糖心Vlog

Funder: Nuffield Foundation and a philanthropic donor (£500,000)

Investigators: Dr Helen Whincup (PI, University of Stirling), Dr Linda Cusworth (Co-I, 糖心Vlog), Dr Maggie Grant (Co-I, University of Stirling), Senior Research Associate (to be appointed, 糖心Vlog), Jade Hooper (RA, University of Stirling), Adele Laing (RA, University of Stirling), Dr Alison Hennessy (Lecturer, University of Stirling).

Project Partner: Adoption and Fostering Alliance (AFA) Scotland

Project Duration: December 2020 – September 2024

Project Summary

In 2018, 14,738 children were looked after in Scotland (Scottish Government 2019) whilst around 85,000 children were looked after in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (DfE 2018; Statistics Wales 2018; DoH 2018). Until recently, little was known about children’s experiences and pathways through the Scottish care system; the balance of voluntary and compulsory placements, the routes taken and time to permanence (at or away from home), and what influences outcomes and wellbeing.

The Permanently Progressing? study is addressing these gaps by gathering information on all 1,836 children who became looked after in Scotland when aged five or under in 2012-13. This three-phase longitudinal research project is tracking children’s progress at key life stages (early childhood, mid childhood and late adolescence/early adulthood). Phase 1 (2014-18) – Building Secure Futures for Children in Scotland - analysed children’s pre-care experiences, pathways and early outcomes. It used administrative data, surveys of caregivers and social workers, interviews with caregivers, and play and talk sessions with children. We found that a third of the children were not in permanent placements after four years and that adoption generally took over two years. Final project reports are available on the CFJ website.

During Phase 2 (2020-24) the research team will revisit the cohort children in middle childhood (age 7+) to find out where they are living, their legal status, wellbeing, and what services bolster resilience. This will provide important and robust information for families, practitioners and policy makers, in Scotland and internationally, which in turn will result in more effective services and better outcomes for children and families.

Funder: Scottish Government (£50,000)

Investigators: Dr Linda Cusworth (PI), Jade Hooper (RA), with input from Dr Gillian Henderson (Information and Research Manager, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration), Professor Karen Broadhurst (Sociology, 糖心Vlog) and Dr Helen Whincup (University of Stirling).

Project Duration: November 2020 – April 2021

Project Summary

The removal of a child, particularly an infant, into care is perhaps the most difficult and brutal decision that professionals can make to intervene in family life, and has implications for children, families, professionals and the state. That many mothers have had previous children removed from their care is of particular concern.

This project aims to a) establish volumes and incidence rates of both infants and older children becoming looked after in Scotland, b) investigate trends over time and by local authority, c) consider variations in initial placement (with foster carers, kinship carers, hospital or other) and legal basis. We are using population-level data from the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration for this, so will ‘capture’ all cases where children became looked after away from home via the Children’s Hearing System (on a Compulsory Supervision Order, a Child Protection Order, or an Interim Order).

It will also, for a sample of infant cases, establish whether an older sibling had previously been removed (to give an estimate of infant recurrence in Scotland) and provide a description of the cases – including child and sibling characteristics, parent/family problems, and whether they were subsequently reunified to parents or placed for adoption.

Funder: UKRI-ESRC Covid Funding Call (£213,785)

Investigators: Dr Lorna O'Doherty (Coventry University - PI), Dr Siobhan Weare (糖心Vlog), Dr Grace Carter (Coventry University), Professor Vanessa Munro (University of Warwick), Dr Emma Sleath (University of Leicester), Dr Michelle Cutland (University Hospital Bristol & Weston NHS Foundation Trust), Concetta Perôt and Professor Sarah Brown (independent consultants).

Project partners: The Survivors Trust, Avon and Somerset Police. Male Survivors Partnership, representatives from the Judiciary and Crown Prosecution Service.

Project duration: November 2020 - May 2022

Project Summary

Over 150,000 sexual offences were recorded by police in year ending March 2020 , and there are indications that lockdown increased some sexual offences (e.g. online-facilitated abuse, or sexual abuse perpetrated by family members) and may have decreased others. For example, there was a 24% reduction in rapes reported to the police in the period April to June 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 , However, there has been no research into the specific effects of Covid-19 on criminal justice system (CJS) policies and practices relating to sexual offences, nor on the journeys of survivors through the CJS during this period.

Prior to the pandemic, there were significant challenges for the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences and conviction rates were extremely low. Some of these challenges may well have been exacerbated by Covid-19 and lockdown e.g. further delays to investigating cases, postponement of Achieving Best Evidence interviews. At the same time, however, Covid-19 has generated significant innovation within the CJS, e.g. the introduction of a video platform within the courts enabling all parties in a criminal hearing to engage securely and remotely, and this may sow the seeds for improvement in survivors’ journeys through the CJS.

Drawing on the perspectives and experiences of CJS stakeholders, including complainants and families, police, Crown Prosecution Service, HM Courts and Tribunals Services, the Judiciary, Sexual Assault Referral Centres, and Independent Sexual Violence Advisors, this research will provide unique insights into the impact of the pandemic on the CJS in sexual offence cases. Changes to procedures precipitated by Covid-19 might offer longer-term benefits for survivors and stakeholders and we aim to identify these and promote their implementation.

Funder: ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (£4,910)

Investigators: Dr Linda Cusworth

Key Partners: Scottish Government, University of Stirling, Adoption and Fostering Alliance (AFA) Scotland. The project is also supported by the ESRC-funded Administrative Data Research (ADR) partnership.

Project Duration: September 2019 – May 2020

Project Summary

The main objectives of this project are:

• to bring together key academic, policy, analytic and practice partners in relation to the issue of infants becoming looked after in Scotland, strengthening existing relationships
• to share learning from work done by the Centre on newborns entering care proceedings in England and Wales, and from the ‘Permanently Progressing?’ project
• to discuss implications of the research findings for policy and practice in Scotland
• to explore commonalities and differences between legal systems, and between the availability, scope and structure of the administrative data
• to discuss the opportunities for future collaborative work. Contact: For further details contact Linda Cusworth: l.cusworth@lancaster.ac.uk

Funder: The Nuffield Foundation (£209,001)

Investigators: Dr Claire Fitzpatrick (PI), Dr Jo Staines (Co-I, University of Bristol), Dr Julie Shaw (Co-I, Liverpool John Moores University) and Katie Hunter (RA), with input from expert advisors Professor Brian Francis (糖心Vlog) and Dr Jude Towers (Liverpool John Moores University).

Project Duration: February 2019 – October 2021

Project Summary

This project will explore the experiences of females who have been in care as children (e.g. foster care or children’s homes) and who are also involved with the youth/criminal justice system. The overall aim is to consider how to disrupt the well-trodden routes between care and custody for those with care-experience. A targeted literature review will examine messages from research and knowledge gaps. Semi-structured interviews with girls currently in care, and imprisoned women who have care experience, will be used to explore their experiences of the care and justice systems and their views on what needs to change. Additionally, interviews with professionals will explore their perspectives and recommendations for reform. Furthermore, documentary analysis will enable a focus on how the care system currently responds to girls’ challenging behaviour. Importantly, the project will also consider how quantitative data collection on this topic could be improved, as well as identifying future opportunities for data linkage.

Funder: The British and Irish Law, Education, and Technology Association (£880)

Investigators: Dr Megan Blakely

Project Duration: February 2019 - February 2020

Project Summary

This study aims to gauge user perceptions of ownership in virtual worlds, in particular massive multi-player online games (MMOs) and measure understanding of the contractual terms that bind the user in relation to ownership of digital content. Online terms and conditions are often complex and lengthy; thus many users do not read the agreement and develop their own understanding of the agreed upon terms based on perceptions of community norms. Users may not think of their generated material in MMOs in terms of copyright, but they may expect some level of ownership – or at least attribution – over their own authorship and artistic or literary contributions. However, the rights to creative materials that might otherwise attract copyright protection may often be unavailable or limited. These contributions add considerable reputational and financial value for companies, but less is understood about why users contribute in these ways and the extent of their contractual understanding. The research includes empirical work with users through semi-structured interviews and surveys as well as legal analysis. Outcomes will provide a deeper understanding of the mechanics and cultural capital of virtual communities as well as the functionality and user comprehension of terms and conditions in MMOs.

Funder: Nuffield Foundation (£2.2m)

Research team:
糖心Vlog - Professor Karen Broadhurst (PI), Dr Linda Cusworth (Co-I), Dr Bachar Alrouh, Dr Claire Hargreaves, Dr Miriam Abouelenin, Dr Stefanie Doebler, Shelley Watson (project manager)

Swansea University - Professor David Ford (Co-PI), Dr Lucy Griffiths, Ashley Akbari, Dr Laura North, Dr Laura Cowley, Simon Thompson, Jon Smart, Professor Kerina Jones

Project Duration: January 2019 – November 2023

Project Summary

A key message from stakeholders in the family justice system is that there is insufficient intelligence about how the system is working, including knowledge about outcomes for children and families involved with the family courts. Limited knowledge reflects limited capacity among the family justice research and analytic community, but also that access to sensitive data produced routinely by agencies is difficult.

To address these obstacles a programme of work will draw on the combined expertise of the Centre for Child and Family Justice Research at 糖心Vlog and the infrastructure and expertise of the SAIL Databank at Swansea University, forming a Data Partnership with the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory.

The over-arching aims are to ensure a consistent supply of timely, accessible outputs for the new Observatory, whilst at the same time building capability in the use of administrative data and demonstrating its value for the Family Justice System. Cafcass England and Cymru are supporting this work, given the value of national data held by both organisations and the role they play in frontline decision-making.

A comprehensive programme of work is organised around 4 objectives: a) to increase access to and capability in the use of administrative data; b) to improve intelligence about how the family justice system is working through routine and specific issue analyses; c) to demonstrate the value of data harmonisation and data linkage, through the delivery of bespoke linkage projects, and d) to increase the capacity of policy and practice stakeholders to understand, interpret and apply data for policy and practice development.

Funder: 糖心Vlog GCRF Seedcorn Funding (£5000)

Principal Investigator: (collaborating with Professor Gao Wei (Peking University, China))

Project Duration: June 2018 - July 2019.

This project examines the principles and practices underlying the newly established China Judgement Online database against the background of China being a Civil Law jurisdiction that never formally recognises any principle or system of case law.

Funder: The British Academy / Leverhulme Trust (£9,950)

Principal Investigator:

Project duration: May 2018 - July 2019

Project Summary

‘Forced-to-penetrate’ cases involve a man being forced-to-penetrate, with his penis, and without his consent, a woman’s vagina, anus, or mouth. These cases are not recognised as rape under UK laws and almost nothing is known about the experiences of men subject to this form of sexual violence. Therefore, this project seeks to develop academic and practitioner knowledge and understanding of men’s experiences of compelled penetration by women within the UK. The project will involve interviewing men about the contexts within which their forced-to-penetrate experiences took place, the consequences of their experiences, their perceptions of law and the criminal justice system, and issues around reporting and seeking support. The findings will be disseminated to criminal justice organisations, third sector support services, and other stakeholders at an end-of-project event to support the development of policies and practices in relation to such cases, as well as considering potential law reform.

Funder: The British Academy (£47,887)

Investigators: (PI), Professor Kenneth Andresen (Co-I, Universtiy of Agder)

Project duration: January 2018 - December 2018

Project Summary

The project (Transitional Justice & ´Transitional Journalism) examines the role of journalists in historical accounting during times of transition, with a case study on Kosovo. It is an interdisciplinary project with a co-investigator from Norway who specialises in media studies. The funding will, among other activities, allow a research assistant to be hired for 10 months, in particular to undertake field work in Kosovo in summer 2018.

Funder: The British Academy / Leverhulme Trust (£9,937)

Investigators: (PI)

Project duration: May 2017 - October 2018

Driverless, or autonomous, cars are currently being trialled on the UK’s roads. The Government has published an action plan to implement this technology, stating that it has the potential to bring major benefits and change people’s lives for the better. Disabled people are identified as a specific group who could benefit from autonomous cars. The UK’s legal and regulatory framework will need to adapt to implement this technology. However, it has been found that the experiences of disabled people are often overlooked in the development of law and policy relating to technology. This study aims to provide a critique of how the law relating to autonomous cars could develop, building in the perspective of disabled people from the outset. It will use qualitative methods to gain insights into attitudes towards safety, liability and privacy in relation to autonomous vehicles. These will be complemented with a co-design workshop in which policymakers, designers and disabled people will carry out exercises focusing on the interplay of law, regulation and technology design.

Funder: ESRC (£438,634)

Investigators: Dr Siobhan Weare (PI) and Dr Dominic Willmott (Co-I, Loughborough University)

Project duration: 1 September 2023 – 1 March 2026

Project summary

In the year ending March 2020, according to ONS data, 155,000 men aged 16-74 experienced some form of sexual assault (including attempts). Police reported crime data highlights that men represented 15.5% of sexual offence victims recorded over the same period. Despite this, research has never investigated whether juror characteristics and beliefs may impact deliberations and decision-making within jury trials in England and Wales, where men are the victims of a sexual offence. Provisions within the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 prevent researchers from carrying out such studies with genuine trial jurors in England and Wales. Therefore, mock jury trials represent the best method possible to gain valuable insights into jury deliberations.

This research will conduct mock jury trials based on cases involving male sexual offence victims. 216 mock jurors (members of the public) will be invited to participate in the mock trials which will take place in the School of Law’s Mock Court Room. All expected Crown Court participants will be present and genuine trial procedures followed as closely as possible. Genuine prosecution and defence barristers will present the case, and it will be presided over by a genuine judge. The project aims to:

1. Understand the extent to which falsehoods and stereotypes surrounding male rape are drawn upon during jury deliberations and group verdict decision making.

2. Understand whether juror attitudes towards male complainants of sexual abuse, alongside broader psychosocial and experiential characteristics, are important determinants of individual juror decision-making in cases involving male complainants,

3. Consider the implications of research findings for policy and practice development in criminal justice organisations including the police, CPS, and courts.

Funder: Joy Welch fund (£50,000)

Investigators: Dr Rachel Heah (PI), Dr Gary Potter (Co-I).

Project Duration: May 2023 – July 2024

Project Summary

With the passing of the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022, the UK has become one of about 33 countries in the world which explicitly recognise the sentience of animals. The Act establishes an Animal Sentience Committee, tasked with scrutinising the extent to which the formulation or implementation of government policy has paid ‘due regard to the ways in which the policy might have an adverse effect on the welfare of animals as sentient beings’ (s.2(2) Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022). The Animal Sentience Committee therefore has a broad mandate to scrutinise governmental policies in terms of their impact on animal welfare, and could potentially make significant improvements to the way animals are treated in the UK. However, the term ‘sentience’ is not defined in the Act, although the focus on ‘adverse effect’ of policies appears to indicate that more attention will be paid to pain and suffering, rather than to the consciousness of animals or their capacity to feel pleasure. Moreover, the Animal Sentience Committee is not mandated to scrutinise all government policies, and therefore have wide discretion to select which policies it scrutinises. The Committee can then produce reports on the policies it scrutinises, and the reports may contain recommendations for the relevant government body (s. 2(3)), but nothing in the Act requires government bodies to accept or act on these recommendations.

This project therefore seeks to set up a network of key actors in research, policy and practice around animal rights and to facilitate discussions about the impact and significance of the 2022 Act via a 2-day workshop. We hope to be able to develop further thinking around questions such as the definition of animal ‘sentience’, the scope of the Animal Sentience Committee and the impact that the Act could have on animal welfare and rights.

Funder: Joy Welch fund (£7,668.36.)

Investigators: Dr Suzanne Hodge and Dr Tom Webb.

Project Duration: November 2022 – October 2023

Project Summary

The Mental Health Act 1983 grants immense power to the state to constrain the liberty of mental health service users, potentially indefinitely. This multi-disciplinary project will provide the first empirical investigation – through a national survey – into the role of the community in legitimising the system of compulsory care established by the Act.

The community is brought into the Act through Hospital Manager Panels (HMPs), staffed by specially appointed local people; Associate Hospital Managers (AHMs). HMPs form one of several safeguards in the Act which are intended to monitor whether a compulsory care order (colloquially: a ‘Section’) requiring detention in hospital or a Community Treatment Order, continues to be legally justified. AHMs sit in panels of three people; hear evidence from the service user, health and social care professionals, and others; ask questions; and provide oral and written reasons for their decisions. Thousands of HMPs are convened by individual healthcare organisations (NHS Trusts, independent hospitals) every year.

There is little data about how HMPs operate, who the panellists are, or how those subject to their decisions experience the panels. Through the survey we plan to address this and develop an understanding of HMPs from the perspective of AHMs and HMP users with regards to AHM demographics, values, experience and knowledge; understanding about the function of HMPs; and how HMPs and AHMs are perceived by HMP users.

We will work with the McPin Foundation and with Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust to carry out this research. Our findings will be shared with healthcare organisations, policy makers, service user groups, and other stakeholders to improve understanding around this process for the benefit of those subject to the Act.

Funder: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office & British Embassy Beijing (£34,488）

Principal Investigator: Dr Lu Xu, with research assistance from Beijing Jiaotong University Law School

Project Duration: October 2021 - March 2022

Project Summary

This project aims to provide a rigorous and structured understanding of the emerging case law system in China. This knowledge has been missing in examining and interacting with Chinese law, which has recently undergone radical reforms in its pursuit of the little-explained goal of ‘a socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics’.
Such knowledge of Chinese law will have profound impact and practical benefits for all who come into interaction with the Chinese system, including those organisations and individuals from overseas. It also feedbacks into this developing legal system that is grappling with competing ideas and approaches for the widening use of case law in its efforts of improving transparency and the rule of law, through providing comparative perspectives from more established systems such as that of English law.