"The triangle, the strongest shape in nature, symbolises unshakable strength and balance. Like its three sides, we survive abuse by reclaiming our mind, body, and spirit - rising steady and whole, even when people and life try to break our foundation."
Dr Elizabeth Dalgarno
Abuse does not always end when a relationship does - Abusers often continue control, intimidation, and manipulation after separation, keeping the victim in a constant state of fear or anxiety. I am driven to highlight and challenge these abuses and injustices in pursuit of freedom and safety for all. I believe that:
- Everyone deserves equal and equitable protection from abuse and injustice.
- Research should always be driven by the communities it serves.
- Addressing domestic and sex/gender-based violence is vital to health equity.
- Exposing harmful frameworks and systems safeguards families.
- Sharing knowledge widely drives meaningful change.
- Supporting clinicians and professionals improves responses to abuse.
- Survivor-led advocacy is essential to ending violence.
About me
World-leading researcher and advocate in the field of abuse and advocacy for women and children, particularly post separation abuse and family court.
Author of ground-breaking research on the harms to health and well-being of victim-survivor mothers and children in the England, Brazil and beyond.
Founder and Director of the world’s first global research and advocacy group focussing on the harms to health and human rights violations of women and children in the world’s family courts: SHERA Research Group.
You can read about SHERA RG below
See also our social media below, where you can join over 14,000 followers in our pursuit to end family court violence globally.
You can find my research and email me about training and consultancy at the links below
Email: elizabeth.dalgarno@manchester.ac.uk
Research and resources:
My work has featured widely in documentaries and the media including in:
More about me in detail
I am the Director and Founder of SHERA Research Group, SHERA's Research and Development Lead and a Lecturer in Public health/Health science at the University of Manchester, UK. SHERA is the first global collective of over 60 professionals from the fields of medicine, health, domestic violence and human rights and multiple victim-survivors, with an in-house expert-by-experience / patient and public involvement and engagement group. Our core aim is to develop innovative, global research to improve the health and justice human rights of women and children, currently world-leading in our focus on the family courts/civil proceedings and health systems.
I have worked in public and private health and social care for 24 years and specialise in challenging inequalities and systemic challenges in health and social care. My work centres always around vulnerable and/or marginalised groups. I am a staunch advocate of co-designed, developed and conducted research, where research is undertaken by and with the people it concerns, rather than 'on' them.
I teach Global Women's Health and Global Health System Challenges (high, low and middle-income countries), through a complex adaptive system (CAS) lens, on the Master's in Public Health at The University of Manchester (amongst other roles). I have special interests in adult social care, the health and trauma impacts and experiences of women and children who are victim-survivors of abuse, family court experiences and health impacts, gender-based violence, domestic abuse/violence, coercive control, child sexual abuse and post-separation abuse.
I provide training and consultation to schools, domestic abuse organisations, local authorities, health and social care services and other interested groups. See full reviews here:
Recommendation score from Jewish Women’s Aid: 10/10. The training was well presented, very engaging and validating what we experience as practitioners working with survivors of domestic abuse.
Feedback from NSDAS:
Recommendation score: 9/10: Dr Emma Katz and Dr Elizabeth Dalgarno are extremely knowledgeable on these topics – 100% theses ladies know their stuff and provided highly insightful information all of which can be used to improve one’s practice.
My work with the SHERA group - in partnership with members of multiple universities, abuse support organisations, victim-survivors and health, social and legal professionals- on women and child victims health experiences of family court and the harmful pseudoscience of so-called 'parental alienation', has featured in a BBC documentary 'Mums on the Run' on the BBC i player, BBC News, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Woman's Hour, Times Radio, in The Daily Mail and the Telegraph. A summary of the research can be found here.
This work has been presented upon request globally, including to the French Secretary of State for Children and the 53rd United Nations Human Rights Council.
This work also features within two of the United Nations Reports of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls (UNSRVAWG), its causes and consequences report to the Human Rights Council on: Custody, violence against women and violence against children 2023 and the UN SRVAWG report of 2025: Sex-based violence against women and girls: new frontiers and emerging issues - Advance unedited version.
I have worked on several National Institute of Health and Care Research projects.
I have led projects for the NHS to develop best practice in learning from adverse events / incidents and advises domestic abuse organisations, global sexual health organisations, NHS organisations and pilot studies such as IRISi ADViSE regarding gender-based violence and domestic abuse/violence.
I am currently an advisor to the World Bank, World Health Organization, United Nations and Sexual Violence Research Initiative and also advising on evaluating the Greater Manchester IRISi ADViSE pilot. The ADViSE (Assessing for Domestic Violence and Abuse in Sexual Health Environments) programme supports sexual health clinicians to identify and respond to women affected by domestic violence and abuse (DVA) and provides them with a simple referral pathway to specialist services.
I am leading several projects currently including: exploring the impact of Covid-19 on patients, families and professionals, exploring the impact of Covid-19 on informal carers and people living with dementia and exploring the mental health impact of family court proceedings on mothers exposed to perpetrator abusive behaviours / domestic abuse/violence in the UK and Brazil.
I am an ambassador and adviser to Right to Equality, a project team member at FiLiA Hague Mothers, a member of the Safe in Faith Committee and member of the National Board of Catholic Women VAWG Committee.
Access free legal support and domestic abuse support resources on the SHERA website (click below):
