Domestic violence research group expands its global work

The None in Three Centre is developing pro-social computer games design to increase young people’s empathy against domestic violence worldwide

IT has been six months since the £4.5 million multi-disciplinary research centre None In Three opened at the University of Huddersfield and it has been a busy time for the researchers whose impact stretches worldwide.  

None in Three’s overall research aim, funded by the Global Challenges Fund, is to change cultural, social, religious and other attitudes towards gender-based violence among young people with the use of educational computer games and consists of a multi-skilled and cross-cultural team. 

The Centre, headed by Co-Directors and Principal Investigators Professor Adele Jones and  Professor Dan Boduszek, has expertise ranging from computer games design and animation, to quantitative and qualitative research methods and has rapidly expanded since its opening in October 2017. 

There have also been a number of newly-appointed international members including research assistants and research fellows from Jamaica, Uganda, India and China, alongside partners from Barbados.  The partners are currently spending three weeks in Huddersfield to take part in training and become acquainted with the Centre’s ongoing research at the University. 

A highlight of the Centre’s roster of events, and one that will culminate the visit of the international visitors in Huddersfield, will be the public lecture by one of the most prolific and highly-cited criminologists in the world, who can boast over 370 scholarly publications.

Professor Matt DeLisi, Co-ordinator of Criminal Justice Studies from Iowa State University in the USA, will deliver his talk, entitled Psychopathy as a Unified Theory of Crime, to the group on 2 May. 

Professor DeLisi will explore how the basic elements of anti-social behaviour of crime are effectively isomorphic to the elemental characteristics of psychopathy – those wishing to attend the lecture can reserve a seat by emailing the None In Three Centre.

The Centre has also completed the delivery of its first training course led by Visiting Professor Melanie Barwick from Toronto, Canada. 

Professor Barwick’s two-day programme, ‘Knowledge, Translation and Implementation Evaluation’, showed researchers how they can broaden the reach of evidence from their research to support decision-making, policy and awareness.

Professor Boduszek expressed his thanks to the Global Challenges Fund, and confirmed that the research group is now looking to scale-up the highly effective interventions the Centre is working towards and, subsequently, contribute to the reduction of gender-based violence worldwide.

“Gender-based violence is a public health issue which requires innovative prevention strategies.  However, our research conducted in Barbados and Grenada has already demonstrated that pro-social gaming can increase young people’s empathy towards victims of such violence,” he said.

• The None in Three Centre draws its name from the global statistic that one in three women and girls are subjected to sexual and physical violence in their lifetime. Ni3 is dedicated to changing this reality.