George Hosking
Founder, Chief Executive and Research Co-ordinator, WAVE Trust

An economist, accountant, psychologist and clinical criminologist, George followed a distinguished career in international business by creating WAVE Trust, an international charity dedicated to identifying and promoting the most effective methods known, worldwide, to reduce violence and child abuse. WAVE’s report Violence and what to do about it identified child abuse and neglect as major root causes of later violent behaviour. George’s presentations often emphasise the importance of health visitors as contributors to healthy development for children.

WAVE has advised the UK and Scottish Governments, Home Office and Metropolitan Police on violence reduction. Concerned at the failure of conventional approaches to reduce child abuse over the past 50 years, WAVE has developed a strategy, backed by detailed action plans, to reduce child maltreatment in the UK by 70% by 2030 – its ‘70/30 strategy’. This strategy now has the backing of many major charities and one of the Government coalition partners.

In 2006 WAVE’s groundbreaking work was commended by the World Health Organisation and the charity became part of WHO’s global Violence Prevention Alliance.