The Social, Criminal and Legal Justice Research Group (SCaLe) has an active programme of research exploring the relationship between (gender) inequalities, crime, and justice. We are particularly interested in gendered and sexual violence and the statutory and non-statutory responses to it.
SCaLe is committed to offer valuable insights into the complex dynamics of social, criminal, and legal justice areas to contribute to a more holistic understanding of contemporary issues. Through our collaboration with the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR), members have successfully negotiated access to projects partners and key stakeholder including Police Scotland. These partnerships provide invaluable access to network and fieldwork opportunities to contribute to rigorous academic research and generate impactful findings that influence policy and practice in meaningful ways.
SCaLe played a central role in developing Glasgow Caledonioan's award-winning Erase the Grey campaign; a gender-based violence prevention and awareness campaign co-produced with staff and students.
Key Projects
Understanding domestic homicide in Scotland: exploring patterns, promoting safeguarding
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Funded by the ESRC, this project uses a collaborative approach with policing, third and public sector partners to explore domestic homicide. An in-depth pilot study examines domestic homicide cases to establish the patterns of behaviour that precede it, the challenges it presents in terms of prevention, and the opportunities that may exist for safeguarding.
Research team Professor Lesley McMillan, Dr Maureen Taylor, and Dr Rachel McPherson (Glasgow University)
Key terms Domestic homicide, safeguarding
Outputs ProfessorMcMillan has hosted several world café-style workshops involving seven external public and third-sector partner organisations.
Exploring and evaluating the disclosure scheme for domestic abuse in Scotland
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This SIPR-funded project critically evaluates the Disclosure Scheme for Domestic Abuse in Scotland (DSDAS) from the perspective of the officers who administer it, those who use it, and the third-sector partners who support those who may use it. It also includes an evaluation of policy and practice with respect to disclosure of domestic abuse.
Research team Professor Lesley McMillan and Dr Andrew Tickell
Key terms Disclosure scheme for domestic abuse, domestic abuse, public protection, prevention, police(ing)
Outputs McMillan, L. & Tickell, A. (2024) Lawful, Proportionate and Necessary? A critical examination of the domestic abuse disclosure scheme for Scotland, Femists@Law
Understanding sexual violence among and against young people
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This NHS-funded research study is set within the context of a rise in disclosures of sexual violence against girls and young women in Scotland suggesting that many young people meet the perpetrator through online social networking sites.
It seeks to explore young people’s views on and experiences with relationships, risk perceptions, online communication, and help seeking to better understand the dynamics of victimisation and perpetration and establish opportunities for contextual safeguarding and disruption.
Research team Professor Lesley McMillan, Dr Maureen Taylor and Julia Zauner
Key terms Sexual violence, young people, responding to sexual violence, safeguarding
Understanding HEI staff gender-based violence training needs and preferences
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The HE sector’s response to gender-based violence has advanced considerably in recent years, and many employers now provide training for staff. This exploratory project seeks to understand the perceptions, needs and preferences of higher education institution staff with respect to gender-based violence training in order to inform optimal training design and delivery.
Research team Professor Lesley McMillan and Julia Zauner
Key Terms Gender-based violence, disclosure taking, gender-based violence training
Outputs This project informs GCU’s efforts to respond to GBV including the development of new GBV training.
Exploring domestic abuse offending
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This Scottish Sentencing Council-commissioned research project explores sentencing decisions for domestic abuse to inform the developments of guidelines on sentencing domestic abuse offenders by exploring victim-survivors’ views on and experiences with sentencing.
Research team Professor Nancy Lombard and Erin Rennie
Key terms Domestic Abuse, sentencing decisions, victims
Outputs
Innovative solutions to eliminate domestic abuse (ISEDA)
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This European Commission, Horizon Europe, and UKRI-funded international research project with 15 partners from nine countries seeks to explore the use of modern technology tools and practices, notably the use of a Chatbot, to inform victim-survivors on ways to get help and assistance.
Research team Professor Nancy Lombard, Dr Kate Butterby, Erin Rennie, and a multitude of international partners including:
Technische Hochschule Köln Tampereen yliopisto Centre for Security Studies University of Alicante Sopra Steria European Network for the Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence Association for the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Family Association Demetra Listening Centre of Violent Men European Anti-Violence Network Hellenic Police General Directorate National Police Euroquality Ministry of Home Affairs of Catalonia. Key terms Innovation, domestic abuse, technology, awareness, perpetrator programmes, support
Outputs Butterby, K. & Lombard, N. (2024) Developing a chatbot to support victim-survivors who are subjected to domestic abuse: considerations and ethical dilemmas. Journal of Gender-Based Violence. https://doi.org/10.1332/23986808Y2024D000000038 Lombard, N. Butterby, K. Mielismäki, H. Vicente, R. and Perez, V. (under review) Introducing a chatbot to support victim-survivors of domestic abuse: victim-survivor perspectives. Violence Against Women . Vicente-García, R., Cerdán-Torregrosa, A., Lombard, N., Butterby, K., Mielismäki, H., Tihveräinen, S., Rossoni, I., Tsirigoti, A. & Vives-Cases, C. (forthcoming). Structural Barriers in Reporting Violence Against Women to Police .
The lived experiences of victims of coercive control, stalking and related crimes, as they progress through the criminal justice system
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This Scottish Government-funded project explored the lived experiences of victim-survivors of coercive control and/or stalking as they navigated the criminal justice system. The purpose of the research was to give voice to women’s experiences of the SCJS and inform recommendations for victim/survivor-centred policy and practice.
Research team Professor Nancy Lombard and Dr Katy Proctor
Key terms Domestic Abuse, Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act, Criminal Justice System
Outputs Lombard, N. & Proctor, K. (2024) Justice work: sisters (having to) do it for themselves: women’s experiences of the criminal justice system when reporting domestic abuse and stalking. British Journal of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azae041 Lombard, N. & Proctor, K. (2023) Women’s Lived Experiences of Coercive Control, Stalking and Related Crimes, as they progress through the Criminal Justice System. The Scottish Centre for Crime & Justice Research. https://www.sccjr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/The-Lived-Experiences-of-Victims-of-Coercive-Control-Stalking-and-Related-Crimes-as-they-progress-through-the-Criminal-Justice-System150323.pdf Lombard, N., Proctor, K. & Whiting, N. (2022) Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 and the Criminal Justice System: Women’s Experiences Two Years In; The Emerging Findings. The Scottish Centre for Crime & Justice Research . https://www.sccjr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Domestic-Abuse-Scotland-Act-2018-and-the-Criminal-Justice-System.pdf Gemma’s Story: Women's lived experiences of the criminal justice system (2023), Research informed animation and winner of ‘Best Charity Film – Small’ at the Third Sector Excellent Awards 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V7LivgP5FI
Women in law project
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This project is conducted in partnership with colleagues at the University of Glasgow. The project’s mission is to research the past, document the present, and advocate for the future of women in law in Scotland and across the world.
Research team Seonaid Stevenson-McCabe and colleagues at the University of Glasgow
Key terms Women in law, gender equality, legal work
Outputs Forthcoming edited collection (2025) Women, law and legal work in Scotland: dialogues about our past and present.
Campaign for complainer anonymity
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The Campaign for Complainer Anonymity (CCA) is a law reform campaign led by legal academics and law students. It aims to change the law so that complainers in Scottish sexual offence cases have an automatic right to anonymity.
Research team Seonaid Stevenson-McCabe, Dr Andrew Tickell, and GCU Students
Key terms Complainer anonymity, Scottish law, sexual offence legislation
Outputs A Bill is currently progressing through the Scottish Parliament
A two-stage scoping review of the empirical literature on sibling sexual abuse
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This project is conducting a two-stage scoping review of the empirical literature on sibling sexual abuse.
Research team Dr Peter Yates
Key terms Sibling sexual abuse, harmful sexual behaviour, child sexual abuse, scoping review, child protection
Outputs
Glasgow Human Rights Network Steering Committee
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Conor Hill has joined the Steering Committee of the refreshed Glasgow Human Rights Network. The Glasgow Human Rights Network comprises members from the Universities of Glasgow, Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian University, and the University of the West of Scotland, with the aim of connecting academic work on human rights with practitioners, civil society, community groups, and national/local government representatives across Scotland.
Research team Dr Conor Hill
Key terms Human rights, gender, transitional justice
The emergence of generative AI software and its use in creating artificial child sexual abuse material
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This collaborative project with the Childlight Institute and the University of Edinburgh focuses on examining the emergence of generative AI software and its use in creating artificial child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The project is initiating legislative and case law research across the Five Eyes security alliance of English-speaking countries with collaborators from the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to analyse criminal and civil accountability provisions for AI-created CSAM, including those affecting software creators and users.
Research team Dr Chrystala Fakonti and colleagues from the Childlight Institute and the University of Edinburgh
Key terms Child Sexual Abuse, Accountability and Generative AI, Child Sexual Abuse Material, Law Reform
Criminal defence and assisted dying for terminally ill adults
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This project examined issues from the recent reform bill on assisted death in Scotland from a medical and criminal law perspective.
Research team Dr Chrystala Fakonti and Dr Nataly Papadopoulou (University of Leicester)
Key terms Assisted death, motives, criminal liability, mercy killing, criminal law defences
Outputs Fakonti, C. (2024) Finding a Compromise: A Criminal Law Defence for Regulating Medical Assistance in Dying. The Journal of Criminal Law, August 2024 Fakonti, C. & Papadopoulou, N (forthcoming ) Choice, Autonomy, Coercion in Scotland’s 2024 Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill: A Criminal and Medical Law Comment. Edinburgh Law Review
Establishing gold standards in web-based platforms for unidentified persons
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The research aims to systematically review web-based missing and unidentified person platforms to establish best practices that enhance user support, engagement, and the effectiveness of community-driven investigative efforts for families and communities affected by the loss of a missing loved one.
Research team Dr Maureen Taylor, Dr Toby Houlton (University of Dundee) and Julieta Gomez Garcia Donez (University of Dundee)
GCU Erase the Grey
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There are no grey areas when it comes to gender-based violence.
The campaign highlights the important work the University does to combat sexual and gender-based violence via a series of posters which challenge stereotypical views.
Often described as ‘violence against women’, the term refers to violence directed against someone because of their gender and expectations of their role in a society or culture.
Students and staff have worked together to create a digital poster campaign, entitled #GCUerasethegrey, which reiterates Glasgow Caledonian University's zero-tolerance policy towards gender-based violence.
Doctoral research projects SCaLe is supporting a variety of doctoral research projects. Our doctoral researchers are engaged in innovative projects exploring key issues and contemporary challenges within criminology, criminal justice, policing, social policy, legal reform and more.
SCaLE offers doctoral researchers resources, mentorship, and collaborative opportunities to build and produce high-quality research that contributes meaningfully to their field whilst fostering a strong network with fellow academic practitioners, policy makers, and criminal justice agents.
We welcome PhD enquiries related to these research interests.
You can also view open opportunities via our PhD search tool .
Experiencing image-based sexual abuse victimisation in Scotland
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This doctoral research by Julia Zauner explores image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) victimisation in Scotland. It seeks to shed light on the holistic harms of IBSA, victim-survivors’ experiences (or lack therefor) with the criminal justice system), and their diverse understanding of and experiences with justice.
This study is the first to specifically examine IBSA in a Scottish context.
Key terms Image-based sexual abuse, justice, victim-survivors, harms, responses to gender-based violence
Outputs
Sexual offence lawyering in Scotland
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This doctoral research by Seonaid Stevenson-McCabe focuses on sexual offence lawyering in Scotland, with a focus on improving the adversarial system.
Key terms Sexual offence lawyering, adversarial justice, criminal justice responses
Exploring women's experiences of online harassment and abuse during online violence against women and girls activism
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The doctoral research by Erin Rennie explores how women experience online harassment during online violence against women and girls activism, how they respond to it, and how they navigate the online space during and after harassment.
Key terms Gender-based violence, online harassment, feminism, violence against women and girls, activism
Public misogynistic harassment in scotland: Situating harm(s), evaluating criminalisation and centring the ideal
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The doctoral research by Lucy Mackay combines historical, qualitative and doctrinal analysis to evaluate proposals to introduce new criminal offences in Scotland aimed at tackling misogynistic behaviours. In particular, the research focuses on the public misogynistic harassment experiences of young people.
Key terms Legal Reform, Violence Against Women, Criminal Law, Misogyny, Young People
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