Gender, Violence and Abuse Research Network (GVARN)

The Gender, Violence and Abuse Research Network (GVARN), established through an initial collaboration between Social Sciences and Law reflects the growing and extensive interest in these research topics from scholars across the university. Established in 2019, with about 30 core members from all four faculties across the University, GVARN has provided an inter-disciplinary network for Northumbria scholars to share and develop their research interests. The initial aim has been to provide an intellectual home for GVA scholars, with the intention to provide opportunities for collaboration on funding bids, projects and other such initiatives. It has hosted two seminar programmes, the first featuring Northumbria scholars to give members opportunities to learn about each other’s research profiles and interests. The second seminar programme, run online during COVID-19 restrictions, has featured scholars from Northumbria and beyond and has included international audiences and speakers. These online seminars have been very popular, regularly attracting audiences of at least 20 scholars and practitioners from statutory and third sector organisations.

The Network is led by Associate Professor Ruth Lewis (Social Sciences) and Kayliegh Richardson (Law).