Lead supervisor:
Prof Sinead Brophy 
Other supervisor(s):
- Dr Natasha Kennedy
Start date: October 2025 (Full time)
Award: General
Subject Pathway:
Health and Well-Being and Data Science
Thematic Cluster:
Society and Well-Being Cluster
ADVISE: Analysing Domestic Violence through Integrated System Evaluation
Domestic violence is a pervasive but often underreported crime, making it challenging to identify and address effectively. Many cases are not explicitly categorised as domestic violence within the justice system, instead being recorded under broader offences such as assault, grievous bodily harm, sexual offences, or stalking. However, through recognising and addressing these hidden patterns it would be possible to improve effective prevention and intervention.
This research aims to uncover instances of domestic violence within the criminal justice system by analysing data from court cases, prison records, and probation reports. A key focus will be on identifying cases involving assaults on individuals within the same household. The project will examine the perpetrator's history leading up to these incidents, including prior court appearances, imprisonment, and engagement with mental health or substance abuse services, records on GP, A&E and health visitor data for members of the household (e.g. possible victims) and police public protection notices. By identifying patterns of behaviour, the research seeks to develop predictive models to help prevent future cases.
To achieve these objectives, the research will draw on integrated data from various sources, including prison, probation, court, and healthcare records (hospital, A&E, GP visits), as well as substance abuse datasets. These data, provided through the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) as part of the Administrative Data Research (ADR) programme, will enable a comprehensive analysis of domestic violence patterns and predictors. This is only possible due to new developments in the Ministry of Justice BOLD (Better Outcomes through Linked Data) programme which has brought these datasets together and works with the Administrative Data Research funding which links these datasets to other data such as health and administrative data.
Research Impact
This project intends to advance domestic violence prevention through the identification of indicators of potential perpetrators, facilitating proactive intervention strategies. The project will inform evidence-based policies and contribute to safer communities by helping to offer support (mental/financial/substance abuse) and deterrents to perpetrators.
I am working with, and will expand to work with, academic institutions through HDR UK (Health Data Research UK) and ADR (Administrative Data Research) centres in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland; the Welsh Government through links in ADR; the police in Wales and England; those working in injury prevention in healthcare, including A&E; charities and survivor advocates, including Welsh Women’s Aid; the WHO Collaborating Centre for Health and Wellbeing; and public health agencies, including Public Health Wales. I intend to disseminate findings through social media, press releases to news agencies, webinars with collaborating organisations (e.g. HDRUK, ADR), publications in peer reviewed journals, public facing media such as The Conversation, presentations at conferences, policy briefings and a public facing report available on our organisations websites. This work can examine how changing demographics in a community might affect the prevalence of domestic violence, e.g changes in socioeconomic status/unemployment, age, cultural background, community measures of mental health issues or access to alcohol and access to services may impact on levels of domestic violence in the community. The identification of probable domestic violence can be used in future research to examine how effective domestic violence prevention methods and programmes are in reducing the number of cases seen by the criminal justice system. Finally, the findings can be used in education and awareness programmes to improve the identification of risk factors and the factors which cluster with domestic violence.
Bibliography
Monckton Smith, J. (2020). Intimate Partner Femicide: Using Foucauldian Analysis to Track an Eight Stage Progression to Homicide. Violence Against Women, 26(11), 1267–1285. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801219863876
Erez E. (2002). Domestic violence and the criminal justice system: an overview. Online journal of issues in nursing, 7(1), 4.
Home Office 2015, Fact sheet - Domestic Abuse Offence (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Biography
My academic background is in Pharmacy, but over time I have discovered a deep interest in health data research and its role in shaping effective public health policies. An internship with HDR UK, followed by my work with the Population Health and Wellbeing Research Centre, further deepened my passion and provided valuable hands-on experience in using data to understand and address public health challenges. I’m motivated by the opportunity to apply data-driven insights to improve population health outcomes. Beyond my academic and professional interests, I enjoy reading and travelling.