Violence touches all communities. Our research helps in understanding the causes and consequences of violence, and how it can be controlled and prevented in international, national, local and family contexts.

Research focus areas

  • Sexual and violent offending and its prevention
  • Reducing intimate partner and family violence
  • State violence and atrocity crimes
  • Historical and internationally comparative understandings of violence

Related Research:

Adverse childhood experiences and the intergenerational transmission of domestic and family violence in young people who engage in harmful sexual behaviour and violence against women

Chief Investigator: Associate Professor John Rynne and Professor Patrick O’Leary

The project examines the nature and extent of adverse childhood experiences, including domestic and family violence, for male youth who have perpetrated harmful sexual behaviour and sexual violence against women and children. Deepening the understanding of how exposure to adverse childhood experiences and domestic and family violence may influence later engagement in harmful sexual behaviour and sexual violence will inform ongoing prevention and intervention efforts within the policy and service sectors.

Children and technology-facilitated abuse in domestic and family violence situations

Chief Investigator: Associate Professor Molly Dragiewicz 

This world-first research explores the role technology plays in children's exposure to family and domestic violence. It shows the impacts of technology-facilitated abuse and highlights the range of strategies used for protection and intervention. The research is based on a survey of over 500 professionals who work with domestic and family violence cases, as well as focus groups with domestic violence specialist staff and interviews with young people, mothers and perpetrators.

Multinational Corporations and Atrocity Crimes: Involvement and Accountability

Chief Investigators: Professor Susanne Karstedt and Wim Huisman, Free University Amsterdam

Multinational corporations have been deeply involved in atrocity crimes – genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. From Argentina and its Dirty War to Africa’s conflict zones, they were complicit and joined the perpetrators when such crimes happened.  Communities were displaced, their cultural heritage destroyed, and families and individuals victimised. Today the international community, states and civil society actors get together to prevent these crimes and make multinational corporations accountable. This world-leading project has two aims: Improving prevention by understanding the “crime scripts”, mechanisms, and gains of such involvement; and identifying obstacles and successful routes to making multinational corporations accountable for these crimes. The research is based on data of more than 150 cases of corporate involvement in atrocity crimes since 1950.