University of Teesside Middlesbrough Tees Valley TS1 3BA Tel: 01621 218121 Fax: 01642 342067 Email

The School of Social Sciences is committed to Middlesbrough Domestic Violence Forum's aims of reducing the incidence of domestic violence within Cleveland.

Our key contributions lie in:

A. provision of education
B. conducting relevant research
C. consultancy work

A. Education

1. Undergraduate programme.
The School of Social Sciences offers a range of women's studies and gender-based modules, which include domestic and sexual violence issues. In addition, we offer a specialist 15-week domestic violence module in the Criminology programme. This module annually recruits between 80 and 100 students from across the University.

2. Professional Education
The School of Social Sciences runs two Professional Certificate courses in domestic violence:
'University Certificate in Professional Policing: Domestic Violence' and 'University Certificate in Professional Development: Domestic Violence'

Recent changes in local, national and international policy relating to domestic violence are far reaching and domestic violence is now foregrounded on the agendas of many professionals and voluntary sector workers. These courses are specifically designed to provide an informed background for professionals and members of voluntary sector agencies working in this field. They are the first, and to date, the only courses of their kind offered in the UK and indeed in Europe.

The courses are validated by the University through the Certificate in Professional Policing and the Certificate in Professional Development frameworks. The courses are presented simultaneously to enrich student experience by the provision of a multi-agency learning context, which facilitates constructive sharing of professional and personal experiences. This compliments the specialist tuition provided by experienced University lecturers. As well as leading to a University Certificate, the courses also rate 24 credits in the CAMs system, and consequently are a step towards a University degree. (A full degree requires 360 credits.)

The University Certificate in Professional Policing: Domestic Violence is recognised by the police. To date, it has been successfully completed by police officers with responsibilities for domestic violence from 13 police forces across England, Wales Scotland and Guernsey.

The University Certificate in Professional Development: Domestic Violence successfully recruits professional workers with responsibilities for domestic violence, for example, managers and officers from Local Authority Social Services and Local Authority Housing departments. It also attracts volunteers and workers from the voluntary sector including Rape Crisis Centres, Victim Support, Survivors' projects and Multi-Agency forums. We anticipate broadening this base by attracting interest from health care professionals, probation services, the magistracy and court services as well as other agencies in the voluntary sector.

In addition to recruiting professional and voluntary sector workers from across the UK, we are also receiving expressions of interest from professionals in other European countries including Cyprus, Poland, Spain, France, Germany, Italy and Lithuania.

Aims - The aims of the Certificate course are to:

• provide an informed and up-to-date background to domestic violence tailored to meet the needs of professionals, practitioners and members of voluntary sector organisations whose work includes responding to the problem of domestic violence;
  
• promote best practice across a range of agencies responding to domestic violence;
  
• through the award of a Certificate, validate the specialist knowledge and experience required of and acquired by professionals, practitioners and support workers whose remit includes domestic violence.

Indicative Content

The indicative content, organised around four key areas, is outlined below. However, underlying all these issues are some key themes:

• the recognition of domestic violence as a form of gender violence;
  
• continuities and differences in the nature of domestic violence as it impacts on women from different backgrounds in relation to race, class, community and culture;
  
• an understanding of domestic violence as an expression of power and control.

Part 1: The Nature, Effects, Impact and Extent of Domestic Violence.

1. The nature of domestic violence, myths and realities
2. Social, physical, emotional repercussions of domestic violence
3. Health consequences of domestic violence
4. The impact of domestic violence on children
5. The extent of domestic violence: understandings of official figures and taking stock of research evidence

Part 2: Framing and Understanding Domestic Violence

1. Explaining domestic violence: individualist and psychological explanations
2. Explaining domestic violence: sociological and feminist explanations
3. Explaining domestic violence: power and control - the Duluth model
4. From explanations into practice

Part 3: Community, Legal and Criminal Justice Responses

1. Policing domestic violence: traditional approaches, criticism and recent innovations
2. Legal responses: the need for law reform and international experiences
3. Domestic homicide: justice for women?
4. Children, domestic violence and child protection
5. Sentencing disposals and programmes for offenders
6. Women's Aid and The Refuge movement
7. Multi-agency responses

Part 4: Elimination and Prevention and Ways Forward

1. Preventing domestic violence: crime prevention and public education
2. Eliminating domestic violence and strategies for action
3. Contemporary issues and ways forward

Teaching and Learning Strategies
The module is taught at an undergraduate level and delivered by a range of strategies appropriate for small group, adult learning including private study, lectures, seminars, class discussion, internet workshops and presentations.

Teaching Team
The course leader is Dr Jill Radford, Reader in Criminology and Women's Studies, whose contribution to teaching and research in this area is internationally recognised. Other course team members include Dr Tina Skinner and Laura Goldsack from Criminology and Susan Cleary from the School of Health.

Regular guest lecturers include:

• Professor Pamela Abbott, Director of the School of Social Sciences, University of Teesside
  
• Ann Wardell, Co-ordinator of Cleveland Domestic Violence Forum
  
• Mandy Bell from Cleveland Police, domestic violence unit
  
• Carole Morgan, Housing Needs Advice Manager, Middlesbrough Borough Council
  
• Eve Hudson, Middlesbrough Refuge.

For further information about this course, please contact:

Judy Flynn
School of Social Sciences
University of Teesside
Middlesbrough TS1 3BA
Tel: 01642 342333
E-Mail j.flynn@tees.ac.uk

B. Research
Members of the School of Social Sciences, including Professor Pamela Abbott, Dr Jill Radford, Dr Tina Skinner and Laura Goldsack, are also actively engaged in research into domestic and sexual violence. Our record of publications in this field is impressive. As well as actively conducting research, these tutors are able to supervise students undertaking postgraduate studies in this field.

C. Consultancy
Members of the School of Social Sciences also undertake consultancy work with local national and international organisations. Dr. Jill Radford is an executive member of Cleveland Domestic Violence Forum, a member of Middlesbrough Domestic Violence Forum and with Carole Morgan, co-authored Middlesbrough Crime and Disorder Act, Domestic Violence Task Group's Multi-Agency Report: A Study of the Prevalence of and Responses to Domestic Violence in Middlesbrough (1999).

National consultancies undertaken by Dr Jill Radford include:

• Cabinet Office: Women's Unit, in relation to the development of a strategy plan for the elimination of violence against women. As an expert in the field she is frequently invited to policy-making seminars by governmental and national bodies, such as.:
  
  Lord Chancellor's office, National Commission of Women and National Alliance of Women's Organisations.
  
• International consultancies include:
  
  Council of Europe: Human Rights Section, Equality of the Sexes Committee, undertaking 'A Comparative Appraisal of Laws in Place to Combat Violence Against Women in (36) Member States'

International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, Vancouver, Canada: sponsored by the United Nations to take forward the Beijing agenda on Violence against Women

Association Internationale des Charities, El Escourial Spain.

For further information about this work, please contact:

Dr. Jill Radford
School of Social Sciences
University of Teesside
Middlesbrough TS1 3BA
E-Mail j.radford@tees.ac.uk

University of Teesside School of Health (Women's Health)

Susan Cleary
School of Health
University of Teesside
Middlesbrough TS1 3BA
E-Mail s.cleary@tees.ac.uk