Research

• Julie Abernethy 
  
  • Title: The support needs of birth mothers whose children have been removed from their care by the legal system.
  • Description: In 2023 there were 83,840 looked after children in England, but the number of mothers who have had their children removed are not recorded. There is only a statutory requirement to provide support for mothers whose children are adopted, and only 2% of looked after children are placed for adoption, so only a very small number of mothers are eligible for statutory support. Prior to commencing this research project, Julie worked as a volunteer with the charity ‘Beam’, which facilitates support for birth mothers living apart from their children. Through supporting Beam mums, Julie became aware of the lack of support for birth mothers and the challenges they face. This study seeks to give voice to birth mothers on the support they received prior to their children being removed, during the process, and after they were removed, as well as how they coped in the absence of support and what support they would like to see provided for birth mothers in the future. Birth mothers will be interviewed, and narrative analysis will be used to analyse their interviews. The expected outcomes from the study are to report on the support that birth mothers receive, identify the support needed by birth mothers, recognise the coping strategies used by birth mothers, identify any changes in available support following child removal, and to suggest changes to policy and service provision to ensure mothers are supported during the process and following the removal of their children from their care.
• Arianna Barbin
  • Title: Policing sex offences: UK officers’ insights on specialism.
  • Description: In recent years, there has been increasing interest to address how the police handle sex offences. Despite this, academic research is frequently limited to government surveys on victim experience and satisfaction with police work. Several campaigns, interventions and projects have been initiated to understand why the conviction rate for rape and other sexual offences remains minimal despite the overall increase in reports. This PhD aims at closing some of the gaps around the topic, focusing on the officers’ perspective of what they think they are doing when they are working in contact with the public. Moreover, their ideas of the advantages and barriers of implementing specialism within police forces will be considered to inform future policies and legislation. A range of academic and policing tools will be used to map how specialism evolved throughout the years, what it implies, and how much police officers in England and Wales value specialist knowledge as a tool to repair victims’ expectations and dissatisfaction.
• Olga Khokhlova 
  • Working title: Perception of Marital Rape: the role of level of resistance, sexual deprivation, and jealousy.
  • Description: Marital rape remains a taboo subject in many cultures, with several countries lacking specific legislation to address the issue for both perpetrators and victims. This research project seeks to deepen our understanding of perceptions of marital rape across different cultural contexts. By comparing perspectives from regions such as South Asia, the MENA region, and Western and Eastern Europe, the project aims to uncover cross-cultural differences in these perceptions. We are particularly interested in exploring factors that have not been extensively studied, such as the perpetrator's jealousy, sexual deprivation, and the victim's level of resistance. Employing a mixed-methods design, this study aspires to advance our understanding of these dynamics to develop more effective and culturally appropriate interventions.
• Ngozi Headley-Fulani
  • Title:  To What Extent Does Creative Arts and Mandatory Cultural Competency Training Improve Reporting of Domestic or Sexual Abuse Experienced by UK Based Black African and Caribbean Heritage Women and Can This Approach Promote Positive System Change.
  • Description: Black women are less likely to receive adequate support when affected by abuse. This research uses autoethnography as part of a mixed-methods study to investigate the various reasons why Black African and Caribbean women who have been victims of domestic or/and sexual abuse are purportedly underreporting such crimes to agencies such as police, and other Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) sector agencies. This research further looks at how creative arts, (storytelling, musical lyrics, films, etc) and mandatory cultural competency training, by ‘for and by’ services (such as Sistah Space) could ameliorate the experiences of reporting abuse and bring positive outcomes for Black abuse survivors. By taking a look at East London Councils, the police and government agencies, Ngozi will examine how specialist training, may solve the issues of Black women underreporting.  

• Dr Kari Davies – Visiting Senior Fellow in Social Justice and Crime 
• Dr Jeffrey DeMarco – Visiting Senior Fellow in Forensic Psychology 
• Victoria Green – Visiting Senior Fellow in Safeguarding 
• Fiona Ellis – Visiting Senior Fellow in Social Work and Social Policy 
• Fred Langford - Visiting Professor in Safeguarding Technology 
• Nishtha Lamba - Visiting Senior Fellow in Trauma and Marginalised Communities 
• Professor Eamonn Carrabine - Visiting Professor in Sociology
• Professor Nigel South - Visiting Professor in Sociology
• Alison Bird - Visiting Senior Fellow in Social Policy
• Matt Bland - Visiting Senior Fellow in Crime & Policing Studies 
• Laura Higgins - Visiting Senior Fellow in Online Safeguarding
• Professor Andy Phippen - Visiting Professor of Online Safety
• Dr Ruth Weir - Visiting Senior Fellow in Criminal Justice & Crime
• Gareth Wilson - Visiting Senior Fellow in Crime, Justice and Diversity
• Millie Garrod - Visiting Senior Fellow in Policing Research and Policy
• Dave Cutler - Visiting Senior Fellow in Policing 
• Patrick Tidmarsh - Visiting Senior Fellow in Policing and Investigative Interviewing
• Dr Julia Yesberg - Visiting Fellow in Criminology
• Dr Joana Ferreira - Visiting Senior Fellow of Criminology and Justice
• Dr Mirna Guha - Visiting Senior Fellow in Gendered Violence and Social Justice
• Mark Manning - Visiting Senior Fellow in Policing Justice and Crime
• Lawrence Jordan, Visiting Senior Fellow in Safeguarding

• Survivors in Transition

• Marie Collins Foundation

• CrimeStoppers

• LimeCulture

• Hope Training & Consultancy

• Drive Charity 

• Sistah Space

• Youth Justice Institute

• Ioana Crivatu - Graduated 2024
  • Title: Factors Prompting Decisions to Disengage from Multiple Perpetrator Rape: A Mixed-methods Study
  • Description: The project investigates multiple perpetrator rape (i.e., sexual offending involving at least two people). It focusses specifically on the individuals within the group who do not sexually participate alongside other(s) but are nonetheless present or involved in other capacities. Drawing on psychological and criminological theories and utilising a mixed-methods design, the research aims to uncover the individual(s)’ actions, decision-making process and the factors contributing to them.

The Institute supports the university micro-placement scheme - June 2025

Dr Linda Cooper, Deputy Director – Institute for Social Justice and Crime (ISJC)

The Institute for Social Justice and Crime were keen to work with the Careers and Employability and Enterprise Team, to host an undergraduate student for their micro-placement scheme. The remit was to give a student a paid opportunity to experience life in a research institute and a flavour of the varied aspects of our work and roles. We were delighted to host Paige Marrett, a final year UoS student, between February and May 2025. Paige was an excellent representative for this programme, showing initiative and a real commitment to understand all aspects of the ISJC work and wider research interests.

Paige met with colleagues across the Research Directorate and Knowledge Exchange team. Additionally, she was introduced to an overview of our work and observed appropriate meetings. We asked Paige to share with us her thoughts on her time in the ISJC. During her self-directed time, Paige prepared a poster to help support her thinking for her final year submissions, which can be used for her future applications for study or research related work.

Paige describes her experiences below: 

Coming to the end of a BSc (Hons) in Psychology, I was considering a career change to build on my previous work in the charity sector. Through the micro-placement, I had a window to observe a skilled research team in action, as well as meeting many people from other university departments and local organizations. The ISJC team were incredibly generous with their time and expertise, which was invaluable for my final year research project dissertation, and their current research inspired me to create a proposed wellbeing intervention for Suffolk police officers. Dr Linda Cooper was instrumental in helping me understand the current state of police officer wellbeing in the UK, based on her research, and advising me on the concept of an intervention to support our serving officers.

I have been inspired by the meaningful work of the ISJC and am grateful for their investment in me. My time on the micro-placement has contributed to my decision to pursue a master's degree and a future career in research. I hope to use my previous experiences and skills acquired in academia to contribute to impactful research for the benefit of local communities.

As part of the micro-placement, I devised a proposed wellbeing intervention for Suffolk police officers, inspired by one of the ISJC’s research projects. The proposed project imagines a 6-week holistic wellbeing programme for Suffolk officers with less than 5 years’ service. The programme is evidence-based and aims to meet the demand for upstream wellbeing intervention in order to retain officers, in response to a growing need for promotion of physical and emotional wellbeing. The programme even includes a free weekly breakfast, and 3-month healthy food subscription to any officer who may complete the programme!