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New VISION Policy Briefing Series on ethnicity inequalities and violence

In collaboration with Imkaan, the UK’s only national feminist umbrella organisation dedicated to addressing violence against Black and minoritsed women and girls, VISION Research Fellow, Dr Hannah Manzur, wrote two policies on the intersectionality of ethnicity, sex, gender, and violence focussing first on access to specialist services and second, through a systems theory approach.

The first policy briefing, Ethnic Inequalities in Violence Series: Specialist Services, is based on VISION research on ethnic inequalities, gendered violence, and specialist services. The research team finds critical inequalities in Black and minoritised women’s access to support and emphasises the need for a sustainably funded ‘By and For’ Sector.

The second policy briefing, Ethnic Inequalities in Violence Series: Systems Response, also uses VISION research on ethnic inequalities but looks at violence risks, harms, and service responses from a systems theory approach. This briefing identifies compounding disadvantages, intersecting inequalities, and critical gaps and disparities in victim-survivors’ services access and treatment.

 

Supporting Specialist Services for Black and Minoritised Women Victims of Violence: Access, Impact, & Resources

Specialist services provide life-saving support to people experiencing domestic and sexual violence, including trauma-informed and VAWG-sensitive care, counselling, legal and medical support, safety planning, advocacy, and crisis interventions delivered by trained caseworkers and practitioners. Led by Black and minoritised women, specialist ‘By and For’ services[1] are particularly important in offering essential holistic, wrap-around support, including intersectional advocacy, tailored to the specific needs and experiences of Black and minoritised women victim-survivors. Despite this, specialist services, particularly the ‘By and For’ sector, are constrained by chronic underfunding, limited inclusion and recognition of their expertise, and increased demand for services in an increasingly hostile political landscape for Black and minoritised communities and victim-survivors of violence.

Key Recommendations

  1. Funding: adequate, secured, and sustainable funding for specialist services with increased and ring-fenced ‘By and For’ funding.
  2. Recognition: formally recognise ‘By and For’ services as a distinct and essential model of VAWG prevention.
  3. No Recourse for Public Funds (NRPF): urgently repeal the NRPF condition.
  4. Data: introduce a data firewall for migrant victims, improve national ethnicity data, fund specialist services’ data-infrastucture projects, and engage ‘By and For’ expertise.
  5. Accessibility: evaluate national accessibility to specialist services, especially ‘By and For’ closures and reductions.
  6. Training: statutory services training in service provision tailored to Black and minoritised women victims.
  7. Collaboration: investment in collaborative partnerships, training, and referral protocols, led by ‘By and For’ expertise.

 

Ethnic Inequalities in Violence: Addressing Compounding Disadvantage and Institutional Engagement through a Systems Response to Violence

From data to policy to services, the systems designed to address the complex needs of violence victim-survivors of violence often fall short. Disjointed services, difficult pathways to support, and critical gaps in service provision create a complex system which victim-survivors, particularly those experiencing domestic and sexual violence, are expected to navigate to access support. For Black and minoritised victim-survivors of domestic and sexual violence, violence  causes and contexts, risks, harms, and support needs are shaped by both intersecting inequalities and compounding disadvantages. The combination of existing social disadvantages, under-funded and non-specialist public and specialist services, and disjointed and complex systems[2] requires urgently addressing from an intersectional and systems-based response to violence prevention and victim support.

Key Recommendations

  1. Systems-level responses: Targeted interventions and support provision must be integrated into a systems-level approach through cross-sectoral and multi-agency collaboration. Include funded advisory roles for specialist ‘By and For’ services representatives as systems leaders, not only referal partners.
  2. Build data and evidence linkages and expand cross-sectoral comparative research.
  3. Remove cross-sectoral barriers to support, including repealing the NRPF, introducing data-sharing firewalls, and enhance statutory duties.
  4. Invest in comparative and intersectional research which integrates multiple social contexts and axes of inequality.
  • [2] VISION’s systems theory approach was led by Dr Olumide Adisa. See for example: Adisa 2024, 2025.

 

To download the briefings:

To cite the Specialist Services briefing: Manzur, H. 2026. Supporting Specialist Services for Black and Minoritised Women Victims of Violence: A VISION Research and Policy Briefing in collaboration with Imkaan. London: VISION, Imkaan. https://doi.org/10.25383/city.33524527

To cite the Systems Response briefing: Manzur, H. 2026. Ethnic Inequalities in Violence: Addressing Compounding Disadvantage and Institutional Engagement through a Systems Response to Violence. A VISION Research & Policy Briefing in collaboration with Imkaan. London: VISION, Imkaan. https://doi.org/10.25383/city.33527260

For further information: contact Hannah at hannah.manzur.4@citystgeorges.ac.uk

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5th VISION annual conference: Presentations and illustrations now available

The fifth VISION annual conference was held on 7 July at The Light Auditorium in Friends House. The theme was Violence prevention in dialogue: Research and Policy.

After five years of research looking at violence prevention and the resulting health inequalities and focusing on improved measurement, policy, and practice, and delivering through a strong cross-sector partnership, we showcased our research in partnership with stakeholders Refuge, High Trees, Migrants’ Rights Network, Gloucestershire police constabulary, and Revolving Doors. In addition, we invited those working in violence prevention to critically assess our contributions and identify where further research and prioritised focus are required.

Jo Todd of Respect and Professor Gene Feder, VISION Director, reflected on 25 years of working in violence prevention as frontline practitioners and researchers. Drawing on their extensive experience, they highlighted both the progress made and the challenges that remain. While collaboration between government, academia, and the third sector has improved, longstanding silos—particularly across the health and criminal justice sectors—persist. Overcoming these barriers requires sustained commitment to relationship-building and cross-sector working.

They noted that significant progress has been made in violence prevention policy, including the publication of the government’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy last year. However, there remains considerable interest in how the incoming Prime Minister will take forward the Labour government’s commitment to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, and what this will mean for future policy, practice, and investment.

Professor Liz Kelly from London Metropolitan University was our 2nd keynote speaker and shared her thoughts on the language and naming of violence in the 21st century. Liz highlighted that  language changes not just what we say but what we know and recognise. The words we use in the field as researchers, analysts, policymakers, officials, and practitioners matter and should be clear and grounded in victim / survivor agency and freedom.

VISION research was highlighted in three symposiums:

  • Insight: Key findings on definitions and measurement within violence prevention
    • Dr Vishal Bhavsar (Kings College London) and Professor Miranda Horvath (University of Suffolk) presented on intimate partner violence perpetration.
    • Dr Madeleine Janickyj (University College London) and Emma Pickering (Refuge) presented on technology facilitated abuse.
  • Inclusion: Violence prevention research with marginalised populations
    • Dr Alexandria Innes (City St George’s UoL), Aya Khedairi (Migrants’ Rights Network) and Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya (University College London) presented on insecure migration status. Andri and Aya discussed their project, Understanding Violence: the risks for migrants with rising far-right fascism and the resulting output, Workbook: Migrant Community Insights on Building Safety. Gargi highlighted how the far right is misusing genuine work and research and that media discussion of VAWG frequently descends into racism and incitement.
    • Dr Annie Bunce (City St George’s UoL) and Lauren Bennett and Anthony Donohoe from Revolving Doors presented their work on developing principles for co-analysis with Lived Experience.
  • Involve: A look at two ongoing, impactful pieces of VISION research with partners
    • Dr Elizabeth Cook (City St George’s UoL) and Harry Jenkins (High Trees) presented their collaborative research developing Built on Trust, a report with youth from Lambeth in London on the role of youth spaces and trusted adults in reducing young people’s exposure to violence.
    • Dr Ruth Weir (City St George’s UoL) and Sophie Jarrett (Gloucestershire Police) presented on their system-wide partnership with central and local government, police, education trusts, and the third sector to understand and prevent teenage relationship abuse (TRA). This work has resulted in the establishment of a national group on TRA and a local group wtihin Gloucestershire.

VISION co-Deputy Directors, Professor Sally McManus (City St George’s UoL) and Dr Estela Capelas Barbosa (University of Bristol) closed the conference by reflecting on the achievements of the VISION consortium and outlining priorities for the future of violence prevention research, policy, and practice. Sally highlighted the wide range of datasets, tools, resources, and publications developed by VISION over the past five years. Looking ahead, Estela emphasised the need for further research on violence affecting LGBTQI+ communities and minoritised women and children. She also stressed the importance of breaking down the persistent silos between the health and criminal justice sectors, noting that the impacts of violence extend across both systems. Effective prevention and support therefore require joined-up services, coordinated policies, and cross-sector collaboration.

Visual artists, Abigail and Chloe Baldwin, from Buttercrumble, beautifully captured the day in a series of illustrations which can be downloaded below along with the keynote and symposium presentations.

To download the presentations:

  1. Insight Symposium: Insight Symposium_Perpetrators of IPV; Insight Symposium_Tech Abuse
  2. Inclusion Symposium: Inclusion Symposium_Insecure migration status; Inclusion Symposium_Co-design of analysis principles
  3. Involve Symposium: Involve Symposium_Partnering with young people; Involve Symposium_Teenage Relationship Abuse
  4. Professor Liz Kelly, 2nd Keynote: Keynote 2_The language and naming of violence
  5. Professor Sally McManus, VISION Achievements: VISION achievements

To download the illustrations:

  1. Conference Summary
  2. 1st Keynote – Jo Todd and Gene Feder and 1st Keynote – 2nd illustration
  3. 2nd Keynote – Liz Kelly
  4. Insight Symposium – Data and Definitions
  5. Inclusion Symposium – Marginalised Populations
  6. Involve Symposium – Partnerships
  7. VISION Achievements
  8. Violence Prevention in Dialogue

Violence is a risk factor for adverse clinical outcomes in severe mental illness

A longitudinal study investigating the experiences of violence suffered by those with severe mental illness (SMI) was recently published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. VISION researchers Vishal Bhavsar, Angus Roberts, and Robert Stewart worked with lead author Ava Mason and others and found that people with SMI and who experienced violence are more likely to need future emergency and inpatient mental care.

The aim of their research was to understand whether violence recorded early in someone’s contact with mental health services could help predict these later outcomes. Anonymised electronic mental health records from approximately 6,000 adults who received care from South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust between 2007 and 2022 were investigated.

By applying Natural Language Processing (NLP) to records of those diagnosed with schizophrenia or related disorders, or bipolar disorder or mania, the researchers were able to determine whether any current or previous physical, domestic or sexual violence had been recorded in the first three months after someone first came into contact with services.

Results showed that people living with SMI who had violence recorded in their mental health records early in their care were at increased risk of crisis service use, hospital admission and detention under the Mental Health Act in the years that followed. This highlights the importance of identifying and responding to experiences of violence as part of routine mental health care.

In conclusion, experiences of violence, to the extent to which patients report their experiences and these are recorded, are risk factors for worse outcomes in severe mental illness, only partly accounted for by clinical status around the time of presentation. More systematic ascertainment and recording of victimisation needs to be considered if interventions are to be appropriately targeted.

To download the article: An investigation of recorded physical, domestic and sexual victimisation as risk factors for adverse clinical outcomes in severe mental illness: longitudinal study

To cite: Mason AJC, Bhavsar V, Roberts A, et al. An investigation of recorded physical, domestic and sexual victimisation as risk factors for adverse clinical outcomes in severe mental illness: longitudinal study. The British Journal of Psychiatry. Published online 2026:1-8. doi:10.1192/bjp.2026.10648

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Intimate partner relationship abuse between men: An interdisciplinary seminar

 

Wednesday 17 June 2026, 13:00  – 16:45, in person only

This event is in the past.

This free, interdisciplinary seminar brings together leading voices from research, lived experience, performance, and specialist practice to examine intimate partner violence in relationships between men and consider implications for policy, research, professional practice, and wider system response.

Register here: Ticket Tailor

Despite increasing recognition that abuse within intimate male relationships is a significant public health, social justice, and service delivery issue, it remains under recognised across many systems and disciplines. Survivors frequently encounter barriers to recognition, disclosure, and support, while policy, professional training, and public discourse have historically paid limited attention to these experiences. 

This event will explore the dynamics, impacts, and structural challenges surrounding abuse in this context, and consider how research, policy, practice, and public understanding can evolve to better respond. 

The programme combines research presentations, creative performance, lived experience testimony, and expert commentary to offer a multi-dimensional exploration of the issue. The seminar will include catering and: 

  • A brief research presentation on prevalence, dynamics, barriers to recognition, and current evidence gaps from Dr Steven Maxwell 
  • A monologue from He Kept Me Safe, a research based verbatim play developed from survivor narratives exploring abuse within intimate male relationships by Dr Edgar Rodriguez-Doran 
  • A keynote contribution from broadcaster, comedian and survivor advocate James Barr, reflecting on his lived experience through comedy and the role of storytelling 
  • A talk from Tanaka Mhishi, writer and researcher in masculinity, trauma and sexual violence, exploring masculinity, trauma, violence, and engaging men in conversations about healing 
  • Brief facilitated interdisciplinary discussion on implications for research, policy, education, commissioning, service design, and practice 

This event aims to stimulate critical interdisciplinary dialogue and contribute to wider thinking on inclusive responses to domestic abuse and sexual violence. 

 

Intended Audience / Invitees 

The seminar is intended for a broad interdisciplinary audience including: 

  • Researchers and academics across social science, health, psychology, gender studies, criminology, law, public health, and related disciplines 
  • Policy makers and strategic leaders working in domestic abuse, sexual violence, health, justice, equalities, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and public policy 
  • Health and social care professionals 
  • Mental health practitioners and psychological therapists 
  • Domestic abuse and sexual violence services 
  • Policing, criminal justice, and legal professional 
  • LGBTQ+ and community sector organisations 
  • Sexual health and public health professionals 
  • Education and professional training providers 
  • Students and trainees with relevant academic or professional interests 
  • Wider stakeholders with interest in trauma, masculinity, violence prevention, and inclusive service/system design

 

Programme 

1.00 pm: Registration and Lunch 

1.30 pm: Welcome and Opening Remarks 

1.40 pm: Research Presentation: Understanding Intimate Partner Violence in Male Relationships: Prevalence, Dynamics and System Challenges 

2.00 pm: Monologue: He Kept Me Safe 

2.40 pm: Facilitated Discussion and Audience Reflection 

3.00 pm: Break 

3.15 pm: James Barr: Lived Experience, Comedy, and Public Discourse 

3.45 pm: Audience Q&A 

4.00 pm: Tanaka Mhishi: Masculinity, Trauma and Engaging Men in Conversations About Violence and Healing 

4.30 pm: Panel Discussion / Closing Audience Q&A 

4.45 pm: Close 

Join us at this free seminar, 17 June, Northampton Suite, City St George’s UoL, Clerkenwell, London, 1300 – 1645. To book your place please register here: Ticket Tailor 

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Assisted dying bill: Safeguards against domestic abuse and coercion must be strengthened

One in four women and one in seven men in England and Wales have experienced domestic abuse. Coercive and controlling behaviours are core to domestic abuse. They result in loss of autonomy and independence and are intended to isolate and reduce self-worth. Such behaviours are common but hard for health professionals to detect.

If passed, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will allow people who are terminally ill and expected to die within six months to request assistance to end their lives. VISION researchers Gene Feder, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Cook and Sally McManus have written an opinion published in The BMJ that calls for safeguards in the bill need to be strengthened to prevent coercion in the context of domestic abuse.

Assisted dying requires a careful consideration of the risks posed by domestic abuse and coercion. The current bill does not fully tackle specific safeguarding concerns for patients experiencing domestic abuse which can include economic, emotional, physical, and other forms of abuse from a partner or other family member. To safeguard against domestic abuse and associated coercion, Gene, Lizzie and Sally propose a set of principles that should be part of the UK bill.

  1. For doctors responding to any request for assisted dying, training must be extensive, specialist, in person, and backed up by referral pathways.  Independent domestic abuse advocates, with expertise in recognising coercive control, could contribute to assessment of assisted dying requests. 
  2. Commitments to confidentiality and data security must not obscure assisted dying decisions and the contexts in which they occur. The bill must ensure transparency.
  3. The bill must establish accountability. Transparent data about each stage of the approval process would also enable monitoring and regular scrutiny of the processes and outcomes of assisted dying legislation.
  4. Lawmakers must resist expansion. Dementia and mental health conditions are now being considered for eligibility. These are conditions prevalent in survivors of domestic abuse. The UK bill should include clauses that limit any expansion of scope to other conditions and situations.

To read the opinion piece: Safeguards against domestic abuse and coercion in the assisted dying bill must be strengthened

To cite: BMJ 2025;390:r1914

For further information, please contact Gene at gene.feder@bristol.ac.uk

VISION hybrid seminar: An overview of systematic reviews on violence 

This event is in the past.

Join us for a hybrid seminar at City St George’s on 10 September exploring two VISION systematic reviews: one on experiences of violence among people in insecure migration status and the other on the effectiveness of UK domestic and sexual violence and abuse support services and interventions.

The interdisciplinary UK Prevention Research Partnership (UKPRP) Violence, Health and Society (VISION) consortium brings together evidence on violence prevention from across health, social, crime and other sectors. A key method for producing comprehensive evidence syntheses is the systematic review.

In this seminar, we bring together two very different systematic reviews of evidence on violence:

  • The first presentation, by Alexandria Innes and Hannah Manzur, is global and examines the nature and prevalence of violence among people in different types of insecure migration status.
  • The second presentation, by Annie Bunce and Sophie Carlisle, focuses on the UK and summarises what we do and don’t know about the effectiveness of domestic and sexual violence support services and interventions. 

For further information, please also see the VISION Policy Briefings stemming from the research:

  1. Insecure migration status increases risk of multiple forms of violence
  2. Measuring the effectiveness of UK support services and interventions for domestic and sexual violence and abuse

Register in person or online here: Ticket Tailor – VISION Hybrid Seminar – 10 Sept 2025

  • In person: Rhind Building, St John Street, London, EC1R 0JD followed by an afternoon tea in the Violence & Society Centre. 
  • Online: A Microsoft Teams link will be emailed the morning of the seminar

For further information, please contact VISION_Management_Team@citystgeorges.ac.uk

Measuring the effectiveness of UK support services and interventions for domestic and sexual violence and abuse

Developing effective responses to domestic and sexual violence and abuse (DVSA) is critical. In the UK there are many support interventions and services, primarily provided by the third sector. Previous systematic reviews of the global evidence have found benefits of such interventions on a range of outcomes.

Despite this, there is limited understanding of which exact outcomes and outcome measures are currently being used both within and across DSVA support services and interventions in the UK specifically. Further, existing systematic reviews only focus on a single type of intervention or service, prohibiting comparisons across service types. Many also have only included evidence published in academic journals, potentially limiting and biasing findings.

For their VISION Policy Briefing, Drs Annie Bunce and Sophie Carlisle, carried out two evidence syntheses:

  1. A scoping review to identify, group and explore outcome measures that have been used to assess the effectiveness of UK-based DSVA support interventions or services.
  2. A systematic review to assess the effectiveness of these interventions or services in terms of the most commonly reported outcomes identified in the scoping review.

Findings include:

  1. Outcome measures assessing the effectiveness of support interventions and services are varied and inconsistent.
  2. Where consistent measures have been used, meta-analyses demonstrate potential benefits of UK-based advocacy and outreach services, psychological support interventions, and perpetrator programmes.
  3. Studies and evaluations assessing the effectiveness of support interventions and services are often methodologically flawed.
  4. Conflicting demands and lack of sufficient funding make robust testing and evaluation difficult in the third sector, reflecting a circular challenge.
  5. There was a lack of evidence for certain types of services and interventions (e.g. specialist sexual violence services/Independent Sexual Violence Advisers [ISVAs] and by-and-for services).

Recommendations

Further high-quality research into the effectiveness of DVSA interventions of perpetrator programmes are required, including randomised controlled studies where appropriate and ethical, to improve certainty regarding the effect estimates generated from evidence syntheses. Published protocols, adherence to reporting guidelines such as CONSORT, STROBE and SQUIRE 2.0, and considering and accounting for confounding factors where randomisation is not feasible, will strengthen the research.

Developing a core outcome set via co-production with survivors and service users, practitioners and service providers, commissioners, policy makers and researchers will increase consistency in reported outcomes and create the cohesion.

To download the VISION Policy Briefing: Measuring the effectiveness of support services and interventions for domestic and sexual violence and abuse in the UK

To cite: Bunce, Annie; Carlisle, Sophie (2025). VISION Policy Briefing: Measuring the effectiveness of support services and interventions for domestic and sexual violence and abuse in the UK. City, University of London. Report. https://doi.org/10.25383/city.29852984.v1

For further information, please contact Annie at annie.bunce@citystgeorges.ac.uk

Researching the impact of Black and Asian women leadership within East of England domestic abuse services

The East of England is a region with minimal presence of ‘by and for’ (BFR) domestic abuse (DA) specialist services despite being home to Black and Asian communities. A VISION-funded research project, ‘Nothing about us without us’: Investigating the impact of the leadership of ethnic minority women on domestic abuse service provision in East England’, is exploring the impact of the leadership of Black and Asian women within DA service provision in the region.

As part of the work, researchers Dr Mirna Guha (Anglia Ruskin University) and Dr Katherine Allen (University of Suffolk), hosted a leadership event on 3 April 2025 for racially and culturally diverse women. Held at a venue provided by the City of London police, the event was part of a leadership programme implemented through the HUM (‘Us) : A Place-based Emerging-Leaders Model designed and piloted by Mirna and Katherine to diversify leadership in domestic abuse and sexual violence services. Research aims include ensuring culturally responsive and representative support for minoritised victims-survivors in East England.

Prior to the April event, Mirna and Katherine researched the leadership needs of 19 overstretched frontline practitioners i.e. ‘emerging leaders’ from racialised communities working within White-majority and at times professionally isolating generalist services across Bedfordshire, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. East England is home to scattered racialised and diasporic communities where women’s leadership in local politics and policymaking is low. Based on this, three events on trauma-informed, culturally responsive and diverse styles of leadership have been co-produced with national DASV experts. Participants were invited to also join a regionally pioneering Community of Practice (CoP).

At the April event in London, 15 emerging leaders from racialised backgrounds gained insights into the strategies, opportunities and challenges of practising culturally and racially representative leadership through an inspiring keynote by Superintendent Jasvinder Kaur, Domestic Abuse Lead at Suffolk Constabulary and co-founder of the National Women of Colour in Policing network. Furthermore, nine Black and racialised women speakers associated with statutory institutions viz. Cambridge City Council and the National Police Chief’s Council.

Voluntary organisations also spoke including Apna Haq in Rotherham, Asian Women’s Resource Centre in London, and Karim Foundation in Cambridge. Others also shared their experiences of navigating rural and predominantly White spaces, and their strategies for claiming space, giving voice to community members and creating opportunities for other culturally and racially diverse women leaders. One notable theme was the pathbreaking role each panellist had assumed during her career, opening (or at times creating) doors for herself and those who followed. Discussions across the day dwelled on temporality and the changing political landscapes as well as place-based challenges linked to rurality.

Overall, the leadership model, including this event and others and the growing leadership CoP, with a current membership of 25 emerging women leaders, aims to address these contextual and temporal challenges by bolstering and diversifying racialised women’s leadership in public services to ensure equity for minoritised victims-survivors.

By laying the groundwork for a regional advisory board through the CoP, the model challenges the epistemic erasure of racially and culturally minoritised women within the design of DASV, and broadly, public services which exacerbate the postcode lottery of services across England and Wales. Inspired by Pawson and Tilley’s (1997)[1] approach to realist evaluation (which seeks to understand what works for whom and in which circumstances) Mirna and Katherine aim to evaluate the impact of the leadership programme and CoP on how emerging leaders navigate specific challenges rooted in specific professional, relational and spatial contexts.

[1] Pawson, R. and Tilley, N., 1997. Realistic evaluation.

For further information, please contact Mirna at mirna.guha@aru.ac.uk

Photograph courtesy of Dr Mirna Guha and Dr Katherine Allen.

Upcoming event: Weaving Stories of Peer Sexual Abuse 

This event is in the past.

Insights from a youth co-created animation project

Weaving Stories is a pilot animation project developed by County-Durham arts education company, Changing Relations, and funded via the VISION research consortium through the Small Projects Fund.

The animation was co-produced with Secondary-aged students, survivors of peer sexual abuse, and an artistic team, to amplify young people’s voices on the theme of unwanted sexual behaviour and the culture that enables it. The students and young survivors shaped every aspect of the animation.

An interdisciplinary Steering Group of academic researchers, creative practitioners, and child protection and sexual violence specialists from a North East school and Rape Crisis centre, were also involved in the project.

With this animation and associated school based learning programme, Changing Relations seeks to influence knowledge, behaviour, and institutional change using the impactful animation as stimulus for reflection. Following this pilot project, VISION and Changing Relations have organised a one-hour webinar for UK policymakers and practitioners to:

  • Watch the co-created animation (20 minutes)
  • Hear young people’s perspectives on the key themes and co-production approach
  • Explore the animation’s potential impact on school cultures, disclosure, help-seeking, and victim-blaming attitudes
  • Engage in academic-informed analysis of trauma-informed safeguarding and youth-centred approaches to sexual violence prevention
  • Gain practical insights on using creative participatory approaches to engage young people in conversations about violence and abuse
  • Consider actionable recommendations for policy and practice
  • Contribute your reflections

This webinar will be of interest to a wide range of professionals who work with adolescents and / or in violence-prevention. Educators, social workers, academics, and third sector, central and local government policy analysts and researchers in particular may be interested.

There are two dates providing the option to choose between a more practice or policy oriented session:

  • Thursday 8th May 1-2pm for policymakers
  • Wednesday 14th May 3-4pm for practitioners

Speakers and facilitators

  • Lisa Davis, Managing Director, Changing Relations
  • Kate Gorman, Creative Producer and Artistic Director, Changing Relations
  • Kimberly Cullen, Knowledge Exchange Manager, UKPRP VISION research consortium, City St George’s UoL

Webinar registration

To register for free for either the 8th or 14th of May, please visit our page on Ticket Tailor.

The webinar will be on Microsoft Teams and you will receive the link on the day you choose to attend.

For further information, please contact VISION_Management_Team@citystgeorges.ac.uk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Link to Instagram page

Link to YouTube channel

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

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