We are really pleased to share the final outcomes of our Community Research project which was commissioned by West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership.
Please see attached below some infographics summarising the four topics we worked on with our community researchers:
1. Infographic Online Offline Harm.pdf (830.8 KB)
2. Infographic SEN and Neurodiversity.pdf (864.2 KB)
3. Infographic Counternarratives and Messaging.pdf (896.8 KB)
4. Infographic Social Harm for Young People.pdf (1.4 MB)
We created four final reports, which you can read here:
6. VRP Online Offline Harm Final Report.pdf (436.7 KB)
7. VRP SEN and Neurodiversity Final Report.pdf (380.8 KB)
8. VRP Counternarratives Focus Group Report.pdf (642.4 KB)
9. VRP Literature Review - Experiences of social harm.pdf (560.9 KB)
We also developed a summary document to highlight how this work was delivered:
11. VRP Community Research Summary Report.pdf (186.7 KB)
This project was commissioned by the West Midlands VRP and addressed four interconnected research areas:
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How children and young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and neurodiversity experience safety, risk and violence in their everyday lives, and what they, parents and educational professionals think would help them feel safer.
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What young people’s experiences of online harm are, how they have seen it transition into real-world violence, bullying, retaliation or self-harm, and what they think could help to reduce that risk.
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What stories and messages shape how children and young people think about violence, which counternarratives they find most convincing, and what they think about the VRP’s My Tomorrow campaign.
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What does existing research tell us about children and young people’s experiences of social harm, and what conditions – relationships, spaces, and structures – enable safety, help and healing? This fourth strand comprised a rapid critical interpretive review of literature conducted by Colin Michel and Ariana Markowitz, providing a scholarly framework for interpreting the project’s primary research findings.
A community research approach was central to the project’s design. BVSC Research worked with 16 community researchers: individuals with direct lived experience of the issues explored, or strong connections to the communities involved. This approach was intended to reduce traditional power imbalances in research, increase trust with participants, and capture more authentic accounts of young people’s experiences.
The research took place across the West Midlands Combined Authority area, with representation from people in Birmingham, Sandwell, Coventry, Dudley, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Solihull. The research was conducted in 2024/2025.
Please do let us know if you read the reports and you are interested in knowing more about the process or want to use the results to inform your work.
Tags
young people, violence reduction, west midlands, community research