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A series of inter-related research projects, conducted over the last decade by Amanda Robinson, has contributed to significant changes in the services afforded to victims of domestic and sexual violence. Dr. Robinson's research has produced identifiable national and international policy impacts as organizations and governments have used findings from her work to inform their decision-making about the development, implementation and funding of services for these victims of crime. Consequently, service delivery for victims of domestic and sexual violence is becoming more holistic, efficient, and effective, both in the UK and beyond.
National and international policy on domestic violence has been strongly influenced since 2008 by a series of studies on domestic violence conducted at the University of Bristol, resulting for example in the piloting of a national disclosure scheme. The studies have also had a positive impact on the practical ways in which agencies such as the police respond to domestic violence as well as influencing the development of a European Police handbook on domestic violence. The criminal justice system, practitioners and victims have benefited from the studies' insights into the `attrition' that can occur between the reporting of an act of domestic violence to the police and the final outcome in court. They have also gained from Bristol's work on the profiles of perpetrators and the behavioural differences between male and female perpetrators.
The impact of the research has been firstly, in informing the creation of a new kind of domestic violence court and secondly, in alerting domestic and European policy-makers to the problem of women rough sleepers which was previously effectively "invisible."
Short summary of the case study
The case study emerged from research conducted by the Central Institute for the Study of Public Protection and its predecessors (Policy Research Institute and Regional Research Institute). It informed the development of specialist domestic violence courts in the UK and brought to the attention of European and domestic policy-makers the plight of victims of domestic violence many of whom find themselves compelled to sleep rough, but do so in ways that result in them remaining invisible to the authorities.
Research on combating interpersonal violence carried out by Dr Erica Bowen (Reader in the Psychology of Intimate Partner Violence) has resulted in:
Stanley's national study of police and children's services responses to children and families experiencing domestic violence has contributed to: a practice shift towards including perpetrators in interventions; piloting in England and Wales of protection orders and relaxing time restrictions on social work assessment as recommended by the Munro Review.
Associated studies include research informing a social marketing campaign for perpetrators of domestic violence and an evaluation of the service developed from that campaign; this initiative was disseminated by the Department of Health. Stanley's research review on children experiencing domestic violence informed the redesign and commissioning of local authority children's services.
The research programme Decent Work for Domestic Workers (DWDW), led from the University of Manchester (UoM), has mapped regulatory strategies for the protection of domestic workers, generating a conceptual framework and set of techniques for the legal regulation of working time. These legal guidelines have informed global policy debates on domestic work, and helped to shape the 2011 International Labour Organization (ILO) `Domestic Workers Convention' (No. 189) and `Recommendation' (No. 201). The research findings have also influenced policy debates in individual jurisdictions, including Australia, Chile and Hong Kong, where research has been utilised in order to both advance a set of rationales for legal intervention, and as a source of techniques that can be incorporated into labour law instruments (i.e. both legislation and collective agreements).
Our evaluation of gang member rehabilitation and violence reduction programme in Glasgow has had considerable and enduring policy impact. Scottish Government policy is built on the principals our research espouses. Homicide rates in Scotland are now at a thirty-year low. The Prime Minister and national newspapers cited the initiative as a solution after the London riots and the UK Government incorporated the ethos of this program into their policy and practice. Working jointly with the WHO, we are having impact in South Africa, Jamaica and Lithuania. For example, the Western Cape Province of South Africa has, following our involvement and for the first time, initiated a violence reduction strategy. The most important impact of our work, however, is the change it creates in young people's lives, transforming their prospects from those of a lifetime of intermittent imprisonment to one of useful and meaningful societal involvement and contribution.
A high-profile campaign documenting the influence of public perceptions of gender-based violence in El Salvador led to greater public awareness, demands for change and new national legislation. Research for Oxfam America by Dr Mo Hume played a key role in driving the campaign, Una Vida Diferente, which was organised by a broad-based coalition of international and national NGOs and state organisations.
Domestic violence is a significant public health issue costing the UK £3.8billion for criminal and civil legal services, healthcare, social services, and housing. King's College London (KCL) research established the high prevalence of being a victim of domestic violence in people with mental disorders, which is under-detected by health professionals. This led to commissioning guidelines in England on identification of domestic violence in those with mental health problems, and care pathways for those who have experienced domestic violence. These recommendations are supported by undergraduate and postgraduate training materials for healthcare professionals based on KCL research and national and international guidance.
Research published in peer-reviewed journals/books and reports commissioned by government departments have had significant impact on UK government policy relating to the reform of domestic consumer law.
Impact can be seen in legislation adopted to transpose EU directives into domestic law, as well as the development of reform proposals during the current period (notably the Consumer Rights Bill [draft bill published on 12 June 2013]). The research was also used to give evidence to a House of Lords Select Committee and to assist the Law Commission with several projects.
The ultimate non-academic beneficiaries are UK consumers, because a clearer and streamlined set of legal rules will make it easier for them to identify their rights and encourage greater compliance by business. Other non-academic beneficiaries are staff from Consumer Direct and the Citizens Advice Bureau who advise on consumer law, and the UK government itself.