Rachel Condry and Caroline Miles presented the findings of their three year research project on APV at a conference held at St Hilda's College, University of Oxford. The aim of the conference was to raise awareness and develop recommendations for more informed and effective policy making, and it brought together a wide range of experts to discuss the practical implications of the current lack of an official definition, acknowledgement of the issue, and guidelines for practitioners. It focused on families' experiences of APV, criminal justice responses, and innovative approaches to the problem, with a panel of experts from each area contributing to the debate drawing upon a wide range of experience and answering questions from the audience. The audience welcomed the findings with great interest, and engaged in the debate with significant observations and suggestions. A first step towards the creation of a network of experts committed to the designing of practical solutions seems to have been taken, and both academics and practitioners left the conference inspired, with new ideas to investigate and to put in practice in their daily work. The briefing papers of the conference will soon be available to download on this website.
