulations Consultation for Domestic Abuse Support in Safe Accommodation |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Description | Used in Women's Aid professional training on 'Tackling and Preventing Domestic Abuse' (Cert / Diploma) |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Widening the scope domestic abuse addressed within specialist victim-survivor support services |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | SJ to add - see EW email re change in practice by specialist service in South West England |
| Description | Written evidence provided to Women and Equalities Committee Sexual Harrassment in the Workplace inquiry |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/women-and-equalities-com... |
| Description | ESRC IAA Research in Practice DVA training for children's and social service practitioners |
| Amount | £8,402 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2019 |
| End | 12/2019 |
| Description | ESRC Impact Acceleration Account 2018-19 |
| Amount | £36,179 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/M500410/1 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2018 |
| End | 10/2018 |
| Description | ESRC Impact Acceleration Award: Gendered experiences of justice and domestic abuse - evidence for policy and practice |
| Amount | £10,774 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/M500410/1 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2019 |
| End | 07/2020 |
| Description | Peabody Housing Trust |
| Amount | £3,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Peabody Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2019 |
| End | 05/2019 |
| Description | Understanding and Responding to Coercive Control |
| Amount | £173,243 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Oak Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | Global |
| Start | 10/2020 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Title | Database of criminal justice data (DV and rape cases) |
| Description | Dataset of combined domestic and sexual violence (rape) cases reported to the police (n=1000+) in order to track case progression from report to police through prosecution and trial. This includes new data (n= 500+ cases) obtained in 2016 from two UK police forces to supplement the existing criminal justice data held by the research team. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The new database of criminal justice data (n=500+ cases) obtained in stage 2 of the Justice project was added to the existing criminal justice data held by the research team creating a larger dataset of police recorded domestic violence and rape cases in order to explore trajectories and attrition linked to experience of gender-based violence, perpetrator and victim demographics and inequalities. Analysis of this dataset has formed the basis of two journal articles on attrition in domestic and sexual violence cases reported to police (one published in 2019 in Criminology and Criminal Justice and one being finalised and submitted for peer review in September 2019). |
| Title | Database of qualitative interview data - perspectives and experiences of justice |
| Description | This is a new dataset of rich, qualitative data from in-depth interviews relating to 152 (female and male) victims / survivors of different forms of gender-based violence (including domestic and sexual abuse and so-called 'honour' related violence). The data covers a wide range of perceptions and experiences of the different types of justice system including criminal and civil, family courts system, faith-based interventions and other 'alternative' forms of justice. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Our substantial dataset of individual's perceptions of justice and how this may be linked to experiences of gender-based violence and inequality is unmatched in the existing literature (extensive literature searches conducted as part of this award shows a paucity within the literature of perspectives of justice specific to victims/survivors of GBV and those of practitioners who work with such victims/survivors). A selection of our interview data / case summaries from this new dataset was used by Women's Aid contributing as supporting evidence for Mr Justice Cobb's review of Practice Direction 12J (September 2016) regarding child arrangements and contact orders within the family courts. The review led to revisions being made to the Practice Direction and the Government proceeding with legislation to ban cross-examination by unrepresented alleged perpetrators of alleged victims of domestic violence (Jan 2017). The data continues to be used by the research team to produce themed briefing papers, journal articles, reports and blogs etc. The rich interview data is also being drawn on by our key partner Women's Aid to inform professional development materials for member services, policy briefings as well as a thematic study/paper on sexism and misogyny. The data is available to users of the UK Data Service Reshare website (Ref Record 853338). In Oct 2020 a selection of these interview transcripts were accessed and the data re-analysed as part of a WUN funded collaborative project exploring the impact of repeat domestic abuse victimisation on help-seeking. A paper based on the findings of this secondary data analysis will be published in 2021. |
| URL | http://reshare.ukdataservice.ac.uk/853338 |
| Title | Demographics and experiences of GBV victims/survivors |
| Description | Database of research participant information (n=250) (collected at time of interview with consent of participant) including a range of demographic data, experiences of abuse over lifetime, and all avenues to help / justice accessed etc |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2016 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The database has been used by various members of the research team, to inform various thematic articles / outputs being produced as part of the Justice project and has been used to provide an good overview of the experiences of a wide range of GBV victims/survivors, the impact of intersectionality and avenues of help-seeking or justice-seeking included in briefings for policy / practice e.g. used to provide evidence on the use of protection orders by different victims of GBV in response to a request by the Home Office in 2017. |
| Title | Women's Aid 2013-2014 survey data |
| Description | Dataset developed from Women's Aid 2013 and 2014 annual survey of service users. Raw survey data was provided and then harmonised, coded and analysed for the Justice project (non-criminal justice agency data). |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2016 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The database has been used by the research team to feedback to Women's Aid and to directly inform a research paper on the impact of NGO's in the quest for 'justice' amongst different victims/survivors of GBV. |
| Description | Police |
| Organisation | Avon and Somerset Constabulary |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | None yet... |
| Collaborator Contribution | The two police forces have developed contractual / confidentiality agreements for data sharing (i.e. to provide us with access to police data on rape and domestic violence cases in North East and South West England) and have started to prepare data for the research to access and analyse (stage 2 of the project). |
| Impact | Data sharing agreements / contracts; criminal justice data preparation; |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Police |
| Organisation | Northumbria Police |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | None yet... |
| Collaborator Contribution | The two police forces have developed contractual / confidentiality agreements for data sharing (i.e. to provide us with access to police data on rape and domestic violence cases in North East and South West England) and have started to prepare data for the research to access and analyse (stage 2 of the project). |
| Impact | Data sharing agreements / contracts; criminal justice data preparation; |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | RESPECT |
| Organisation | Respect (Domestic Violence Prevention Service) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | None yet |
| Collaborator Contribution | Specialist knowledge has contributed to the development and design of the research. Agreement to assist in access to an interview sample of male victims/survivors of GBV for stage 3 of the project. |
| Impact | None as yet |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Women's Aid |
| Organisation | Cardiff Women's Aid |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | None as yet.. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Our partners from Women's Aid (England and Wales) and Welsh Women's Aid are actively involved in the design and development of the research (e.g. attending and contributing knowledge to research meeting re stage 3 of the project), have provided the research team with access to data they collect from specialist domestic violence services (for analysis, which will compliment our analysis of criminal justice data) for stage 2 of the project and have also agreed to assist with the recruitment of an interview sample of victims/survivors and practitioners for Stage 3 of the project. |
| Impact | Specialist knowledge was used in the research design; enabled access to data (annual Women's Aid survey data) and importantly allowed us to access a large national interview sample population. Representatives from Women's Aid have been involved and contributed to meetings and dissemination throughout the project lifespan and taken the new knowledge and evidence regarding victim-survivor focused justice outcomes to influence their national training programme. For example, a representative from Women's Aid National Training Centre said she had used it in their training for the Certificate in Tackling and Preventing Domestic Abuse (one of their domestic abuse qualifications); in their Power to Change facilitators training (in relation to empowerment/recovery & sense of justice & different meanings of justice) and in bespoke training to various service providers in regard to the difference advocacy could make. Quote "I've made references to this project at various points in training - only a week ago I put a link to it on the screen (Emma talking - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHC63bdu2P0 ) during training on the certificate for people who wanted to know more. It tends to come up as useful - either in discussing advocacy skills (& the difference these could make) or the relevance of a sense of justice to survivors' empowerment & moving on. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Women's Aid |
| Organisation | Jewish Women's Aid |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | None as yet.. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Our partners from Women's Aid (England and Wales) and Welsh Women's Aid are actively involved in the design and development of the research (e.g. attending and contributing knowledge to research meeting re stage 3 of the project), have provided the research team with access to data they collect from specialist domestic violence services (for analysis, which will compliment our analysis of criminal justice data) for stage 2 of the project and have also agreed to assist with the recruitment of an interview sample of victims/survivors and practitioners for Stage 3 of the project. |
| Impact | Specialist knowledge was used in the research design; enabled access to data (annual Women's Aid survey data) and importantly allowed us to access a large national interview sample population. Representatives from Women's Aid have been involved and contributed to meetings and dissemination throughout the project lifespan and taken the new knowledge and evidence regarding victim-survivor focused justice outcomes to influence their national training programme. For example, a representative from Women's Aid National Training Centre said she had used it in their training for the Certificate in Tackling and Preventing Domestic Abuse (one of their domestic abuse qualifications); in their Power to Change facilitators training (in relation to empowerment/recovery & sense of justice & different meanings of justice) and in bespoke training to various service providers in regard to the difference advocacy could make. Quote "I've made references to this project at various points in training - only a week ago I put a link to it on the screen (Emma talking - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHC63bdu2P0 ) during training on the certificate for people who wanted to know more. It tends to come up as useful - either in discussing advocacy skills (& the difference these could make) or the relevance of a sense of justice to survivors' empowerment & moving on. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | Women's Aid |
| Organisation | Women's Aid |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | None as yet.. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Our partners from Women's Aid (England and Wales) and Welsh Women's Aid are actively involved in the design and development of the research (e.g. attending and contributing knowledge to research meeting re stage 3 of the project), have provided the research team with access to data they collect from specialist domestic violence services (for analysis, which will compliment our analysis of criminal justice data) for stage 2 of the project and have also agreed to assist with the recruitment of an interview sample of victims/survivors and practitioners for Stage 3 of the project. |
| Impact | Specialist knowledge was used in the research design; enabled access to data (annual Women's Aid survey data) and importantly allowed us to access a large national interview sample population. Representatives from Women's Aid have been involved and contributed to meetings and dissemination throughout the project lifespan and taken the new knowledge and evidence regarding victim-survivor focused justice outcomes to influence their national training programme. For example, a representative from Women's Aid National Training Centre said she had used it in their training for the Certificate in Tackling and Preventing Domestic Abuse (one of their domestic abuse qualifications); in their Power to Change facilitators training (in relation to empowerment/recovery & sense of justice & different meanings of justice) and in bespoke training to various service providers in regard to the difference advocacy could make. Quote "I've made references to this project at various points in training - only a week ago I put a link to it on the screen (Emma talking - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHC63bdu2P0 ) during training on the certificate for people who wanted to know more. It tends to come up as useful - either in discussing advocacy skills (& the difference these could make) or the relevance of a sense of justice to survivors' empowerment & moving on. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | APPG oral evidence session for the inquiry into Mental Health and Domestic Abuse, July 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The key findings of the research were presented as contributing evidence to oral evidence sessions for the first All-Party Parliamentary Group on Domestic Violence and Abuse inquiry into domestic abuse and mental health in July 2021. The findings are used to support the evidence that stigma and victim-blaming are linked to mental ill-health of survivors and are cited in the APPG report 'The Road to Recovery: Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Domestic Abuse Survivors' An Inquiry into Domestic Abuse and Mental Health by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Domestic Violence and Abuse https://www.womensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Womens-Aid-APPG-Report-Final.pdf?msclkid=3cf085b2c4b711ecb137fcdefd6136d8 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.womensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Womens-Aid-APPG-Report-Final.pdf?msclkid=3cf... |
| Description | Attendance at academic symposium at new Centre for the Study of the Bible and Violence |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | SJW to edit....A member of the research team attended the first academic symposium of the new Centre for the study of the Bible and Violence (17 June 2019). There were 27 papers presented, a high proportion of which dealt with violence against women and children, both historically and using Biblical references to discuss current circumstances. The speakers came from a wide range of universities and theological colleges and there were some very interesting discussions in between presentations. After a discussion on faith and justice, the editor of Preach magazine committed to a single issue edition on domestic abuse & was particularly interested in the facts that Jewish Women's Aid had managed to get every rabbi in the UK to preach against domestic abuse on International Women's Day and realized that her magazine could possibly have the same effect. They have a wide circulation among preachers of all Christian denominations. Also the Director of the Centre was extremely interested in the topic of faith and abuse and would be open to working in partnership with the Centre for Gender and Violence Research, if we were to go further with our inquiries into religious justice. This might also link in with the recent e-mail from Women's Aid on the possibility of future funding. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Blog: Justice for victims of sexual abuse and harrassment: lessons for Westminster |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Prompted by a recent media-led investigation and report on bullying and sexual harassment by MPs, this blog responds to the report's finding of a culture of normalisation and acceptance of bullying and harassment in Westminster by drawing parallels with the Justice project research findings regarding similar negative experiences of victims of sexual and domestic abuse: being disbelieved, discredited, or blamed for 'bringing it on themselves', for being weak or not resilient etc A direct result of this blog was a call for written evidence by the Women's Equality Select Committee to inform their on-going inquiry into sexual harassment. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://policystudies.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/2018/04/23/justice-for-victims-of-sexual-abuse-and-harassm... |
| Description | Blog: Rape and sexual harassment: What justice for women? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This blog discusses an article written for an international newspaper (Le Monde, France http://lirelactu.fr/source/le-monde/4284fb3e-8377-4244-bc6a-79dbe84b7138) to contribute to the debate about sexual harassment, rape and justice for women (in the light of the #MeToo campaign) and which draws on the research conducted by the University of Bristol Centre for Gender and Violence Research including the ESRC Justice project (2015-18). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://policystudies.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/2018/02/01/rape-and-sexual-harassment-what-justice-for-wom... |
| Description | British Society of Criminology Conference 2018 'Justice, Inequality and GBV' Panel Session |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A panel session was delivered at the 2018 annual British Society of Criminology Conference (Birmingham, UK) to disseminate the key findings from the research project.The panel explored the way we 'do' justice and what we want the justice system to achieve. The four papers considered the different ways victim/survivors use the criminal and civil justice systems, as well as potential informal 'routes to justice' via e.g. faith based councils/mediation, and explored the extent to which any of these approaches provide what victim/survivors themselves see as 'justice'. Paper One presented the findings from the police data analysis, in particular the differential experiences and trajectories of rape and domestic abuse victims who are situated by mental health, age, gender and/ or other inequalities and vulnerabilities. Findings on the use of and application for protection orders was presented, drawing on police data and interviews with victim/survivors, and explores increasing use of police bail with conditions, and restraining and harassment orders on conviction or acquittal from criminal charge. The data from the interviews with 251 victims/survivors of GBV, was also presented re their views and experiences of what justice, in relation to GBV, looks like. The theme of 'alternative justice' using interviews with victims/survivors and practitioners engaging with faith based approaches in Muslim, Catholic and Jewish contexts was also presented. The panel session was attended by approx. 20 delegates including other academics in the field of GBV and facilitated discussion, networking and sharing of research and policy issues amongst attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.bcu.ac.uk/social-sciences/criminology/british-society-of-criminology-conference-2018 |
| Description | CGVR webinar, May 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Key findings from the research / report were presented in a webinar held by the Centre for Gender and Violence Research (Uni of Bristol) which sparked questions discussions and opportunities to further disseminate the work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Citation in New Statesman article 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Gendered Experiences of Domestic Abuse research was quoted in an article for the New Statesman in 2022 which discussed the high profile Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard court case: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2022/05/johnny-depp-vs-amber-heard-and-the-controversial-concept-of-mutual-abuse. The article quotes: Sarah Davidge, the head of research and evaluation at Women's Aid, emphasised that terms such as "mutual abuse" need to be understood in the context of gender inequality. Last year the domestic violence charity conducted joint research with the University of Bristol on how gendered narratives shape survivors' experiences of domestic abuse and attempts to seek justice. It found that sexist stereotyping leads women to frequently be described as "hysterical" or "over-emotional", which means that they are less likely to be believed when they come forward with abuse claims and are less likely to receive support. "Without properly exploring that context, and the impact of fear and control, there's a real danger in using labels like reciprocal violence and mutual abuse, because it can mask harms and obscure who wields the power," she said. "That then serves to excuse abusers for their violence and abusive actions." She pointed out that abusers themselves often use counter-allegations - "well you hit me too" - to try to silence survivors, making them afraid to speak out. It is estimated by the Office for National Statistics that fewer than a fifth of women who experience intimate partner abuse report it to the police. "One of the key reasons for that," said Davidge, "is because they don't think they will be believed, often because they are living with someone who is telling them they won't be believed, that they aren't credible, potentially telling them things like, 'Well, you do this to me, you hit me back that one time, remember? I'll tell them that and they'll believe me, because I'm an upstanding citizen'. "It's very difficult to talk about anything being mutual and reciprocal when we still have structural inequality in our society, when women's inequality, sexism and misogyny are blatant throughout our whole society, whether that's everyday sexism of sexual abuse." Women's Aid has worked in conjunction with other charities to create a police training programme called Domestic Violence Matters, designed to help officers to identify controlling or coercive behaviour. A 2020 study found that the training programme led to a 41 per cent increase in arrests for coercive control. The problem remains, however, that domestic violence training is not mandatory, for either the police or the judiciary. "We know from our work with survivors going through the family courts and going through the criminal justice system that in no way is it consistent, and in no way can you guarantee that you have a judge who understands the nature of coercive control," Davidge said. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2022/05/johnny-depp-vs-amber-heard-and-the-controvers... |
| Description | Contact with international academic |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | To make contact with and exchange information /emerging findings with PhD student at Lund University about their current research on sexual violence and attitudes / views about justice amongst victims/survivors. Research knowledge was shared on a topic directly relevant to our project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Contact with relevant professionals |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Direct contact made with professional from social housing who also works with victims/survivors of domestic violence (particularly from LGBT community) to raise awareness about the project and help in (targeted) recruitment of potential participants. The professional /practitioner agreed to help with access / recruitment of potential participants from LGBT community and male victims of gender based violence where the perpetrator is a woman (e.g. some first generation immigrant men married to British Asian women / forced marriage etc) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Contact with wide range of specialist gender based violence services across UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Direct contact made with 80+ relevant organisations across the UK to promote and raise awareness of the project and ask for help in recruiting potential participants (both victims/survivors and practitioners). This activity resulted in the recruitment of 295 prospective participants (victims/survivors) and completed interviews with 251 of those (plus 40 practitioners). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017 |
| Description | Dissemination of Justice Inequality and GBV research findings at CWN, Cleveland Police HQ |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of key project findings organised as main part of the Cleveland Women's Network annual event. The event was well attended by a wide range of stakeholders from the Cleveland and Tees Valley area, professionals and practitioners from both statutory agencies (including police and the PCC for Cleveland and NGOs/ third sector agencies. Following the event the centre received a number of requests for further information. Policy briefings and other supporting research materials / outputs were then circulated to attendees via Cleveland Women's Network and to some individuals who had contacted the team directly. An example of direct influence / impact of the research is evidenced within email correspondence / a statement from one attendee (Head of Development at IDAS) who claims that the research findings have been used to shape future policy and programme development. E.g. following the dissemination event, an email dated 25/05/18 suggested "We will definitely be using your findings as we shape the future of some of our services, so that will be very helpful." and then an email dated 28/12/18 "Hi Sarah Jane, You called me about a month ago to ask about how we were using the learning from the conference I attended in 2018. It would have been a little bit difficult for me to answer that before as we were waiting to hear if we had been successful with renewal of funding for several contracts of ours. These have now been renewed and I'm able to say more about it. As part of those contract renewals we have built in a number of recovery groups and a program of volunteering. Both these activities are a result of your research and the feedback we have from those we work with. It's quite a significant shift for us and we know our workforce are going to need to get their heads around this, we'll be using your work again to help explain the strategy to the teams as we announce the new structure and programs in the new year." (copies of email correspondence available). I found the conference and everything you sent very insightful, thank you so much, |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.vonne.org.uk/events/justice-inequality-and-gender-based-violence-middlesbrough |
| Description | Emerging Forms of Coercive Control Conference June 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Centre for Gender and Violence Research held a conference entitled 'Emerging Forms of Coercive Control' to disseminate the findings from the Understanding Coercive Control project (which was funded by Oak Foundation and arose from the Justice project). The conference was opened / introduced by Women's Aid and the findings from four key elements of the research were presented including: the link between misogyny and coercive control, the use of religious faith and coercive control, the use of 'chemical control' in domestic violence and abuse and the use of pets/companion animals as part of coercive control. The conference sparked lots of interesting discussion and requests for the outputs of the research, some suggesting that the knowledge produced would be very useful for developing their own training materials. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Expert lecture delivered at interdisciplinary conference 'Ensuring protection and assistance in the event of DV' in Berlin, Germany |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A keynote expert lecture was delivered by the Justice project PI (Prof Hester) at the interdisciplinary conference in Berlin, Germany in February 2020 - funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) - as part of the 'Ensuring Protection and Assistance in the Event of Domestic Violence Together'. The aim of this project is to develop a web based interdisciplinary training programme on the topic of intimate partner violence - to be used by professionals and practitioners nationally. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://haeuslichegewalt.elearning-gewaltschutz.de/ |
| Description | Flip the Sexist Script social media campaign (linked to the Gendered experiences of justice and domestic abuse report) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Social Media campaign #Flipthesexistscript (based on gendered experiences of domestic abuse research). Analysis by Women's Aid showed: On Instagram, we reached 74,179 accounts, so an average of 14,835 per post. 18% of accounts that saw the posts were not following Women's Aid, which illustrates how many people it reached outside our actual audience. Impressions mean the number of times a post was shown to users. On Instagram, the total for this is 88,797 across five posts, averaging 18k impressions. One of the launch posts did make it to a top post of the month (reaching 20k accounts). It comes as no surprise that this post is a popular one, as the informative affirmation types of posts usually do really well. On Twitter, the launch month was filled with lots of other content around the summer fundraising challenge, covid, petition etc, so it was challenging for the posts to make it to the top tweets. The average engagement rate for posts was 2.2% which is comfortable as our average was 2%. Average impressions per post were 7,170, and 43k altogether between 6 posts. The most impressions a single post received was 21k, and then as more posts came out, the impressions and engagements decreased, which is to be expected. On Facebook, the average reach per post was 12.8k and 2.2%, which is similar to Twitter; a comfortable number, but for context, the highest engagement that month was 7%, owing to reactive content around Love Island's concerning behavior and the Britney Spears conservatorship. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.womensaid.org.uk/its-time-to-flip-the-sexist-script/ |
| Description | Forced marriage convictions are welcome but for many victims stigma is still judge and jury |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This blog - based on an article originally published on The Conversation - discusses forced marriage and refers directly to the research conducted as part of the Justice, Inequality and GBV project (i.e. this award). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://policybristol.blogs.bris.ac.uk/2018/06/11/forced-marriage-convictions-are-welcome-but-for-ma... |
| Description | Forum Against Sexual Violence and Harrassment (Bristol) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Attended and presented our research project to this multi-agency forum meeting (the forum is a collaboration between the University of West of England (UWE), the University of Bristol (UoB) and Bristol City Council). Professional practitioners (including from the Police, Local Authority and SARC) expressed an interest in the research project and some gave an informal agreement to possibly assist with access / recruitment of potential research participants (e.g. for stage 3 of the project). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | How far do faith communities facilitate justice |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Blog based on the findings of the Justice project exploring the use of religious community mechanisms as a means of securing justice for victims of domestic violence. Often a first point of contact for those who have experienced abuse, faith institutions can play a crucial part in obtaining justice. They can also fail in this duty. This blog takes the example of Catholics seeking justice through the Church and the mixed results they have had. It ends by calling for faith leaders, policy-makers and academics to continue this vital, often-overlooked conversation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2018/06/how-far-do-faith-communities-facilitate-justice... |
| Description | Indo-British Workshop for Crimes Against Women (Sheffield Hallam University) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was a workshop primarily to discuss commonalities in gender justice systems in the UK and in India with regards to sexual violence. The audience was made up of researchers/ academics and postgraduate students including international students who were studying the Deli rape case and who were members of the gender justice 'movement' in India. Our research project was presented and discussed, sparking discussions around judiciary and gender justice, and the role psychology plays in justice for gender-based violence. Links were made with fellow academics and others who were very interested in our research project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Justice Inequality and GBV Conference, Bristol, UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Project focussed conference to specifically disseminate the key findings from the research to practitioners and policy-makers and invite feedback regarding how the findings can be used and tailored for specific purposes to inform lobbying, policy and /or practice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Justice Inequality and GBV event, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Project focussed event organised and chaired by the Northumbria PCC (Dame Vera Baird QC) and attended by wide range of professionals and practitioners (criminal and non-criminal justice agencies) and academics to disseminate the key findings from the project and invite the audience to feedback suggestions regarding how the findings can be best translated and transferred into policy and practice in the region and wider. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Justice, Inequality and GBV European Criminology Conference Aug 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Findings from the Justice, Inequality and GBV project were disseminated at the 2018 European Criminology Conference via a panel session. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://win.fkn.unsa.ba/Home/PanelPresentation?title=Criminal%20Justice%2C%20Inequality%20and%20Gende... |
| Description | Justice, Inequality and Gender-Based Violence Conference, Bristol, UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Conference organised by University of Bristol Centre for Gender and Violence Research specifically to raise awareness, two way knowledge exchange and disseminate emerging findings from the Justice project to practitioners and academics. Outcomes = audience very interested - whetted appetite for final findings also we obtained ideas for targeted outputs, what different audiences interested in seeing as final outputs etc very positive unsolicited feedback about the conference received. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Keynote and workshop at Gwent VAWDASV conference Feb 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A keynote and workshop -based on the key findings from the Justice project - was delivered at the Gwent VAWDASV conference on 6th February 2019 by a member of the research team. The keynote address to over 300 delegates was extremely well received as key evidence to inform the commissioning and delivery of support and services to victims of sexual violence. The workshop (n = 22) was similarly highly praised as encouraging practitioners to speak to service users about what justice means to them and framing their interactions within that context. As a result of attending the research team member was invited to present a keynote address at a forthcoming Welsh Assembly supported event looking at the role of the public sector in tackling violence against women. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Keynote at International Conference on Coercive Control Oct 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Keynote speech on 'Coercive Control & Misogyny in the Family Courts' delivered at the International Conference on Coercive Control in October 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Keynote delivered at the International Women's Day event (Cardiff City Hall) March 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Keynote speech delivered at the International Women's Day event (Cardiff City Hall) in March 2018. Findings of the Justice project research in particular relating to victims/survivors perspectives on justice and linking in to existing theoretical models of justice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Meeting with Police and Crime Commissioner (Northumbria) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Informal (targeted) meeting to explain the aims and objectives of our research and secure the PCC's assistance/partnership with the project e.g. in terms of sitting on the advisory board and their assistance with facilitating access to police data (for stage 2). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | NE EVAWG Network (North East) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Attendance at and presentation to North East End Violence Against Women and Girls Network meeting to network and promote the research project, engage stakeholders and request assistance in recruiting potential interview participants (victims and practitioners). There was some targeted engagement with specific practitioners in order to access hard to reach groups such as LGBT, male victims etc Contact was made and initial agreement with numerous specialist organisations for help with recruitment. Also agreement from Network co-ordinator to sit on the projects advisory group. Information about the project and formal request for assistance in participant recruitment was circulated via the Network's weekly e-bulletin. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Oral presentation at the 4th European Conference on Domestic Violence (ECDV, 2021) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | An oral presentation was delivered at the symposium on Culture and Understanding. The paper 'Gendering Discourses' reported the findings from the research into gendering discourses and the role they play in women's experiences of domestic abuse as part of a Knowledge Exchange Fellowship (funded by an Economic and Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Award - ESRC IAA) between the University of Bristol and Women's Aid. The research involved re-analysis of data collected as part of this award (ES/M010090/1). Resulted in follow-up requests for articles / reports e.g. request from a domestic violence organisation in the Netherlands for more information / report on the use of chemical restraints in coercive controlling DVA. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | http://ecdv-ljubljana.org/index.html |
| Description | Oral presentation at the 4th European Conference on Domestic Violence (ECDV, 2021) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | An oral presentation was delivered to a symposium on Coercive Control as part of the 4th European Domestic Violence Conference. A member of the research team presented a paper 'The use of chemical restraints in the context of coercive controlling domestic violence' which is based on the the research funded by the Oak Foundation and which draws on re-analysis of the ESRC 'Justice' project interview data. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | http://ecdv-ljubljana.org/index.html |
| Description | Panel member at Zero Toerance Film Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | To raise awareness of the project and engage with potential stakeholders to help with recruitment of potential participants |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Panel presentation to European Conference on Domestic Violence, Porto, Portugal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Panel presentation 'Justice, Inequality and Gender-Based Violence' providing an overview of the research project, aims, methods, and emerging findings from stage 1 literature review, stage 2 cjs data on domestic violence and the stage 3 'nested study' on justice and faith groups (Sharia Council). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Panel presentation to national Domestic Violence Co-ordinators Network (London, Sept 18) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Panel presentation was delivered by 5 members of the research team to the Domestic Violence Co-ordinators Network meeting in London to disseminate the key findings of the Justice project. This raised questions and discussion about how practitioners, e.g. those in social housing can help to deliver positive outcomes to victims/survivors and what more can be done to help beyond the criminal and civil justice systems. As a result of the event the research team received requests from practitioners attending for closer working and sharing of the data, e.g. by project coordinators for a homeless charity, SAFE communities project and a health project. E.g. email sent to the research team: 'It was a pleasure to meet and talk with you at the DVCN on Tuesday. I found your presentation so interesting and I could tell there was so much more information and richness behind what you presented. As I said I am really interested in having some time to sit with you and your colleagues who looked at the faith strand to understand the nuances and findings you observed. I coordinate the SAFE Communities project at Standing Together () and I feel that there will be some shared learning between your research and the work that I do.' There was also a request to do a further presentation at the next DVCN meeting regarding faith institutions/ communities and the response to gender based violence. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Participation in ARCH and Rape Crisis Conference (York) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | UK organised conference aimed and practitioners and policy makers and commissioners in area of sexual violence. Gave presentation about research on ISVAs and sexual violence services including victim perspectives and victim needs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.womensgrid.org.uk/news/?p=4944 |
| Description | Plenary presentation to European Society of Criminology 17th Annual Conference, Cardiff, UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Talk delivered introducing the Justice project as part of a plenary on gender-based violence which was the first plenary on gender-based violence to be delivered in a mainstream criminology conference. The conference was attended by approx 1,100 delegates from all over the world. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/937152-criminology-community-come-to-cardiff-for-prestigious-conf... |
| Description | Presentation / feedback to Angelou Centre (specialist BME women's service, Oct 2018) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | An overview of the project, key findings and targeted findings regarding the experiences and perceptions of BME survivors of GBV and justice was presented to service users (some of whom had participated in the research) and centre staff to feedback on the projects progress and findings (and to thank the organisation and it's service users for their participation /assistance with the project). This sparked further discussion about particular issues related to justice and inequality and further sharing of experiences which was also useful feedback for the researchers in terms of placing the findings into context and ensuring they are directly relevant for publication / target audiences. An academic from a local university was also present and was very interested in the research as it is directly relevant to their work and so contact details were exchanged for future contact / info exchange. It was also proposed by a senior member of staff that the Justice research findings be presented as part of a national conference that Angelou Centre are planning for 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation / feedback to My Sisters Place (local DV organisation and full member of Women's Aid, England) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | An overview of the Justice project and key findings was delivered to all members of staff at MSP (influential DV organisation and WA member) which sparked discussion of the key issues raised and how they affect their work / clients (victims/survivors) and prompted the sharing of further relevant experiences amongst staff. Verbal feedback suggested that the CEO would like more information /data to use when approaching statutory partners in meetings etc.Our publications and the project information/findings was taken and shared / discussed at Cleveland's Domestic Abuse Transformation Partnership meeting and the researcher was linked up with a DV officer in Cleveland Police via email (IDVA suggested to police that the researcher may be able to help police with collating information regarding victim engagement). As a result of the presentation it was also agreed that further collaborative work will be conducted between the researcher and MSP to use the findings about justice outcomes to develop an evaluation tool, specifically to help the ISVA working with the local Specialist Domestic Violence Court. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation and group discussion with visiting academic |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An academic from University of Bedfordshire was invited to visit University of Bristol to present their research on the use of restorative justice (RJ) in cases of sexual violence. This led to a nuanced discussion of the benefits and risks of RJ in such cases and also to the agreement of the speaker to sit on the projects advisory group to help ensure the inclusion of survivors from the RJ arena. The activity also resulted in a member of the audience disclosing sexual violence after the event - they were referred to appropriate support services and is currently considering whether to report to the police. This should also result in the improvement of reporting practices in the institution they are from. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Presentation at British Society of Criminology Conference 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation delivered based on Justice project findings, specifically on rape and the criminal justice response in England and the impact of the intersection of age and gender. This sparked questions and discussion around the importance of understanding the contexts of sexual violence and how it is experienced differently be different social groups and the particular barriers to reporting and progressing to conviction for younger and older victims/survivors. Also discussed the implications for practice in terms of improved response by various agencies in England (and elsewhere). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Presentation at European Network of Gender Violence ENGV Conference 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The conference of the European Network on Gender and Violence (ENGV) addresses a wide range of topics in research on violence against women, gender-based abuse, child abuse, elder abuse, and related issues. The focus of the network is on research and scholarship but much of the research by network members concerns practical questions of policy and intervention. The conference provides a forum for an exchange of a broad range of topics. A poster and presentation was delivered at the 2019 ENGV (held in Fruiburg, Germany) to disseminate the findings specifically focused on victim/survivor perceptions of justice. The 'Justice' poster won first prize at the conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Presentation at inaugural workshop at Bristol Baptist College - 4th June 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A member of the Justice project research team gave a presentation / expert lecture at the inaugural workshop of the new Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence (which is part of Bristol Baptist College) on 4th June 2019. The workshop was part of the development and promotion of the college's new Centre which is a new research and resource hub to promote and facilitate scholarship in the area of the Bible and violence and to provide accessible resources for churches . Approx. 300 people attended the workshop and afterwards the team member was asked if the content of their lecture / presentation (based on the findings / case studies from the participant /survivor interviews from the Justice project) could be placed on the new Centre's website - meaning the research would reach a much larger audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.csbvbristol.org.uk/events/list/ |
| Description | Presentation of findings to SARSAS AGM |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A talk was delivered at the SARSAS Annual Event (SARSAS is a local Rape Crisis centre/specialist support service for survivors of rape and sexual abuse) presenting the Justice projects research findings focusing particularly on findings re survivors perspectives. This was well received and prompted a request for more information about the research findings from a specialist support worker from the new SARSAS/Barnardos' project working with children and young people in Somerset. They are involved in training for crime agencies around working in a trauma informed way with children and young people and are interested in taking on board the findings from the research that could support their training development. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation of key findings to the Home Office June 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Targeted meeting between 3 members of the research team and 12 policy representatives of the Home Office policy team to present targeted key findings from the Justice research in order to elaborate / provide further evidence to inform the Government's national consultation on the new Domestic Violence bill i.e. the key findings from the qualitative and quantitative data analysis (specifically on victim's perceptions of (in)justice, the criminal justice response to DV and rape, migration, ethnicity and justice, the use of protection orders and specialist advocacy). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentation of research findings to American Society of Criminology, Philadelphia, USA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Project overview and emerging findings from the Justice research were presented at the ASC Conference 2018 in particular the findings related to GBV victims/survivors' perspectives on justice and in relation to existing theoretical models of justice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation to 17th Annual European Society of Criminology Conference, Cardiff, UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Two presentations delivered on emerging findings from stage 2 and the stage 3 nested study on justice and faith groups (Sharia Council) as part of the panel entitled 'Conceptualising, administering and seeking justice for gender-based violence' at the ESC Annual Conference in Cardiff. The conference was attended by delegates from the UK, Europe, North and South America, Australia, Africa and Asia. Talk on stage 2 findings regarding 'rape, inequality and the CJS' resulted in direct follow-up contact made from Ghent University (Belgium) and from Feminist Criminology Journal (based in the John Jay College of Justice, US). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/937152-criminology-community-come-to-cardiff-for-prestigious-conf... |
| Description | Presentation to BSC Victims Network Conference (Newcastle) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of research project and emerging findings resulting in the promotion of the project and contribution of knowledge re GBV victims/survivors views and experiences of justice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation to Cleveland Women's Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Justice project and some of the brief emerging findings were introduced / presented to the Cleveland Women's Network (CWN) resulting in a request to deliver a fuller presentation of the research findings at the CWN annual event in 2018 which will be attended by professionals and practitioners in the VAWG sector, survivors and representatives from criminal justice agencies from across Cleveland. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Presentation to Women's Aid team meeting re faith and justice seeking amongst victims/survivors of domestic abuse |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 18th June 2019 three members of the research team presented the findings from the faith strand of the Justice project to the Women's Aid team meeting and answered questions from helpline and other staff and discussed implications for practice. Following this meeting in July 2019 Women's Aid approached the research team to write an article on spiritual abuse for the next issue of SAFE, the Domestic Abuse Quarterly. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Presentation to the Prison Reform Trust/ AVA Rountable |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of research at the Roundtable discussion about domestic abuse and women's offending in England and Wales. The event was attended by the Home Secretary as well as a number of senior representatives of the police, judiciary, Sentencing Council, CPS and HM Prisons and Probation, women with personal experience of domestic abuse and offending, and voluntary sector representatives. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Promotion of ESRC award in The Times HE Supplement |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Announcement of ESRC award in the Times Higher Education Supplement (add date) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/grant-winners-3-september-2015 |
| Description | Promotion of ESRC award via UWE |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Blog post via the University of West of England's website |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://blogs.uwe.ac.uk/teams/legalresearch/archive/2016/02/01/justice-inequality-and-gender-based-vi... |
| Description | Promotion of ESRC award via UoB |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Announcement of ESRC award via University of Bristol website |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.bristol.ac.uk/sps/news/2015/esrc-grant-success-for-professor-marianne-hester.html |
| Description | Radio 4 interview re how rape cases are recorded and investigated |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Response to a request from the BBC Radio 4 PM programme. A member of the research team responded to a live interview broadcast on 24/08/2017 by the BBC regarding how rape cases are recorded and investigated by the police in the UK. Findings from the Justice research were included / used to support the response regarding evidence about the current criminal justice response to policing rape and sexual violence for different groups of victims. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b091s82s |
| Description | Research seminar 'What Does Justice Mean for BME communitites?' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Research seminar delivered at UCLan drawing on the findings of the Justice project - specifically focussing on how BME victims-survivors experience and conceptualise justice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Sharia Councils and Justice, University of Winchester December 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A talk on Sharia Councils and Justice - based on analysis of the interview data as part of the 'nested study' on GBV, faith and justice - was delivered by a member of the research team at the University of Winchester in December 2017. The talk inspired a piece of artwork /sculpture by the artist Deborah Ireland in association with the nested study (www.deborahireland.com/sculpture.html#) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.winchester.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/event-items/justice-inequality-and-gender-based-... |
| Description | Survivors Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Presentation and discussion at a domestic and sexual violence survivors forum in order to promote the project and engage with potential participants. Another intended purpose was to develop our research tools i.e. interview schedules for victims/survivors. new networks were reached, knowledge was obtained regarding issues pertinent to victims/survivors and it also led to the successful recruitment of a number of participants for interview. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Talk and discussion about use of RJ in cases of sexual violence (Bristol) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Talk and discussion organised by one of the projects co-PIs. An academic from the University of Bedfordshire visited UoB to present their research on the use of Restorative Justice in cases of sexual violence. The main presentation was followed by a smaller discussion group to discuss the issue of RJ in more detail, with particular reference to our research project. The main outcomes/impact of this seminar were a nuanced discussion of the benefits and risks of RJ in sexual violence cases; agreement by the speaker to sit on the ESRC project steering group to help ensure the inclusion of survivors from RJ arena; and also resulted in a participant disclosing sexual violence after the event - which will result in the improvement of reporting practices in the institution they are from. They were referred to appropriate services to be supported and is currently considering whether to disclose the incident to the police. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Targeted research report delivered to Jewish Women's Aid |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | A targeted, thematic report presenting the specific findings from the interviews with Jewish women victims/survivors conducted as part of the justice project. The report was positively received by the CEO of Jewish Women's Aid who stated in an email on 28.02.18 "This is a really useful report- thank you for writing it up, I do appreciate it. I was really pleased to see that the women you spoke to reflected so positively about JWA - very good to hear. Awareness is always an issue in the community so it's also good to see that noted in the report. I will circulate this around the staff and trustee team who I am sure will be interested to read it." |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | The Survivors Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Attendance at the Survivors Network in the South West primarily to raise awareness and engage with stakeholders to request help in recruiting potential research participants |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | The role of faith communities in facilitating justice for victims of domestic violence |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This blog is based on the Justice project findings specifically on the use of religious community mechanisms as a means of securing justice for victims of domestic violence. The findings - drawn from interviews with victim-survivors suggested that as often a first point of contact for those who have experienced abuse, faith institutions can play a crucial part in obtaining justice. But they can also fail in this duty. The author uses the example of Catholics seeking justice through the Church and the mixed results they have had and ends by calling for faith leaders, policy-makers and academics to continue this vital, often-overlooked conversation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2018/06/how-far-do-faith-communities-facilitate-justice... |
| Description | Thinking Futures Event (Bristol) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The purpose of this event was to share expert knowledge; explore how society can play a part in seeking and obtaining justice for those who experience gender based violence and how society should respond; engage wider audiences in the research project and provide information on local and national support services. Specialist knowledge of GBV was presented by a panel including academics, politicians and practitioners. A 'citizen jury' including victims/survivors and member of public then relayed a range of ideas about what justice might look like and shared experiences and gave positive supportive messages to victims/survivors in audience. A bog was also posted about the event on the University of Bristol's website. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/28/02/2017/gender-violence-and-justice-what-does-justice-lo... |
| Description | Women's Aid All Staff Meeting, June 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Detailed findings were presented to the Women's Aid all staff meeting in June 2021. This was followed by the findings being used in the 'Certificate in Tackling and Preventing Domestic Abuse' training delivered by Women's Aid (220 people trained September 2021- March 2022). Women's Aid also used the findings relating to mental health specifically in their updating of the 'Diploma in Tackling and Preventing Domestic Abuse' unit on Mental Health & Domestic Abuse training (approx. 10 people were trained). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Women's Aid Annual Conference 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The key findings of the research were presented during a session at the annual Women's Aid conference in July 2021. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Women's Aid National Conference 2018: 'Justice, Inequality and Gender Based Violence - the role of advocacy in seeking or achieving justice' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A workshop was delivered to practitioners from across a range of NGOs / specialist support services that work directly with survivors of domestic and sexual violence / abuse. An overview of the wider Justice research project was presented followed by our specific findings regarding the significant role that specialist advocates and support agencies play in helping victims to achieve criminal justice (e.g. in reducing attrition or increasing the use of protection measures available etc) but also non-criminal (alternative) justice at different levels (ontological/ micro/ meso/ macro). The workshop sparked lots of discussion regarding the implications for practice as well as the use of the research in women's service funding applications etc It also highlighted to us, as the researchers, the current gaps in service and frustrations amongst NGOs /specialist support services on the front line tackling GBV for example in the way that they are expected to monitor and evaluate data that is largely meaningless in terms of measuring their full value; it also highlighted that by doing this work we are in fact giving a voice to advocates as well as survivors (from this feedback we realised that giving the advocates 'a voice' needed to be addressed in the planned advocacy paper). The exercise also highlighted the need for us to further consider the way in which we translate the findings about what 'justice' means to ensure consistency across the wider research team and thus across our range of planned publications. Knowledge and current practice (e.g. assessment tools used by advocates) was exchanged between different organisations in the room and the researchers and contact details swapped with intentions of linking up and further knowledge exchange following the workshop. Learning for us as the researchers included consideration as to how we present the role and value of the advocate in the advocacy paper according to the different areas in which they work and can we help advocacy services think about evaluating their service by capturing the transformation of the victim/survivor etc. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.womensaid.org.uk/get-involved/events/national-conference-2018/ |
| Description | Working group on 'Honour'-based Violence and Forced Marriage (Bristol) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Attended and presented our research project to the working group on HBV and FM which is a collaboration between the University of Bristol (UoB) and Bristol City Council (part of the 'Making Bristol Safe' partnership). It was attended mostly by practitioners plus a few academics and interested was expressed in our research project. Main outcome was that links were made with stakeholders with the potential to help access / recruit potential research participants for stage 3 of the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |