Griffith’s research beacons bring disciplines together to find solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges
Violence is experienced unequally. Safe individuals and communities grow safer, while others are repeatedly harmed. Despite reported long-term declines in overall global and national rates of violence, up to one billion children and an estimated 243 million women aged 15–49 years are subject to violence every year. While #BlackLivesMatter highlighted racial violence, state-sponsored police and correctional services staff bias and brutality is exposed as endemic. As a result, inter-generational trauma fuels ongoing cycles of inequality and violence.
In 2022, Griffith established the Disrupting Violence Beacon to install interventions in support of:
- harm minimisation in vulnerable communities
- prevention for at-risk individuals
- just systems that reduce recidivism and support survivors’ recovery.
Griffith has a strong track-record when it comes to understanding and preventing violence. With one of the biggest criminology academic communities in the world, Griffith ranked first in Australia for Law and Criminology in the 2021 ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects. Griffith is also one of just a few Australian universities that’s ‘well above world standard’ for Criminology research, according to the Federal Government’s Australian Research Council’s Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) assessment. Law and Legal Studies and Policy and Administration at Griffith were additionally found to be ‘above world standard’ in the latest ERA results.
Who we are
Professor Patrick O'Leary
Disrupting Violence Beacon Co-Lead
School of Health Sciences and Social Work
Associate Professor Sameer Deshpande
Translation and Innovation Theme Lead
Griffith Business School
Sarah MacMillan
Disrupting Violence Beacon Administrative Officer
Advisory Board
Professor Cindy Shannon (Chair)
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Indigenous, Diversity and Inclusion)
Griffith University
Dr Rick Brown
Deputy Director
Australian institute of Criminology
Dr Yann Colliou
Access to Justice Program Manager
Terre des Hommes
Kate Connors
Deputy Director-General Strategy
Department of Child Safety, Youth & Women
Mick Gooda
Former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner
Professor Phillip D Jaffé
Director
Centre for Children’s Rights Studies
Member
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child
Professor Ann Skelton
UNESCO Chair
Education Law in Africa
Member
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child
Dr Claire Walker
Principal Advisor
Murridhagun Cultural Centre
Our values
Justice
Disrupting Violence beacon values access to justice, recognising that it is critical for victims and survivors. And for ensuring that systems and institutions discourage and counteract violence.
Collaboration
Disrupting Violence beacon prioritises intersectional and inter-disciplinary work.
Diversity
Disrupting Violence beacon values and recognises diversity in culture and identity and aims to prioritise the voices and experiences of Australia’s First Nations Peoples.
Survivors
Disrupting Violence beacon values and listens to the voices of people impacted by violence and in particular aims to improve the lives of end users of research.
Innovation
Disrupting Violence beacon values aspirational work that is unconstrained by conventional modes of thinking.
Sustainable Development Goals
The Disrupting Violence Beacon is aligned with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) and committed to tackling global challenges around gender equality, reducing inequalities, and peace, justice and strong institutions.
Related centres and institutes
Centre for Investigative Interviewing
Griffith Youth Forensic Services
Institute for Integrated and Intelligent Systems
MATE Motivating Action Through Empowerment
Policy Innovation Hub
Social Analytics Laboratory
Violence Research and Prevention Program
Griffith Criminology Institute
Law Futures Centre
Creative Arts Research Institute
Contact us
Please contact us if you have any questions about Disrupting Violence.