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Research documenting the prevalence and impact of UK university students’ experiences of gender-based violence (GBV) has significantly developed over the past decade, yet there has been no systematic synthesis of this evidence. This systematic review aimed to synthesise findings relating to the prevalence and impacts of GBV among staff and students in UK universities, with a focus on sexual violence (SV) and domestic violence and abuse (DVA). The search strategies involved a variety of approaches to identify both published and unpublished research, including systematic searches of electronic databases and direct contact with experts. A total of twenty-five studies focusing on SV and eight studies focusing on DVA were identified. Despite inconsistent research design, sampling frameworks, definitions and measures, and limited studies on staff experiences, review findings suggest that SV is a major issue for university students, impacting on well-being, personal relationships and academic performance. In contrast, few DVA studies were identified, many shared a range of methodological limitations, drawing on majority female samples and focusing mainly on perpetration. Validated measurement tools, consistency in study designs and sampling frameworks, which include minority student and staff populations, would strengthen current understandings of SV and DVA within UK universities.

There is appetite in the UK to better measure the impact of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) interventions on children. The spread of outcomes-based commissioning means outcome measurement is no longer just the territory of academic researchers, but is now firmly within the purview of practitioners and policy makers. However, outcomes measured in trials only partially represent the views of those delivering and using services with respect to how success should be defined and captured. Even within trials there is huge inconsistency in the definition and measurement of important endpoints. This yields a body of evidence that is difficult to make sense of, ultimately defeating the ends for which it was produced to improve the response to children and families who have experienced abuse. Development of Core Outcome Sets (COS) is seen as a solution to this problem, by establishing consensus across key stakeholder groups regarding a minimum standard for outcome measurement in trials, and increasingly in service delivery contexts. To date COS development has largely addressed outcomes relating to health conditions or interventions, with relatively limited application to public health challenges. We reflect on our efforts to develop a COS to evaluate psychosocial interventions for children and families experiencing DVA. We highlight the value of COS development as a mechanism for improving evidence quality, and ultimately the response to families experiencing abuse. Finally, we make recommendations to researchers and COS guideline developers to support this broader application of COS methodology.

In response to evidence documenting the scale and impact of sexual violence (SV) and domestic abuse (DA) in universities, Universities UK (2016) recommend implementation of a UK based bystander programme, The Intervention Initiative (TII), as a key prevention strategy. However, a recent UK review (Gaffney et al, 2023) concluded that no studies have addressed implementation issues for university-based bystander programmes. Our study explored what is required for implementation of the TII in a UK university, rather than intervention effectiveness. The intervention was delivered to undergraduate students across three school cohorts: medicine, social work and sports coaching. The study draws on pre- and post-intervention surveys to explore SV and DA knowledge, attitudes, and bystander skills. Focus groups or individual interviews with students (n=11) and staff facilitators (n=10) explored experiences of implementation, delivery and participation. Students reported positive changes across several areas and some evidence of immediate impact on behaviours, suggesting potential for wider implementation across university contexts. Barriers included professionalisation of the application of the bystander intervention, resistance to an underpinning gendered evidence base and a lack of diversity and relatability in programme materials.

In response to evidence documenting the scale and impact of sexual violence (SV) and domestic abuse (DA) in universities, Universities UK (2016) recommend implementation of a UK based bystander programme, The Intervention Initiative (TII), as a key prevention strategy. However, a recent UK review (Gaffney et al, 2023) concluded that no studies have addressed implementation issues for university-based bystander programmes. Our study explored what is required for implementation of the TII in a UK university, rather than intervention effectiveness. The intervention was delivered to undergraduate students across three school cohorts: medicine, social work and sports coaching. The study draws on pre- and post-intervention surveys to explore SV and DA knowledge, attitudes, and bystander skills. Focus groups or individual interviews with students (n=11) and staff facilitators (n=10) explored experiences of implementation, delivery and participation. Students reported positive changes across several areas and some evidence of immediate impact on behaviours, suggesting potential for wider implementation across university contexts. Barriers included professionalisation of the application of the bystander intervention, resistance to an underpinning gendered evidence base and a lack of diversity and relatability in programme materials.

This paper summarises the findings from the evaluation of the Roadmap for System Change for Domestic Violence and Abuse in England and is aimed at those who are involved in commissioning, designing and delivering domestic abuse (DA) services.

In this chapter, The Premier League: Breaking the Cycle of Gang Violence, Christine Barter, Paul Hargreaves, Kelly Bracewell and John Pitts report on the findings of the BBC Children in Need and the Premier League Charitable Fund programme Breaking the Cycle of Youth Violence. The programme, was based on eight Premier League football clubs in England (Arsenal, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Everton, Newcastle United, Southampton, Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur). It aimed to reduce youth violence in the communities in which Premier League football clubs operated. Each of the eight participating clubs had Club Community Organisations funded through the BCYV programme that undertook work with young people in their catchment area. This chapter is based on those elements of the programme which investigated the clubs responses to gang-involved young people in their area.

Neighborhood disadvantage is commonly hypothesized to be positively associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) against women. However, longitudinal investigation of this association has been limited, with no studies on whether the timing of exposure matters. We used data from 2,115 women in the UK-based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Exposure to neighborhood-level deprivation was measured at 10-time points from baseline (gestation) until age 18. Family-level socioeconomic characteristics were measured at baseline. At age 21, participants self-reported whether they had experienced any IPV since age 18. We used a three-step bias-adjusted longitudinal latent class analysis to investigate how different patterns of neighborhood deprivation exposure were associated with the odds of experiencing IPV. A total of 32% of women experienced any IPV between ages 18 and 21. Women who consistently lived in deprived neighborhoods (chronic high deprivation) or spent their early childhoods in more deprived neighborhoods and later moved to less deprived neighborhoods (decreasing deprivation) had higher odds of experiencing IPV compared to those who consistently lived in non-deprived neighborhoods. The odds of experiencing IPV did not consistently differ between women who lived in non-deprived neighborhoods during early childhood and later moved to deprived neighborhoods (increasing deprivation) and those stably in non-deprived neighborhoods. Living in more deprived neighborhoods during early childhood, regardless of later exposure, was associated with higher odds of experiencing later IPV. This is congruent with prior research demonstrating the persistent effects of early neighborhood disadvantage on health and well-being. Replication, and underlying mechanisms, should be assessed across contexts.

Background: In the UK, around one-third of young people are exposed to Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse (IPVA) by 21 years old. However, types of IPVA victimization in this population (psychological, physical, sexual), and their relationship with impact and perpetration are poorly understood. Methods: Participants in a UK birth cohort reported IPVA victimization and perpetration by age 21. We carried out a latent class analysis, where we categorized IPVA by types/frequency of victimization, and then assigned individuals to their most probable class. Within these classes, we then estimated rates of reported: 1) types of negative impacts (sad, upset/unhappy, anxious, depressed, affected work/studies, angry/annoyed, drank/took drugs more); 2) types/frequency of perpetration. Results: Among 2130 women and 1149 men, 32% and 24% reported IPVA victimization (of which 89% and 73% reported negative impact); 21% and 16% perpetration. Victimization responses were well represented by five classes, including three apparent in both sexes: No-low victimization (characterized by low probabilities of all types of victimization; average probabilities of women and men belonging to this class were 82% and 70%); Mainly psychological (15% and 12%); Psychological and physical victimization (4% and 7%), and two classes that were specific to women: Psychological and sexual (7%); Multi-victimization (frequent victimization for all three types; 4%). In women, all types of negative impact were most common in the Psychological and sexual and Multi-victimization classes; for men, the Psychological and physical class. In women, all types of perpetration were most common for the Mainly psychological, Psychological and physical and Multi-victimization classes; in men, the Mainly psychological and Psychological and physical classes. Discussion: In this study of young people, we found categories of co-occurrence of types and frequency of IPVA victimization associated with differential rates of neg