Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)

Introduction

Dr Orlanda Harvey and Dr Lou Oliver are both academics at Bournemouth University whose research and practice focuses on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), with an emphasis on intimate partner violence and abuse. Alongside their academic roles, they co-facilitate the Phoenix Programme, a support group for women who have experienced or are currently experiencing domestic abuse. They also teach about domestic abuse to our Social Work students.

The latest Crime Survey of England and Wales (ONS, 2024) reported 9.9 million people had experienced DA from the age of 16, equating to over one fifth of the population. From March 2023 to 2024, 2.3 million people experienced DA. DA accounts for approximately 16.2% of all offences in England and Wales (ONS, 2023). Moreover, it is estimated less than 24% of DA crime is reported (Refuge, 2022), thus, this may be a significant underestimation.

The Covid pandemic documented a global spike in DA incidents as evidenced by increased demand for helplines, increased numbers of victims, and an increase in severity of incidents (ONS, 2020). Since then, it has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, with only a gradual, minimal decrease of 6.5% in DA since then (ONS, 2024).

Females are disproportionately victimised. From March 2022 to 2023, 28 police forces indicated that 73.5% of victims of reported domestic abuse-related crimes were females (Women’s Aid, 2019). Direct harm to the immediate victim is also often indirectly extended to children, families and surrounding communities (Walker-Descartes et al., 2021). The pervasive nature of DA can strain relationships, create instability and destroy trust with extended family members (Centre, 2023).

Dr Harvey and Dr Oliver’s research is guided by two key passions. The first is a strong and ongoing focus on Violence Against Women and Girls. The second centres on critical reflection in practice – particularly how practitioners can reflect in meaningful, creative ways.

One of the more creative strands of this work has involved using poetry, specifically haikus, as a tool for reflection. Rather than relying solely on traditional written reflection, they explored how the discipline and simplicity of haiku writing can help capture emotional responses, professional dilemmas, and moments of insight in practice. This approach is explored in more detail in their published work: The use of poetry in form of haikus as a tool for critical reflection – Social Work Education.

As part of both their professional development and research journey, Dr Harvey and Dr Oliver began writing haikus based on their experiences of co‑facilitating the Phoenix Programme in Bournemouth – a group programme for women who have experienced, or are currently experiencing, Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse. Writing these haikus became a way to pause, process, and reflect on the complexity of the work, the emotions in the room, and their own roles as facilitators.

Here are a couple of haikus drawn from their practice, offering brief but powerful snapshots of the realities of this work.

Relevant articles:

‘Don’t tell anyone anything’: How do family secrets influence child-to-parent violence and abuse -Oliver, L., & Fenge, L. A. (2026). 

Relevant reports:

VAWG Summit 2024 Report

This report draws together the information gathered in relation to tackling issues around violence against women and girls (VAWG), collected at the joint Soroptimist International Bournemouth (SIB) and Bournemouth University (BU) ‘Creating a new culture to end Violence Against Women and Girls’ Summit 2024.

VAWG Summit 2023 Report

This report draws together the information gathered in relation to tackling issues around violence against women and girls (VAWG), collected at the joint Soroptimist International Bournemouth (SIB) and Bournemouth University (BU) ‘Violence Against Women and Girls: Social Justice in Action’ Summit 2023. 

Up2U BU REPORT

This report presents the outcomes of a project aimed to make recommendations for the design of a new programme for perpetrators of Domestic Abuse (DA) who want to change. The objective was for the findings of this report to inform a customised programme for service delivery. 

OSSPC 2021 Country Report: The Other Side of the Story: Perpetrators in Change

This report examines domestic violence and abuse across several countries, focusing on perpetrators, support systems, and how interventions can be improved.

OSSPC Time for Change 2021 Report:Time for Change: Evidence Based Research for New Practice Approaches

This report examines domestic violence and abuse, focusing on understanding perpetrators and improving intervention programmes. It presents evidence from multiple countries to identify gaps in support systems and recommend better practices to prevent violence and support victims and behaviour change.

Themes arising from Patient and Public Involvement with people from underserved communities: Summer 2025

This report explores barriers and facilitators to engaging women from underserved communities – particularly ethnic minority and marginalised groups – in Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) within maternal health research. The aim is to inform inclusive strategies for future research and training, particularly within the MIHERC project.

Links to on-going support both local to BU and national: