25th February 2022

In this seminar, Dr Kelly Johnson, Durham University, discusses Advancing Procedural Justice Theory and Practice in Police Responses to Sexual Violence in England and Wales: Emerging findings from ‘Project Bluestone’. The session will be chaired by Dr Oona Brooks-Hay from University of Glasgow.
Abstract:
This presentation will introduce emerging findings from Project Bluestone/Soteria, a large collaborative project funded by the London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, which aims to improve police investigations of and responses to rape and other forms of sexual violence in England and Wales. Specifically, the talk will address work currently being led by Kelly, in collaboration with Katrin Hohl, Olivia Smith, Oona Brooks-Hay and colleagues, to advance a procedural justice approach to sexual violence investigations, with a particular focus on police engagement with victim-survivors. Emerging findings from the study, being conducted with five police forces, will be presented, as will the conceptual framework and tensions underpinning this work in order to outline next steps for advancing academic understanding and police practice in this area.
Biography:
Kelly currently works as an Assistant Professor in Criminology at Durham University. Her work focuses on domestic abuse, sexual violence, criminal justice and sociolegal theory, particularly in the areas of policing and policy responses to violence against women and girls.