In recent years, the United Kingdom has seen the emergence of a new approach to violence reduction - the public health approach - which prioritizes early intervention and holistic support to prevent violence upstream. This movement of this approach is based in part on the success story of Scotland, and has led to the founding of more than twenty Violence Reduction Units in England and Wales and recently to Victoria, Australia. This talk presents the findings from a four-year, multi-method study of the public health approach to violence reduction in Scotland and England, involving 190 interviews with leading professionals working in violence reduction in the UK alongside young people, community activists and youth practitioners. The study sought to ask a simple question: what lessons can we learn from the past to inform the future? Although the question was simple the answers are more challenging. In a recent book, we argue for the need for a revolution in violence reduction - to build a new movement for change that connects the dots between policy and the street. In this talk, informed by Bourdieu’s concept of ‘symbolic revolution’ and narrative criminology, I set out the four contexts in which policy change took place – crisis, charismatic leadership, reframing the debate, and legitimacy – to draw out the consequences for the movement of the policy elsewhere. As I will argue, while originating story is important, just as necessary are the political context in which the idea is received, and the lived experiences of communities affected by violence.

About the speaker:

Alistair Fraser is Professor of Criminology at the University of Glasgow, where he teaches and researches issues of youth violence, street culture, and urban crime, with a particular interest in the global gang phenomenon. He is the author or co-author of four books: Urban Legends: Gang Identity in the Post-Industrial City (OUP, 2015); Gangs & Crime: Critical Alternatives (2017, Sage); Preventing Violence (2025, BUP) and The Public Health Approach to Violence Reduction: Stories, Movements & Hope (OUP, 2026). He is a public criminologist, former BBC ‘New Generation Thinker’, and presents the popular podcast series ‘Young Warriors’.

📅 Date: Monday, 27 July, 2026

🕑 Time: 2:30pm – 3:30pm

📍 Venue: CJT-9.29

🗣️ Language: English

🔗 Register here: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=106548