Security, Conflict and Human Rights
PhD Researcher in Security, Conflict and Human Rights (ESRC +3.3)
Department of Social and Policy Studies, University of Bath
Start date: October 2020
Research topic: An exploration of the police investigative stage of rape cases from the perspectives of victim-survivors and police: understanding the complex interplay of ontogenetic, micro, meso and macro factors and their influence on case progression.
Despite considerable contribution of research, policy reviews, reform attempts, and the introduction of specialist rape investigation units, the criminal justice response to rape remains problematic. There is limited research examining police decision-making in rape cases, despite their role as ‘gatekeepers’ to the CJS. My PhD will explore decision-making from the perspectives of victim-survivors and police officers, to understand:
- victim-survivor and police decision-making during police rape investigations and the context within which they occur;
- the relationship between police and victim-survivor decision-making during this stage;
- the interplay between the ecological environment of police and victim-survivors and factors impacting on case progression.
Research supervisors: Dr Tina Skinner (University of Bath), Dr Rachel Fenton (University of Exeter)
Email: sgf34@bath.ac.uk