Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit wins prestigious Queen Elizabeth Prize News

Date: 25 November 2025

London Metropolitan University has won a Queen Elizabeth Prize for Higher and Further Education, one of only 19 universities and colleges to have been given the honour.  

The award will be formally announced tonight at an event hosted by the Royal Anniversary Trust at St James’s Palace, by kind permission of His Majesty The King. 

The Prize recognises the exceptional impact of the university’s Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU), which for nearly four decades, under the directorship of Professor Liz Kelly, has influenced how policy-makers, frontline services and institutions understand and respond to violence against women and children.  

CWASU’s research has informed major developments, such as the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the national roll-out of Sexual Assault Referral Centres, and continues to shape policing, legislation, survivor support and international frameworks. These include those linked to the Istanbul Convention - the Council of Europe treaty requiring governments to prevent violence against women and ensure protection and support for survivors. 

CWASU also developed one of the first postgraduate programmes in Europe addressing all forms of violence against women and children: MA Woman and Child Abuse. The course, that continues to flourish, has produced generations of practitioners, service leaders, policy advisors and advocates in the UK and internationally. 

Professor Julie Hall, Vice-Chancellor of London Metropolitan University, said: 

"This award reflects the extraordinary contribution that the CWASU team has made to national and international policy, law reform and survivor support. It is a powerful example of London Met’s rigorous research, meaningful partnerships and our commitment to social justice.” 

Professor Fiona Vera-Gray, Co-Director of CWASU, said: 

"It is wonderful to see CWASU recognised at the highest level for work that has now spanned almost four decades. We have always been committed to producing useful knowledge - evidence rooted in grassroots practice, developed alongside those working directly with survivors. We are especially proud that most of our researchers have worked as practitioners and that so many of our students go on to lead change." 

Professor Liz Kelly CBE, Founder of CWASU, said: "This recognition honours work that began before violence against women and girls was widely acknowledged as a distinct area of policy and academic study. CWASU has always had strong links to the third sector. We have developed language, evidence and approaches that are now widespread and accepted framings. I am deeply proud to see this legacy carried forward and renewed by new generations." 

Sir Damon Buffini, Chair of the Royal Anniversary Trust, said: “The Queen Elizabeth Prizes for Higher and Further Education celebrate the power of education to change the world for the better. This much-loved national honour recognises, at the highest level of state, outstanding work in UK universities and colleges, and the remarkable benefit they bring to our economy, society and the wider world. This year we are delighted to honour 19 institutions whose work offers an inspiring snapshot of the excellent and innovative work going on in universities and colleges across the UK. Congratulations all!”