Global conference on gender-based violence receives “incredible turnout”

Researchers from the University of Huddersfield’s None in Three (Ni3) research centre travelled to Mumbai to stage a five-day international summit in collaboration with the Indian School of Design and Innovation

UNIVERSITY of Huddersfield researchers who operate on a global scale to curtail gender-based violence and sexual abuse have successfully held a five-day international summit in India. Now one of the team’s goals is to work more closely with marginalised youngsters in that nation’s densely-populated cities. 

Experts from nine countries and four continents in fields that included criminal psychology, sociology, education, social work, and health and nutrition convened in Mumbai, where the Indian School of Design and Innovation (ISDI) collaborated with  Huddersfield’s multi-disciplinary None in Three (Ni3) research centre to stage the event. 

Also taking part were computer game designers, because at the heart of the Ni3 project – which has received backing of £4.5 million from the UK Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund – is the creation of a serious, prosocial computer game as an educational tool to address issues of gender-based violence. 

It became apparent from our meetings in India that we had to reach out to young people in the slums. Our current methods are fine for children that go to school, but how do you reach children who don’t?” 

Professor Adele Jones, Director of Ni3 

Activities at the Mumbai summit included a one-day conference exploring innovative and international approaches to gender-based violence prevention; a workshop on developing prosocial computer games based on research; plus a public lecture by the University of Huddersfield’s Professor Daniel Boduszek on the subject of child abuse and psychopathy. 

The Indian School of Design and Innovation also organised a business engagement event, and there was an “incredible turnout”, said Ni3’s director, Professor Adele Jones. 

“There were senior people from a lot of international companies who came to hear about the project and begin a conversation about possible sponsorship how they might consider making contributions based on corporate social responsibility,” she said. 

None in Three’s title is derived from the statistic that one in three women and girls around the globe is subject to physical or sexual violence. In a bid to reverse this, the research centre has been investigating the issue in the UK, Jamaica, Uganda and India.  Serious computer games will be tailored to the needs of those countries. 

Everything that we do is driven by young people. We involve them in all stages and had a lot of engagement with young people in India. We would like to build on that.” 

Professor Adele Jones, Director of Ni3 

After the research – which includes a survey of 40,000 young people across the four participant countries – the games will be created at the University of Huddersfield, where the School of Art, Design and Architecture has world-class facilities, including motion-capture technology. 

The UK game will be the first to be produced, and auditions for actors who will provide the voice-overs and the movements have now taken place. 

Future opportunities

The Indian game will focus on how gender bias and gender stereotyping contribute to violence. The Mumbai summit was an opportunity for Ni3 researchers and games designers to visit schools and homes in order to gain valuable insights, said Professor Jones, who revealed that there are plans to bid for funding that would enable an expansion of the centre’s work in India and its burgeoning collaboration with ISDI. 

“It became apparent from our meetings in India that we had to reach out to young people in the slums,” said Prof Jones. “Our current methods are fine for children that go to school, but how do you reach children who don’t?” 

There is also a plan for Ni3 to host a global summit for young people. 

“Everything that we do is driven by young people. We involve them in all stages and had a lot of engagement with young people in India. We would like to build on that,” said Prof Jones.