The CAFADA project team is a group of interdisciplinary researchers, who bring expertise and skills related to domestic abuse, childhood studies, legal and policy issues, social work, policing, psychology and mental health, and participatory research. The team is drawn from experts at the University of Stirling, University of Edinburgh, University of East London, University of Northampton and University of Central Lancashire.
The project is led by Jane Callaghan. She is director of the Centre for Child Wellbeing and Protection at the University of Stirling. A psychologist and interdisciplinary researcher, she is particularly interested in experiences of violence, childhood, family life and relationships, gender and mental health.
The deputy project lead is Fiona Morrison, Lecturer at the Centre for Child Wellbeing and Protection. Her research interests are in the areas of children’s rights, child welfare, domestic abuse and research with children.
The Safe and Together workstream (workstream 1) is led by John Devaney, Professor and Head of Social Work at the University of Edinburgh. His research interests are child protection, child welfare, domestic and gender based violence, and social work interventions.
Lisa Fellin from The University of East London, Fiona Morrison, and Rachel Robbins from the University of Central Lancashire co-lead the Interventions Workstreak (Workstream 2). Lisa’s expertise is in the area of systemic and family psychotherapy, critical perspectives on mental health. Rachel’s research is focused on domestic abuse and adult social care, inequality and welfare.
The criminal justice workstream (Workstream 3) is led by Margaret Malloch, Professor of Criminology with the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research. She is interested in the construction of ‘problematic’ identities, policy responses, and recovery communities. She is supported by Daniel Ash, lecturer in policing at the University of Northampton. Jane Callaghan and Fiona Morrison will lead on the workstream focused on facilitating young people’s participation in domestic homicide.
Kay Tisdall and Claire Houghton will lead on Co-production and Involvement. Kay is a Professor of Childhood Policy at the University of Edinburgh. Her research interests are in childhood studies and particularly children’s human rights. She works within and across a number of policy areas, from education to family law to child protection, on such topics as children affected by domestic abuse, children with disabilities and additional support needs, and child marriage. Claire is Gender, Violence and Families Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. Her expertise is in young people’s involvement in the development of policy on domestic abuse.
Alasdair Rutherford will lead on the cost-consequence analysis of the interventions. He is Professor of Social Statistics at the University of Stirling. His research focus is the analysis of administrative and survey data in the fields of health, social care and the third sector. He has also been involved in a number of initiatives to build data analysis skills amongst third sector practitioners.
Hannah Graham will support the research team in the integration of the insights around how innovation works in social care contexts. She is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology in the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR). She works with governments and parliaments, practitioners, individuals, communities and civic society to help inform real world change and collaboratively build more just societies.
Joanne Alexander is a researcher at the Centre for Child Wellbeing and Protection (CCWP), University of Stirling. Her research explores women’s accounts of the intergenerational transmission of family violence. She has also published on children’s experiences of domestic abuse, and interventions to support children and young people recovering from domestic abuse.
Tanya Beetham is a researcher at CCWP. Her research focuses on young adults’ experiences of childhood domestic abuse, with a particular focus on those who did not receive formal support related to domestic abuse in childhood. She has also published on interventions to support children and young people affected by domestic abuse.
Hannah Hale is a research fellow at CCWP. She has expertise in police and military mental health, cultural psychology, identities and transitions.
Nadine Fowler is a researcher in CCWP. Her research focuses on the experiences of care and relationships in residential care settings.
Laura Bellussi studied for her undergraduate and Master’s degree in Psychology at the University of Pavia in Italy. She previously worked in childcare and education and cooperated with associations providing support to families with jailed parents, asylum-seekers, and people hosted in a rehabilitation centre, getting to know approaches that draw inspiration from the literary and performing arts to support personal and community growth. Her research work at the Centre for Child Wellbeing and Protection focusses on the evaluation of interventions to improve the quality of life and safety of children and families, with the use of qualitative and mixed methods.