ABOUT US
The Prevention Collective is a Scottish based social impact and charitable organisation dedicated to the prevention and disruption of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) through a proactive and evidence-led approach. Rooted in the socio-ecological model (which focuses interventions across the individual, interpersonal, community and societal levels), we move beyond reactive crisis management to focus on early detection, prevention, and systemic change. The Collective brings together a range of professional and lived experience perspectives to target and address core societal factors that often contribute to SGBV. A key mission in our work is supporting individuals who are on the trajectory of instigating SGBV and require a robust and timely intervention to prevent their pathway into causing harm.
Our organisation works across a range of sectors providing bespoke support and intervention programmes with prevention at the core. Our programmes include supporting professional awareness and knowledge exchange alongside providing learning and upskilling programmes for parents, carers and guardians. SGBV cannot be tackled in isolation and the collective works holistically with other charitable and statutory organisations to ensure we take a consistent and evidence informed approach in our work. This approach is embedded within our organisations IMPACT values:
Inclusive - Ensuring a rights respecting response to every member of our communities
Multi‑disciplinary - Ensuring a collective and multi-disciplinary approach is always upheld
Proactive - Ensuring detection to new trends affecting our communities
Adaptive - Transferring research and knowledge into real world impact
Community – Ensuring the voice of lived experience and our communities are instrumental within societal change
Trauma‑Informed - Ensuring a collective recognition of the impact of inter-generational trauma is upheld
OUR TEAM
David Russell
Founder and CEO
David has extensive experience specialising in work with children and young people displaying harmful sexual behaviour and / or who have experienced sexual abuse or exploitation. David has been involved in a number of campaigns nationally and internationally raising awareness of sibling sexual abuse amongst other key issues within the field of child protection and justice. His experience includes providing assessments and interventions for vulnerable children, adolescents, and adults within the field of sexual harm and violence. He has also worked in custodial and secure settings. David provides training on a range of themes on sexual violence and has facilitated multidisciplinary training internationally. He currently sits on the NOTA (National Organisation for the Treatment of Abuse) Scotland Executive Committee, supporting professionals responding to sexual harm. He is the lead author of Restorative Justice & Sexual Harm: The Voices of Those Who Have Harmed) and is currently involved in a research project in collaboration with the University of Birmingham, exploring prevention strategies within incel subcultures. David is the lead author of ‘Harmful sexual behaviour & autism: supporting children and young people’ (Russell et al, 2026).
Daniel Speirs
Deputy Director
Daniel has worked cross sector, gaining extensive experience in policy development, child protection and suicide prevention. Daniel holds a BSc in Psychology and Management and an MSc in Global Mental Health. He has facilitated extensive training deliveries to a range of third sector and statutory agencies based on his research output, the use of social media in children and young people.
Daniel has worked in custodial and secure settings supporting both children and young be who have caused harm and those who have experienced abuse and adversity. He has extensive experience providing interventions and care packages for children and young people who are neurodivergent and who have experienced significant trauma.
Daniel is incredibly passionate about ensuring people have access to the right support at the right time and believes that prevention is the key to a safer and more equitable society.
Prof. Kieran McCartan (Chair of Board)
Kieran McCartan is a Professor of Criminology at the University of the West of England. He has completed funded research for the Economic and Social Research Council, Leverhulme, the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, and Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety.
Kieran has advised (including the Council of Europe and the Australian National Office of Child Safety) and continues to advise (including the European Union, ECPAT International, and NSPCC) many national and international governments and organisations, as well as sitting on several boards (including the Confederation of European Probation and Circles Southwest).
Kieran is currently the national Chair for the National Organisation for the Treatment of Abuse (NOTA).
Prof. Clare Allely (Board Member)
Professor of Forensic Psychology at the University of
Salford and is an affiliate member of the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Clare is an Honorary Research Fellow at the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life
Sciences affiliated to the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow. She is a Chartered Member and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. Clare acts as an expert witness in criminal cases involving defendants with autism spectrum disorder and is a consultant for the Irish Prison Service. She has published over 150 academic peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.
She is author of The Psychology of Extreme Violence: A Case Study Approach to Serial Homicide, Mass Shooting, School Shooting and Lone-actor Terrorism and Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Criminal Justice System: A Guide to Understanding Suspects, Defendants and Offenders with Autism.
Nancy Morris (Board Member)
NANCY MORRIS, MSc Applied Psychology, is a sibling sexual abuse survivor, researcher, and activist based in Ottawa, Canada. Host of the #SiblingsToo podcast since 2018, she has interviewed academics, professionals, those harmed, those causing harm, and families on the impacts of SSA. Nancy’s research looks at adult survivor and perpetrator narratives along with the stories of other family members.
She is the founder and host of the Annual International #SiblingsToo Day every April. These online events bring together a worldwide collaborative of professionals and lived experience individuals to not only continue the academic discussion of SSA but push the conversation deeper into society to ensure sibling sexual abuse no longer remains a hidden taboo in our families and communities.
Lucy Coleman (Board Member)
Lucy Coleman is the Team Manager for the Tay Project which is the sexual harm assessment and intervention team and the Caledonian Delivery Team, which is the domestic abuse assessment and intervention team for the Tayside Community Justice area.
Lucy is trained in the use of various risk assessment tools and intervention programmes and is a national trainer for the Stable & Acute 2007, Static 99R, SARAV3, and the Introduction to Sexually Harmful behaviour (a training package developed with Community Justice Scotland, Tay Project and CISSO).
Lucy provides consultation for complex cases and hosts quarterly Complex case discussions with her teams within the Tayside area. Lucy is a Complex Case Advisor for PVG Scotland, and currently sits on various national working groups focussing on sexually and domestically harmful behaviour. Lucy is one of the national trainers for the Scottish Goverments pilot roll out of the Practice Leads programme in conjunction with the ‘Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual abuse’ and is also the Chair of NOTA Scotland.
Fiona Kennedy (Board Member)
Fiona has undertaken several leadership roles within Social Work services and, latterly, the wider Health and Social Care Partnership in Midlothian Council. Commencing her career in residential care for homeless and roofless adults encouraged me to obtain her MSc in Social Work. Since then, she has over 20 years of experience as a Social Worker working within Justice Services and this remains a key area of interest for her. As her Social Work leadership career developed, she found a passion for supporting the professional development of others and successfully completed several post qualifying certificates before successfully passing her Practice Educator Award (2015), allowing her to undertake a pivotal role for learners.
Fiona's remit covers Adult Social Work service, as well as health services, includes Physical Disabilities Team, Older Adults, Justice, Mental Health, Substance Use Service, Adult Support and Protection, Duty Social Work, Hospital Inreach, Primary Care, Care at Home, Care Homes and Commissioned services for Learning Disabilities.