Abuse, Trauma and Health
The Abuse, Trauma and Health cluster advances the evidence base on care, support and interventions for survivors of different forms of abuse, working alongside those with expertise based on experience, practice and policymaking. Our cluster strives to create high-quality research, visibility and impact in the field of mental health and recovery from interpersonal trauma, and achieve this through efficient, creative, compassionate research practices.
Core research areas
Our projects align to three pillars relevant to tackling sexual violence and abuse, domestic abuse and childhood sexual abuse:
(i) justice
(ii) health across the lifespan
(iii) equality
With previous awards from the National Institute for Health and Social Care, Economic and Social Research Council and European Commission, the Home Office and West Midlands Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, our applied and transdisciplinary research involves collaborating with academic and non-academic partners in law and policing, medicine and nursing, arts and culture and in the statutory and voluntary sectors. We are keen to enable an environment that nurtures excellent research and postgraduate researcher.
The cluster hosts a vibrant group of PhD students working in areas as diverse as mindfulness after child sexual abuse; interventions for family and friends of survivors; new perspectives on risk and tackling sexual offences; and mental health (dual-harm experiences) among offenders and responses to violence against health workers. We are passionate about engaging with our stakeholders, in particular, survivors of abuse, to shape the direction of our research and add value across all our work.
Team
Lorna is a Professor of Trauma, Mental Health and Recovery, and leads a programme of research at Coventry University to tackle domestic and sexual violence and abuse. Her focus is about enhancing access and care for survivors of abuse in healthcare settings. She has led/collaborated on projects in justice, health inequalities and with arts and culture to promote voice and visibility among survivors. New publications include a Cochrane Review and meta-analysis of psychosocial interventions for survivors of sexual violence and abuse (2023).
