“Imagine a world without violence” — That’s the hopeful idea you’ll see upon visiting the website of the SAVE Lab, one of York’s newest research laboratories.
Set up by Assistant Professor Andrew Brankley, who joins York this year, the SAVE Lab tackles a critical topic: “understanding the factors that cause violent and harmful sexual behaviour.
“I call it the SAVE Lab because I do really believe that understanding leads to prevention and making people safer,” he tells Excalibur after his class on Psychology and Law. “And I don’t just mean safe in terms of ‘you don’t have to lock your doors at night,’ but allowing people to explore all that life has to offer, including sex.”
Brankley believes this type of safety can be achieved by “improving methods of identifying [harmful sexual behaviours] and developing novel treatments to reduce [the] risk of reoffending.” According to his lab website, much of this work focuses on psychological measurement — a key tool for identifying when an individual’s sexual behaviour can become dangerous.
Brankley understands that “sex is something that is part of the public consciousness, no more so than for young adults at university.” As such, he appreciates the support of university students who want to contribute to his lab’s work.
“We have a big lab — I’ve always wanted that. There’s lots of work to be done,” he says. At this early stage, “much of the work is trying to get projects up on their feet,” so there are “lots of opportunities now for students.”
In addition to research work, the SAVE Lab also has opportunities for students interested in content creation. “I have a YouTube presence to help connect my research and the research of others with our users,” he shares. “I think that’s a really cool way in which students and their creativity can contribute to science.”
This approach to education — using creativity and genuine interest to motivate learning — is reflected in Brankley’s own approach to teaching. “I’m partial to this idea of ‘edutainment,’ where being silly and having fun isn’t incompatible with the idea of learning,” he explains.
Going further, he posits that there’s a “common attitude” in academia that “we need to somehow be dour and even stern when dealing with these issues in order to get people to take us seriously.”
“It has not been my experience that that’s been necessary — quite the reverse. If you can find ways to connect with people, they’re more likely to be receptive,” he says, hopefully.
Brankley’s approach seems to echo that of great science communicators, like Bill Nye, whom he jokingly calls his “spirit animal.”
In addition to its public activities, the SAVE Lab is closely connected with those working within the criminal justice system. “The work our lab does is always very grounded and connected to stakeholders. We quite explicitly view our primary stakeholders as professionals in the criminal justice system, which is often different from many labs that think of the end user as the client receiving service,” explains Brankley.
He believes this model helps research findings make their way into clinical practice, ultimately supporting the populations it intends to support. “This is something that I think makes our lab unique.”
For those looking to work with the SAVE Lab, or interested in learning more about their research, Brankley says to visit the lab’s website and get in touch to discuss further opportunities.
