Dr Christopher Mikton

Profile Photo

About me

Dr Mikton has a background in international violence prevention and criminology, with a specialization in forensic psychiatry. At UWE, Bristol, he is working across criminology and public health. He joined UWE in 2016 after working in the Prevention of Violence Unit at the World Health Organization (WHO) for 9 years. Before that he worked as a Clinical Scientist for the Department of Health/Ministry of Justice’s Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder Programme and at the International Committee of the Red Cross. Dr Mikton holds PhD and MPhil degrees from the Institute of Criminology of the University of Cambridge and a BA from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.


Area of expertise

Dr Mikton has two broad areas of expertise: global violence prevention using a public health approach and personality disorders in forensic settings. Within global violence prevention, he has a particular focus on child maltreatment prevention, parenting programmes, longitudinal research, violence against people with disabilities, violence prevention in low- and middle-income countries, and data synthesis.

Projects he is currently involved in include:

  1. Violence Info: A global knowledge platform for preventing violence. Dr Mikton is leading the development of Violence Info. This is a collaboration between WHO, UWE, Bangor University, and Liverpool John Moores University. Violence Info aims to synthesize in a highly accessible and user-friendly way all the high-quality data available on the main aspects (prevalence, consequences, risk factors, prevention and response strategies, and measures countries are taking to address violence) of the main forms of interpersonal violence (child maltreatment, youth violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and elder abuse). Violence Info will be launched in January 2017.
  2. Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH): This is a collaboration between UWE and several other universities (Bangor, Cape Town [South Africa], Oxford, Reading, and Stellenbosch [South Africa]) and WHO and UNICEF. Parenting for Lifelong Health is developing and evaluating a suite of parenting programmes for children 0-18 to prevent child maltreatment and other forms of violence. These programmes aim to be evidence-based, affordable, and adapted to lower resource settings. PLH is currently active in South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy, Lesotho, the Philippines, and South Sudan. Dr Mikton is a member of the Secretariat of PLH and is focusing in particular on cross-cultural differences in parenting.
  3. Evidence for Better Lives Study (EBLS): EBLS aims to be a global, trans-disciplinary research and capacity building project that will help to reduce violence against children and promote healthy child development on a global scale. This is a project led by Professor Eisner of the Institute of Criminology of the University of Cambridge in collaboration with UWE, University College London, and the University of Pelotas in Brazil. With six study sites across low- and middle-income countries, the project would be the most ambitious birth-cohort study to date focused on exposure to violence and the development of physical and mental health. It aims to understand the forces that shape child psychopathologies and healthy development in different cultures, and promote productive lives amongst disadvantaged young people across the globe. Dr Mikton is currently contributing to a one-year field-building study, which includes site reviews, feasibility assessments, and communication activities to prepare the launch of EBLS.


Publications

Publications loading Publications loading...

Back to top