WAVE Trust
WAVE Trust was formed in 1996 and registered as an international educational charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales under Number 1080189 in 1999. The charity is dedicated to reducing the key root causes of interpersonal violence: child neglect and maltreatment. The method used is a business strategy approach to identify and then tackle these problems at root cause level.
WAVE's fundamental message is that most family violence and maltreatment can be prevented by known, economically viable programmes to break damaging family cycles. They say their research identifies and actively promotes UK adoption of global best practice methods and programmes to address violence, e.g. the Nurse-Family Partnership.
WAVE also says extensive research highlights the crucial nature of experience from conception to age 3 in the formation of seriously violent personalities, largely because of the sensitive nature of the infant brain during these formative years. Research also identifies two important early conditions as antidotes to the development of violent personalities: attunement between carers and babies, and the development of empathy in the child.
Strategies to reduce violence and child abuse
- Identify the root causes of child abuse and violence.
- Find the most effective methods known to address these root causes.
- Promote the adoption of these proven methods.
The charity's reports and articles particularly emphasise the importance of warm, nurturing, loving parenting in the first 18 months of life when the emotional brain is largely created, and juxtaposes this with statistics showing that age 0-1 is the peak age for physical abuse in the UK. The people most likely to die a violent death are babies under 1 year old, who are four times more likely to be killed than the average person in England and Wales.
Although there are many causes of violence, WAVE's research conclusion is that child abuse, neglect and witnessing domestic violence are fundamental contributors to later antisocial, aggressive or violent behaviour because:
- Patterns of behaviour are adopted very early in life. Many children who are abused or neglected learn that the world is a cruel place and act accordingly.
- Antisocial behaviour is difficult to change – once adopted, this character trait is strong and often leads to adult violence.
- This pattern of violence is then repeated within the family as the antisocial / aggressive adults go on to raise their own children.
Key recommendations
- Implement a focused primary prevention strategy for at-risk children aged 0–3
- Set up a National Early Prevention Agency to co-ordinate, fund and drive a strategy to prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences.
- No child should leave school without receiving fundamental training in how to 'attune' with babies and to parent in a non-violent manner. An example of a programme to do this is Babywatching.
- During a first pregnancy, every mother- and father-to-be should receive supportive coaching on how to 'attune' with babies, how to ensure the child's successful emotional development and how to parent in a non-violent manner. An example of this type of support is offered by the programme First Steps in Parenting.
- Babies in at-risk families should be monitored during their first three years, with the parents receiving regular visits by specially trained Health Visitors who provide practical encouragement and support e.g. Nurse Family Partnership.
- Violent individuals entering legal/prison systems, whether adults or children, should be assessed for Posttraumatic stress disorder and, if diagnosed, steps taken to heal the condition.
Activities
Concerned about the lack of measurable reductions in child maltreatment in the UK over the previous 70 years, in 2009 WAVE created a '70/30' strategy to reduce child maltreatment and other Adverse Childhood Experiences by 70% by 2030. This strategy is backed by many UK academics, politicians, think tanks and other charities. In 2010, the Liberal Democrats pledged support for WAVE's 70/30 strategy in their pre-election manifesto and in 2018, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care stated the Labour party would endorse 70/30. 70/30 isn't solely a campaign to raise awareness, it's actually a blueprint for lasting social change, with real concrete steps towards the goal of 70/30.
At present, 356 Members of Parliament and over half the Members of the Scottish Parliament have given their backing to the 70/30 Campaign.
Funding
WAVE's funding comes from national and local government bodies, police forces, foundations and trusts, as well as donations from private individuals.Organisation structure
WAVE Trust supporters and staff include:Patrons
- Baroness Joan Walmsley, Liberal Democrat spokesperson on children, schools and families in the House of Lords
- Rt.Hon. Iain Duncan Smith, Conservative Party former Leader and former Member of Cabinet, former portfolio of Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
- Lord Chris Fox, Liberal Democrat, former Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
- Baroness Hilary Armstrong, Labour Party, former member of parliament for North West Durham
- Lord David Ramsbotham, Cross-Bench Peer, who has written extensively on matters relating to prisons and the military, in particular his 2003 book sets out his vision for reform of the prison system.
Strategic advisers
- Stephen Endelman, an acclaimed writer, producer and composer who has worked for both the USA and UK film industries
- Sir Christopher Ball, formerly Warden of Keble College, Oxford and Chancellor of the University of Derby
- Sir Richard Bowlby, specialises in the impact of early attachment relationships between parents and their young children
- Professor Edward Melhuish, Professor of Human Development at the University of Oxford as well as Birkbeck College
Chair of Trustees
- Derrick Anderson, CBE, Former Chief Executive of Lambeth Council
Senior Officers
- George Hosking, OBE, founder and Chief Executive Officer, economist, psychologist and clinical criminologist
- '
Ita Walsh, Writer and Director of Operations, former Trustee, author of 'WAVE reports Violence and what to do about it, Working together to reduce serious yout h viol ence' and ' Age 2-18 - Systems to protect children from severe disadvantage - Anthoulla Koutsoudi, Company Secretary, Director of External Relations and Fundraiser.
- Paula Doherty, Former Charity CEO and local authority expert on targeted services including domestic violence and Troubled Families
- Mr Derrick Anderson CBE
- Dr Caroline Clark
- Mr Nicholas Essex
- Mrs Susan Clifford MBE
- Mr Colin Sarre
- Ms Dawn Carrington
Key publications
Conception to age 2- the age of opportunity - Dept for Educ/WAVE Trust -2013
Building Great Britons - 2014
WAVE REPORT 2010: International experience of early intervention for children, young people and their families
Commissioned by C4EO to conduct this review which also formed the basis for their report 'Grasping the nettle: early intervention for children, families and communities'
'WAVE REPORT 2005: ''Violence and what to do about it
The culmination of the charity's first 9 years of research.
Working Together to Reduce Serious Youth Violence
Report on Metropolitan Police Pan-London Conference in November 2007.
Early Intervention: Good Parents, Great Kids, Better Citizens
WAVE-drafted 2008 joint party booklet.