Hidden voices: how women convicted of killing their intimate partners experience the Scottish criminal justice system

Dr Susan Batchelor and Dr Rachel McPherson (University of Glasgow) have received funding from the BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants SRG 2021-22 Round, securing £10,000 to conduct the following project:

Hidden voices: how women convicted of killing their intimate partners experience the Scottish criminal justice system

This research will investigate how women who kill their intimate partners experience the Scottish criminal justice system. Although women who are victims of domestic abuse have been the subject of previous research in Scotland, domestically violent women have never been the focus. Indeed, there is very little contemporary work on female offenders in Scotland or their experiences of criminal justice. This gap is particularly significant now after the First Minister of Scotland has commissioned work exploring how the justice system could be improved for women and what is required to accommodate the unique needs of women, including female offenders who often have histories of abuse. The Scottish Law Commission has also asked for views on whether a new criminal defence is required for those who kill following domestic abuse. By engaging with women convicted of killing their intimate partners via in-depth qualitative interviews, this research will contribute to these dialogues.