POLICE officers and specialists in domestic abuse and health have been using the latest virtual reality technology to experience exactly how people may feel when disclosing violence and abuse, thanks to research at Aberystwyth University.

Dr Helen Miles and Andra Jones from the Department of Computer Science, who specialise in virtual environments and virtual reality, have teamed up with Rebecca Zerk, Sarah Wydall and Elize Freeman from the Centre for Age, Gender and Social Justice to pioneer a prototype training tool thanks to Welsh Government-funded research.

“Many people will think of virtual reality as a form of entertainment”, Helen Miles, Principal Investigator said.

“But the potential is so much greater.

“This technology offers a unique way to see the world through the eyes of someone else, allowing us to experience situations we may never experience in reality.”

The pilot, titled Through their eyes: The virtual help-seeking experience of an older victim-survivor of domestic abuse, was funded by Welsh Government through the Wales Data Nation Accelerator (WDNA) Super-Sprint.

The team worked with older victim-survivors, and partners from the Mid and West Wales Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Network and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors to co-develop the prototype virtual reality (VR) experience as a training tool to allow partners to see things from the perspective of an older woman making a disclosure of domestic violence and abuse.

Sarah Wydall, the Principal Investigator on Dewis Choice, based at the Centre for Age Gender and Social Justice, said: “Through the VR headset, participants were able to take part in an immersive encounter depicting the initial police response at the home of an older victim-survivor of domestic violence and abuse.

“At various points during the scenario, the viewer was invited to make a choice about the direction of the help-seeking and safeguarding options presented. “Their chosen response would lead to one of eight different pathways and possible outcomes.”

Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles said: “This innovative project from Aberystwyth University shows just how much impact higher education research can have on people’s lives. I’m proud that Welsh Government funding through WDNA has helped make this a reality.”

Following the successful pilot study, the project team hopes to secure further funding to carry out a larger-scale study of the use of VR technology to help practitioners to best understand and support help-seekers of domestic violence and abuse.