A university professor who wants to provide nurses with better tools for dealing with domestic abuse has won an award for her research that has helped shape a new national policy.

Julie McGarry, Professor of Nursing and Gender Based Violence at the University of Sheffield, has been named as the recipient of the Sigma European award for Excellence in Nursing research 2024. 

The award is highly regarded among the nursing and midwifery community and recognises groundbreaking research. 

Professor McGarry’s work aims to empower survivors of domestic abuse to share their lived experiences through creative media such as paintings, storytelling, poetry, and photography. 

The research also provides nurses with the tools to deal with lived experiences of sexual violence and domestic abuse, who are often a first point of contact for victims and vulnerable people. 

By reframing the narrative of domestic violence, referring to sexual safety as a ‘jigsaw puzzle’ rather than ‘common sense’, it helps healthcare professionals to feel competent when dealing with victims of abuse and vulnerable people. 

Professor McGarry also contributed to shaping a new national policy, The Sexual Safety Collaborative Standards and Guidance to Improve Sexual Safety on Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Inpatient Pathways, which is now widely used by medical professionals and psychiatrists across the UK.  

She said: “I am deeply honoured to be accepting this prestigious award.

“The value of personal narrative cannot be underestimated, and through my research we have been able to reframe the discourse of health and illness for vulnerable and underrepresented groups from one which is professionally dominated to one which holds the most meaning for the individuals concerned. 

“This award is also a fabulous endorsement of the benefit arts-based healthcare research can have in giving voice to those who would otherwise remain silent in healthcare settings.”

The Sigma Theta Tau International Honour Society of Nursing was founded in 1922 and has more than 135,000 members made up of nurses, academics, and researchers. It aims to empower nurses who seek to transform global healthcare and enhance the experience of people’s healthcare worldwide. 

Professor McGarry will presented with the award at the seventh Sigma European Biennial conference, which will take place in Bournemouth from 26-28 June.