Research on Violence Affecting Young People in the UK

Members of the Global Public Health Unit are involved in research examining the forms and drivers of violence affecting young people in the UK. Our work considers how public health approaches and frameworks can support efforts to reduce violence, while also investigating how factors such as unmet needs, limited access to services, and broader health inequalities shape young people’s experiences of risk and adversity. This research aims to improve understanding of the complex social, economic, and structural conditions that influence both exposure to violence and opportunities for prevention.

We also explore the role of health and youth services in responding to violence affecting young people. We work closely with a number of partners, including youth centres and the NHS. Below is an overview of some of our studies:

The HEAL Study (Health Engagement to Avoid Interpersonal Violent Injury in Young Londoners)

The HEAL study examines the public health response to violence affecting young people. This qualitative and ethnographic research is focused on East London and is supported by a multidisciplinary team of trauma surgeons, violence reduction nurses, psychiatrists, public health experts, and anthropologists. The study contributes to developing a clearer picture of violent knife injury in East London to inform future interventions.

The HEAL study was supported by Barts Charity. Additional aspects of the work have been supported by the North Thames NIHR ARC and the QMUL Centre for Public Engagement.

Members of the study team include Heather McMullen, Hannah Cottrell, Michael Carver, and Karim Brohi.

Rhyme and Reality: Youth Work in the Booth

Times are tough. Pressures on young people, on youth workers, and on the services that support them are growing. Young people are navigating systems of precarity with no guarantee of a positive future, and sometimes this insecurity manifests through violence or harm. Creative youth workers often encounter this in youth music studios—through lyrics recorded in the booth or in the frank, supportive conversations that underpin youth work practice.

It has never been easier for young people to share their creative outputs online, and the stakes can be high. Increasingly, lyrics are being used as criminal evidence, and drill, a popular genre among young people, is often controversially blamed for rises in violence and harm.

This study uses qualitative research methods to explore youth work practice and how youth workers respond when young people bring violent, misogynistic, or otherwise harmful lyrics into the music booth. We examine questions such as: How can creative youth workers support young people to express themselves while staying safe? What is the relationship between safeguarding and censorship? Ultimately, we aim to understand how to do good youth work while supporting the creativity, voice, and wellbeing of young people.

This study is led by Richard Roach, Heather McMullen, and Elinor Whittle.

The NHS England and QMUL Violence Reduction Academy Partnership

The Violence Reduction Academy (VRA) was established to identify, synthesise, and promote evidence-based models of violence reduction in health and social care, supporting implementation across the capital and disseminating the latest research. To achieve this, there is a need for a clear and accessible source of health-related information to support health and social care systems in embedding and implementing evidence-based violence reduction models in local practice. QMUL serves as the academic partner to the VRA.

The team includes Heather McMullen (Global Health), Sania Shakoor (Public Mental Health), Michael Carver (Centre for Trauma Sciences), Richard Roach (Global Health), and Karim Brohi (Centre for Trauma Sciences).

Publication: Health-based Interventions for Violence Affecting Young People: An Evidence Review