Department of Sociology

Social research making a difference to people’s lives across the globe

Ending violence against women

Many have argued that more men need to engage with the movement against male violence towards women to create social change and prevent further abuse.

Professor Nicole Westmarland, Director of the Durham Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse (CRiVA), and her colleagues have carried out multi-country research into why some men take a public stance against violence towards women, and how we can encourage others. Working with academics across Sweden, Spain and the UK, questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used to collect information on the personal backgrounds of the men taking part in the study.

The research found that many men experienced an ‘awakening’ after hearing about the experiences of women in their lives, or from witnessing other men’s violent acts. Others felt they didn’t fit into the societal ‘mould’ of masculinity expected of them or felt spurred to speak out after a horrifying high-profile case in the media.

A free e-book based on the research has been made available, and CRiVA researchers have created a monthly podcast series to explore issues of men, masculinities and gender equality and how feminism is relevant to the lives of men and boys.

Harmful sexual behaviour in children

Pioneering research into children and young people with harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) has transformed policy and practice both in the UK and internationally.

For over 20 years, CRiVA researchers, led by Professor Simon Hackett, have been working to address significant gaps in policy and services for children and their families. Findings from the research has been generated into key models and frameworks to be used by professionals working with children with HSB.

Notably, this includes the first ever national-level public health guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The research also has co-produced an National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) operational framework, leading to more consistent policy and practice responses and supporting local areas to improve their services. The framework has been presented at key international conferences in the UK, USA, and at the Council of Europe, as well as Australia where the framework has been recommended as a model of best practice.

Combatting loneliness

Loneliness is a serious global social issue, often studied through the lens of psychology or medicine. Dr Keming Yang studies loneliness as a social problem, symptomatic of the relationship between the individual and the society at large.

Dr Yang’s work emphasises the national context in loneliness – for example, loneliness appears to be more prevalent in Russia and Eastern European countries than in Western and Northern Europe.

As one of few sociologists looking at this topic, Dr Yang was recently sponsored with an international fellowship at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and received a visiting scholarship at the Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (GESIS). He also presented both his and his department’s research at Uppsala University and has had his work featured in international papers such as Iran Daily.

Dr Yang’s work on loneliness has led to his book, Loneliness: A Social Problem, which has now been translated into Chinese.

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