Emma R. Barton

• Master of Science
• Manager at Public Health Wales

This article seeks to understand the experiences of bystanders to domestic violence and abuse (DVA) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales. Globally, professionals voiced concern over the COVID-19 restrictions exacerbating conditions for DVA to occur. Yet evidence suggests this also increased opportunities for bystanders to become aware of DVA and t...

Sexual harassment is pervasive and often hidden, occurring on a continuum of violence against women, domestic abuse, and sexual violence (VAWDASV), and often underpinned by problematic attitudes and beliefs. Bystander interventions have been shown to illicit positive outcomes in VAWDASV prevention. Therefore, the Wales Violence Prevention Unit crea...

#SafeToSay seeks to prevent sexual harassment through encouraging prosocial bystander responses towards sexual harassment or its warning signs in night life spaces. Building on the evaluation of Phase One of #SafeToSay, Phase Two was delivered by the Wales Violence Prevention Unit, with funding from the South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, a...

Violence among children and young people (CYP) is a complex societal issue that has detrimental impacts on the health and well-being of children, young people, and adults throughout their lives. Population health research tells us that CYP are adversely at risk of experiencing violence and are at higher risk of experiencing multiple forms of violen...

Violence is preventable, and ending violence is possible. Through the development of the Wales Without Violence Framework, children, young people and professionals have dared to imagine a society in which we all live free from violence.

This research explores the experiences and behaviours of bystanders to domestic abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic, to help inform policy and bystander intervention training programmes in light of the changes to daily lives brought about by COVID-19 restrictions. This study, delivered in partnership with the University of Exeter, and funded by Pub...

This report explores the impact of COVID-19 and the associated health protection measures on children and young people through a review of the available literature and analysis of multi-agency data. The review assess the impact of the public health measures on vulnerable children, including those from most deprived areas, and who are exposed to adv...

This is an evaluation of a police well-being training piloted in Dyfed Powys Police force. The Enhancing Resilience and Self-Care Skills (ERAS) training is a four-week training programme which draws on the principles of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT). The ERAS training initiative is an early pro-active resilience building programme that provide...

Background: Prisoners are at increased risk of poor mental health and self-harming behaviours, with suicide being the leading cause of death in custody. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as child maltreatment are strong predictors of poor mental health and wellbeing yet despite high levels of ACEs in offender populations, relatively few st...

Experts from across the globe have warned of the adverse consequences of COVID-19 lockdown and physical distancing restrictions on violence in the home, with the United Nations describing it as a shadow pandemic. This social innovation narra-tive explores how a public health approach to violence prevention is implemented in Wales during the COVID-1...

An executive summary sharing findings from a process evaluation conducted with 7 early help services across five local authority areas in Wales. The Early Action Together Programme developed and embedded police into social care processes to enhance responses to vulnerability and establish multi-agency integrated early intervention and prevention se...

Background To investigate whether sharing and linking routinely collected violence data across health and criminal justice systems can provide a more comprehensive understanding of violence, establish patterns of under-reporting and better inform the development, implementation and evaluation of violence prevention initiatives. Methods Police viol...