This panel draws on the experience of practitioners and researchers at Public Health Wales and Bangor University to share the methods and approaches underpinning violence prevention in Wales, offering transferable learning for those working to implement a public health approach in their own contexts. Presentations introduce the RISE framework (Relating Perspectives, Identifying Opportunity, Strengthening Capability and Embedding Prevention) and its operationalization in practice, including the Wales Without Violence Community of Practice; examine the collaborative research approaches used to develop knowledge on violence across the life course; and showcase a self-evaluation toolkit developed with the Welsh Government VAWDASV Blueprint to support universities in planning, implementing and monitoring violence prevention activity. Together, they offer a grounded and practical account of what a public health approach looks like when translated into research, partnership and practice.
Chair: Dr Joanne Hopkins, Public Health Wales
Lara Snowdon, Public Health Wales
Background: Violence prevention remains an underdeveloped function of public health systems globally. In Wales, Public Health Wales has worked to embed a structured, systems-level approach.
About the project: The RISE framework (Relating Perspectives, Identifying Opportunity, Strengthening Capability and Embedding Prevention) was developed using an innovative behavioural science approach. This presentation focuses on its operationalisation in practice, drawing on examples including the Wales Without Violence Community of Practice and the Violence Prevention Portal to share transferable learning.
Collaborative relationships: Implementation relies on collaboration across policing, government, health and the third sector, alongside law enforcement.
Impact: Underpinned by a theory of change, RISE provides a framework for coordinating cross-sector prevention activity, with early implementation underway.
Interactive element: Participants will be invited to identify opportunities and barriers to implementing a comparable approach.
Emma Barton, Public Health Wales
Background: Violence prevention remains an underdeveloped function of public health systems globally. In Wales, Public Health Wales has worked to embed a structured, systems-level approach.
About the project: The RISE framework (Relating Perspectives, Identifying Opportunity, Strengthening Capability and Embedding Prevention) was developed using an innovative behavioural science approach. This presentation focuses on its operationalisation in practice, drawing on examples including the Wales Without Violence Community of Practice and the Violence Prevention Portal to share transferable learning.
Collaborative relationships: Implementation relies on collaboration across policing, government, health and the third sector, with law enforcement playing a central role.
Impact: Underpinned by a theory of change, RISE provides a framework for coordinating cross-sector prevention activity, with early implementation underway.
Interactive element: Participants will be invited to identify opportunities and barriers to implementing a comparable approach.
Dr Kat Ford, Bangor University
Understanding violence and related harms across the life course is essential for informing effective policy and practice. To inform violence prevention in Wales, we undertake a range of collaborative research approaches with partner agencies to generate robust evidence on the nature, prevalence and impacts of violence across the life course. This presentation will outline methods and present key findings from recent collaborative research using population surveys, qualitative research and systematic evidence synthesis. Examples include: a national household survey examining abuse and other adversities among older adults and their relationships with health and well-being; use of a national population panel survey to explore perceptions of police stop‑and‑search practices; focus groups on the lived experience of young people; and synthesis of evidence on trauma-informed policing approaches. Collectively, this work advances our understanding of violence across diverse settings, supports evidence‑informed decision making and strengthens multi-agency partnership working to prevent violence.
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