Registration and a glance through the conference program book at the familiar names of researchers whose research has informed my own studies both serve to excite and daunt me: as a relative newcomer to the field there is always a degree of apprehension at exposing one’s own work for scrutiny. But the apprehension is unwarranted; the group are friendly, professional and above all curious about what others have to say, which makes for a stimulating and encouraging environment. The size of conference enables this: large enough to bring together a wide spectrum of interests under the rubric of family violence but small enough to ensure networking and connecting.

There are 5 pre-conference workshops offered, ranging from opportunities to learn about using data from a large nationally representative study of child maltreatment (NSCAW), a statistical methods workshop, as well as an intervention model aimed at violent fathers (The Caring Dads program). I attend the former, hoping that we might be able to use the data alongside the UK ALSPAC study data to extend and test an ecological model of the relative contribution of community and society level factors that moderate children’s experiences. It looks promising.

The conference is opened that afternoon by Murray Straus (a ‘retired’ yet outstanding emeritus who has inspired the field and contributed, alongside an admirable array of articles, books and lectures, the widely used and respected Conflict Tactics Scales (1979; revised CTS2, 1996). His ‘partner in crime’, so to speak, is the well-known David Finkehlor from the Crimes against Children Research Center. Together they represent years in the development of the field of family violence; it is hoped that in the audience the younger delegates represent innovation for its future. I certainly feel the pressure!

David Wolfe, from the University of Toronto, presents on a program for violence prevention he and colleagues have developed called the Fourth R -- for Relationships -- (to illustrate its central location in the school curriculum alongside Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic). The model is based on work done in the late 1990s for the Youth Relationships Model and has been rolled out in 6 Canadian provinces. Early evaluation (by randomised controlled trial) suggests that children are internalising the skills taught by the programme and more likely than controls to implement these tactics in role model situations. Second year follow-up data has just been collected looking at impact on ultimate outcome measures. The presentation highlights the importance of proven prevention models that can be taken to scale.

David Finkehlor ends the opening address with a ‘witty ditty’ he has composed in a Gilbert O’Sullivan style, bemoaning the trials and tribulations of Institutional Review Boards (or Ethics committees in the UK). It is an unusual start to a conference but it is amusing and informal and sets the tone for the evening reception.