Postgraduate research students

Research interests

My research interests sit within the 'violence against women and girls' (VAWG) sphere and include: gender inequality; gender-based violence (GBV); technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV); intersectional feminism; relationships; online dating; gender scripts.

Current research 

My thesis - funded by the Scottish Graduate School for Social Sciences (SGSSS) - aims to explore the ways in which gender hierarchies and inequalities manifest in online dating contexts. Specifically, by examining women’s experiences and understanding of what feminist scholars interchangeably refer to as men’s ‘intrusions’. Within online dating, intrusions range from ‘seemingly’ flirtatious messages to rape threats and in-person violence.

The project will explore the similarities and differences of intrusions across and within dating apps. Thus, allowing for consideration of the impact of specific app affordances and culture on intrusions. By utilising Gavey’s (2018) ‘cultural scaffolding of rape’ as a conceptual framework the project examines how intrusions can be understood as a reflection of gendered sexuality that is skewed in ways that can accommodate intrusive and abusive behaviour as unremarkable or even normal.

Research projects

• Bluestone Soteria project - Research Assistant (April 2024 - present)
• Scottish Prisons Assessment and Review of Outcomes for Women (SPAROW) - Research Assistant (September 2024 - present) 
• Chronology of Sexual Violence in Scotland - Research Assistant (September 2024- present) 
• Enabling the forgotten woman in Scotland "Potential Entrepreneurs for the future" - Research Assistant (January 2023 - April 2024)
• Cultivating entrepreneurship for women leaving the criminal justice system - Research Assistant (January 2023 - April 2024)

• Dr Kelly Johnson
• Dr Tilman Schwarze
• Professor Michele Burman

Academic and professional body membership

• British Society of Criminology
• Scottish Centre for Criminal Justice Research (SCCJR)

Academic Background

• MRes Criminology with Distinction 
  • Dissertation: Exploring how females understand, experience and navigate technology-facilitated sexual violence whilst living in South Korea
• MSc Forensic Psychology with Merit
  • Dissertation: Exploring forensic frontline staff attitudes toward trauma-informed care across the Scottish criminal justice system
  BA (Hons) Psychology - First Class
  • Dissertation: Fear of crime and perceived risk of victimisation in the digital age: the influence of audience demographics, Big Five traits, crime news style and availability heuristics