Medics Against Violence

What Medics Against Violence does

Medics Against Violence (MAV) is a Scottish registered charity (SC041153) founded in 2008 that applies a public-health approach to violence prevention. Headquartered in Glasgow, the organisation deploys approximately 40 staff alongside around 30 clinical volunteers to deliver evidence-based interventions targeting young people, victims of violence, and families affected by domestic abuse across Scotland.

MAV's core programmes include the MAV Academy (a school-based education programme launched in 2009), the Navigator intervention (hospital-based casework in 8-10 NHS Scotland emergency departments since 2015), and its derivative Navigator variants — Youth, Family, and School Navigators. Ask Support Care, launched in 2010, provides domestic-abuse training and has been extended into universities, workplaces, and health settings. On the Edge delivers intensive in-school support. MAV cites cumulative reach of over 100,000 young people educated and more than 12,000 beneficiaries supported.

The organisation is grant-funded rather than commercially priced. Income derives from the Scottish Government, NHS commissioning, CORRA grants, local Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs), and individual donations. Delivery depends on co-located access to NHS Scotland emergency departments, a University of Glasgow evaluation partnership, and a front-line clinical-volunteer corps. MAV was founded by Professor Christine Goodall OBE and appointed its first formal CEO, David Duncan, in 2024, marking a transition from founder-led operations toward a more institutionally structured management model.

Name

Medics Against Violence

Legal name

Medics Against Violence

Website

https://mav.scot

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Medics Against Violence is a Scottish charity founded in 2008 that delivers evidence-based violence-prevention programmes through schools, NHS emergency departments, and community partnerships, serving young people, violence victims, and families across Scotland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Violence Prevention Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Social Assistance (624), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Threat Assessment, Violence Prevention & Behavioral Intervention Support (EDAEACAH), Domestic Violence & Abuse Support Services (BPAGAEAD), Crisis Response & Threat Assessment (Suicide Prevention, Violence Prevention) (EDAJAIAH)

Keywords

• Violence prevention services
• Public health intervention
• Hospital navigator support
• School education programmes
• Domestic abuse training

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Primary funding from Scottish Government as a core funded violence prevention programme, supplemented by NHS funding, CORRA grants, and local Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs).
2. Individual Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations through JustGiving campaigns and fundraising events such as marathon challenges.
3. Charitable Grants: Additional funding from charitable organisations including CORRA and local ADPs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Medics Against Violence delivers evidence-based violence prevention programmes across healthcare, education, and community settings in Scotland. Its core offerings include the Navigator family of hospital-based support programmes operating in 10 NHS Emergency Departments, the MAV Academy school curriculum on the health consequences of violence, the On the Edge intensive school intervention, and the Ask Support Care domestic abuse training programme. All services are provided free of charge to beneficiaries, funded through Scottish Government grants, NHS funding, charitable grants, and donations.

Product overview

Medics Against Violence offers a suite of violence prevention programmes based on an evidence-based public health approach. The core portfolio includes MAV Academy (school-based education), the Navigator family of programmes (Adult, Youth, Family, and School Navigators operating in hospitals and schools), Ask Support Care (domestic abuse training), and On the Edge (intensive school-based intervention). These interconnected programmes work across primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention in health, education, and community settings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MAV: Common abbreviation for Medics Against Violence used in branding and communications, such as 'MAV Academy', 'MAV Marathon', and 'MAV NEWS'.

Products and services

• MAV Academy Award-winning school programme delivering violence prevention lessons to young people in S1, S2, and S3, covering health consequences of violence and personal safety strategies. Also delivered to senior Modern Studies and Criminology classes in Scottish secondary schools.
• Navigator (Adult) Adult Navigator programme operating in Emergency Departments of 8 hospitals across Scotland, supporting people with social issues that may involve violence through connection with community organisations. Has offered support to over 12,000 people to make positive changes to their lives.
• Youth Navigator Programme working in children and young persons hospitals in Glasgow and Aberdeen to support young people aged 12-16 with issues including mental health and wellbeing, connecting them to community-based services for ongoing support.
• Family Navigator Out-of-hours support service at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, providing practical family support including transport, food, and energy assistance to families attending the Emergency Department during stressful times.
• Ask Support Care (ASC) Domestic abuse training programme teaching professionals how to recognise signs, ask about abuse, and respond effectively to disclosures. Delivered as direct training (3-4 hours) or training for trainers (one day) to hospitals, universities, workplaces and local communities.
• On the Edge Twelve-session violence prevention programme delivered as part of the School Navigator initiative, helping young people understand consequences of violence and develop alternative approaches to problems while fostering hope, aspiration, belonging, and responsibility.
• School Navigator Resource-intensive programme providing one-to-one sessions, drop-in sessions, and On the Edge programme delivery to selected groups of young people within schools in Scotland.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supported over 12,000 people to make positive changes to their lives
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NHS ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHS provides funding and access to Emergency Departments for Navigator programmes. MAV works in partnership with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and other health boards.
• University of GlasgowcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder Professor Christine Goodall holds position as Professor of Oral Surgery and Violence Reduction at University of Glasgow, supporting programme development and evaluation.
• Schools in Lanarkshire and Glasgow East EndcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOn the Edge programme co-produced with young people and schools. School Navigator programme operates in partnership with educational institutions.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Barnardo's: Large UK children's charity running school-based prevention programmes and family support services, including work on violence, exploitation and wellbeing. Comparable in delivery setting (schools), target population (at-risk children) and use of evidence-based curricula.
• Samaritans: Large UK charity providing emotional support and suicide prevention, with strong volunteer model and presence in communities and workplaces. Comparable in terms of reliance on volunteers, free-to-user services, and training professionals to respond to disclosures.
• Addaction (now With You): UK-wide charity supporting people with drug, alcohol and mental health issues. Overlaps with MAV's ED Navigator programmes where substance misuse and mental health concerns are flagged, and shares NHS partnership channels.
• NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children): Large UK-wide child welfare charity whose scope (child protection, safeguarding training, helplines) significantly overlaps with MAV's safeguarding, family support and domestic-abuse training programmes. Operates at much greater scale and breadth across the UK.

Direct peers

• Women's Aid: UK-wide federation supporting domestic abuse survivors, including training for professionals on recognising and responding to abuse. Directly comparable to MAV's Ask Support Care (ASC) domestic abuse training programme in both content and target audience.
• StreetDoctors: UK charity training young people in emergency first aid and challenging attitudes to violence, using volunteer medical students. Closely comparable to MAV Academy's medically-led, volunteer-delivered violence prevention education model for secondary school students.
• Scottish Violence Reduction Unit: Public-sector unit within the Scottish Government dedicated to reducing violence through a public health approach. Directly comparable in mission, methodology (public health framing), and geography (Scotland), though funded and delivered via government rather than as a charity.
• Cure Violence (formerly CeaseFire): US-based NGO applying a public health model to violence interruption and prevention. Closest international analogue to MAV's Navigator model in terms of treating violence as a contagious health issue and using trained intermediaries to interrupt cycles of harm.

Others

• Public Health Scotland: Scotland's national public health agency. Not a direct competitor but a key strategic partner and adjacent enabler in the public-health approach to violence reduction that MAV applies; relevant for benchmarking policy direction and funding alignment.

Emerging players

• Mentoring and Befriending Foundation (MBF) / MENTOR: Charity promoting quality mentoring for at-risk youth, overlapping with MAV's School Navigator and On the Edge mentoring-intensive work. Less medical in focus but operates with similar one-to-one and small-group youth models.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/medics-against-violence

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Medics Against Violence