Academics from the University of Manchester have worked alongside Greater Manchester charity We Are Survivors, on a collaborative project on evaluating the impact of a pioneering therapeutic intervention for male prisoners who are victims of sexual abuse and assault.

David Gadd, Professor of Criminology at the University, was a recipient of a Humanities Strategic Civic Engagement Fund (HSCEF) award in 2024 for this project. This funding scheme, which is the University’s Faculty of Humanities’ flagship social responsibility fund, offers support to projects that are inspired by the University’s Greater Manchester location, and which seek to improve communities across the city-region.

David, alongside researchers including Dr Emily Turner, Professor Filippo Varese and now PGR student Jess Glynn, aimed to address the underexplored issue of sexual assaults on male prisoners to enhance survivors’ wellbeing, challenge societal norms and amplify marginalised voices. The project takes inspiration from the pioneering work of We Are Survivors, which has been highlighting the need for services for male sexual assault since 2009. The project team also wanted to emphasise the importance of considering the fullness of prisoner-survivors’ stories alongside metrics that relate to mental wellbeing in evaluation research of this kind.

Reflecting on the project, David said: “We wanted to establish what meaningful change would look like to prisoner-survivors, noting that some had little chance of seeing those who had harmed them face justice. Most of these therapy clients have kept their experiences of abuse to themselves for many years, and some only begin to disclose what has happened to them after they themselves have committed serious crimes that they later understand to be connected to their own experiences of trauma.”

With the support of We Are Survivors and researchers across the University, the project has informed the creation of a new service provision for male prisoner-survivors, OUT Side OUT Spoken, which offers further support for clients once they leave custody. It is designed to cater to each individual, providing holistic support across mental health and wellbeing, resettlement and pro-social engagement. The aim is to successfully support men through the process of attending professional appointments, finding housing for the first time and accessing other support services.

• Find out more about the project and We Are Survivors.