Welcome to the Domestic Abuse Research Network (DARNet)
The Domestic Abuse Research Network (DARNet) was founded by Dr Olumide Adisa in 2019. DARNet was created to foster and support knowledge exchange events and enable practitioners and academics to connect with current issues and research on domestic abuse. DARNet is currently based in the Institute for Social Justice & Crime.
While DARNet’s primary aim was to draw on expertise across in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridge and spark collaboration within the region, the two years since its launch have seen DARNet partnering with organisations, researchers, practitioners, and survivors across the UK, including Senior Visiting Fellow in Social Policy Alison Bird, Drive, HALO Project, the Honour Abuse Research Matrix (HARM), and H.O.P.E Training & Consultancy.
The network is open to anyone interested in domestic abuse issues and intersecting areas.
DARNet embodies an inclusive, policy- and practice-focused and proudly intersectional approach, producing ‘research that matters’ and which centres the needs and experiences of victim-survivors, particularly those from marginalised communities such as migrants, Black, Asian and other racially minoritised people, LGBTQIA+ and disabled people.
Since our launch, DARNet has conducted research on a range of issues on abuse-related topics, including stalking, ‘honour’ based abuse and forced marriage.
Aims and Objectives:
· Identify and develop key research priorities/areas, and collaborative research partnerships.
· Share high quality local, national and international research at relevant domestic abuse boards in the region.
· Support the development of research and evaluation capacity for voluntary organisations and statutory agencies
· Support the creation of an active virtual network where relevant knowledge is regularly shared and discussed.
· Support the development and activities of specialist working groups
The Network is open to anyone interested in domestic abuse issues and intersecting areas such as child abuse and exploitation, so-called ‘honour’ abuse, forced marriage, FGM/C and other harmful practices, stalking, sexual violence, harassment and abuse and femicide.
If you would like to get involved, you can join DARNet by completing this form
How your data is stored
We do not share your data with third-party agents but may use licensed third-party systems to store it. We only use systems that are secure and password-protected. We only store data necessary to send information about DARNet and we may store your data for up to 3 years. At any time, you can request to have all your data removed.
-
Between March - May 2021, we held our first virtual conference series on innovations in DA policy and practice through the pandemic and beyond. We were overwhelmed by the level of enthusiasm and engagement from DARNet members, researchers, practitioners and experts by experience (not to mention our fabulous panellists for each event). We have produced a series of conference briefings with highlights from each event, so if you couldn't make it to an event, or just want to refresh your memory, you can revisit the briefings for each event
- Film Screening including panel discussion on Forced Marriage Growing Up Married on Wed 9th October 2019 at 1.30-3 pm at UoS, Ipswich
This event is organised by Dr Olumide Adisa and Fiona Costello at the University of Suffolk, co-produced with a number of local organisations supporting migrant women experiencing domestic abuse, with financial support from DARNet, ESRC Festival of Social Sciences, and Language Acts and Worldmaking.
Official Launch of the DA Research Network on 26 June 2019
Press releases:
University of Suffolk - Domestic abuse research network launched
Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner - Domestic abuse research network launched
Some feedback from participants:
"Thank you very much for arranging the evening... I'm a student nurse and can carry the knowledge gained going forwards to support victims not only in an acute setting but while working in the community. I loved the creativity and different ways imagined to support victims. It was very inspiring...What I found particularly useful was gaining an insight into the legal human rights of those individuals. I did not have the first clue about challenging this before the meeting. It is very much my intention to advocate for all my patients so this information was extremely useful."
“Inspiring and impactful film, love hearing survivors’ voices…I will take some of this away and refer to it in the work I deliver. Thanks.”
“It’s clear that more training is needed in how to sensitively work with victims and to share knowledge between police forces.”
DARNet is based in the Institute for Social Justice & Crime.
Some of the members of the academic reference group include:
- Dr Olumide Adisa - University of Suffolk/DARNet Lead
- Dr Katherine Allen - University of Suffolk/DARNet Coordinator
- Prof Emma Bond – University of Suffolk
- Dr Simon Kerss - Anglia Ruskin University
- Dr Nicola Sharp-Jeffs - University of Suffolk /Surviving Economic Abuse
- Prof Andy Phippen - University of Suffolk/University of Plymouth
- Dr Matt Bland – University of Suffolk/Cambridge Centre for Evidence Based Policing
- Katie Tyrrell - University of Suffolk
- Prof Nigel South - University of Essex
- Dr Ruth Weir – University of Essex
- Fiona Costello – University of Cambridge
- Liam Bannon - Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk
- Amanda Murr – Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk
- Prof. Eylem Atakav – University of East Anglia
- Glenn Robinson – Iceni, Ipswich
- Richard Baldwin - Suffolk County Council
- Min Grob – Empower Suffolk
- Fiona Ellis – University of Suffolk/ Survivors in Transition
- Aisha Howells - University of Suffolk
- Jo Bigger/Katherine Ahluwalia - Lighthouse Women's Aid
For more information and to support the Domestic Abuse Research Network, please email: DARNet@uos.ac.uk