Violence and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ViACE)

Group leaders

About the group

The Violence and Adverse Childhood Experiences Group is a multidisciplinary team of researchers from across LJMU with backgrounds in public health, nursing, psychology, neuroscience, sociology, criminology, criminal justice, and education.

This group was established in 2024 and complements existing local to international work on the prevention of interpersonal violence and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), particularly that led by the Public Health Institute’s World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Violence Prevention (Faculty of Health).  

The aim of the group is to develop and implement impactful research, knowledge exchange and advocacy for the prevention of interpersonal violence and ACEs that improves the life of those most affected and contributes towards national and international policy and practice.

The group engages in research activity that explores the barriers and enablers to multi-agency partner's efforts – in law enforcement and beyond – to use public health thinking to collaborate and deliver coherent responses to mediate and combat harmful behaviour(s).  

We use a range of research methodologies to conduct research into existing literature and datasets, as well as primary data collection. Members of the group have expertise in areas including systematic reviews and meta-analysis, mixed methods, trials research, epidemiology, data monitoring and surveillance, service development and evaluations, whole system/realist evaluation, implementation science, development of visual and ethnographic methodologies using person centred approaches (e.g. draw and write, photovoice), and brain imaging techniques.

Research themes

Our work adopts the public health approach to preventing interpersonal violence and ACEs advocated by the WHO and countries and communities globally. This includes implementing research to:

  1. understand the nature, extent and consequences of violence and ACEs,
  2. examine risk and protective factors,
  3. inform the development and targeting of interventions,
  4. evaluate interventions and disseminate knowledge.

Our people

Collaborators

We work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders to build impact and knowledge exchange into our research and coproduce meaningful outcomes. Our stakeholders include members of the public who will benefit from our work or are affected by the issues of vulnerability and (in)security we research, in addition to organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

We have strong links with national policymakers and senior practitioners in a range of law enforcement and criminal justice fields, international partners through the World Health Organization and Global Law Enforcement for Public Health networks, and a series of Local Authorities across England and Wales.

Locally we work with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside, Local Authorities, Merseyside Police, the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership, Liverpool Health Partners, the Probation Service and education providers. We also work with charities and community-based organisations such as Time Matters, Merseyside Youth Association, the Probation Institute and Justice and Care.

Members of our group translate research directly in to practice and policy through work undertaken with national Government departments, committees and advisory groups, and the World Health Organization. Some of our current and recent projects include:

Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership (MVRP) Research and Evaluation Partner

Since its launch in 2018, a multi-disciplinary team of LJMU researchers has partnered with the MVRP to deliver a range of activities. These include targeted evaluations of commissioned interventions, broader assessments of the collaboration’s impact, and facilitated sessions that shape and review the logic models and theories of change guiding partners’ work in their efforts to reduce violence.

Centre of Expertise of Child Sexual Abuse’s Data Insights Hub

Launched in October 2024 and funded through the Ministry of Justice’s Data Visibility project, the Data Insights Hub brings key information together in one place. Using interactive maps and charts, it displays official data from local authorities and police forces across England and Wales, alongside current estimates of the scale of child sexual abuse. In addition to highlighting patterns of prevalence and identification, the Hub also provides details on local support services available for children who have experienced abuse and their families.

Rehabilitating Probation Project

The ESRC-funded Rehabilitating Probation Project shows how repeated structural changes have made it harder for probation managers and staff to stay focused on helping people change and reintegrate into society. Keeping a rehabilitative approach — while balancing it with the need for public protection — remains central to many practitioners’ sense of professional identity, organisational belonging, and commitment to the service.

Research impact

Published reports from the group can be found with our Public Health Institute reports or via staff profiles. You can also access our recent REF ACEs Impact Case Study.

Our current and emerging research and knowledge exchange work programme contributes to several United Nations Sustainable development goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 16 and SDG 5. 

  • SDG 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
    • 16.1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
    • 16.2 End abuse, exploitation, trafficking & all forms of violence against children.
  • SD5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
    • 5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.
    • 5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation.