- The 20 month NIHR funded project will build knowledge around access to support for women with experience of domestic abuse and the criminal justice system
- Women with lived experience will train as peer researchers to co-facilitate focus groups at five women’s centres across England and Wales
- The study will adopt the creative research method Photovoice as a way to capture the experiences of women through photographs
A new NIHR-funded study seeks to understand the experiences, perspectives and needs of women who are victims-survivors of domestic abuse (DA) once they are released from prison. This will include the barriers and enablers to women receiving the appropriate support and social care needed after leaving prison, as well as the individual intersecting social characteristics and institutional and structural factors which may affect their resettlement.
The 20-month project is being led by PI Professor Michaela Rogers alongside Research Associate Dr Loren Parton from the School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations. The team will partner with from the University of Salford and , a peer-led national organisation supporting people in the criminal justice system.
A central feature of the project is the collaboration and co-construction of knowledge with women with lived experience, practitioners and researchers. This will allow for the development of a knowledge base to advance understanding around women's resettlement experiences and needs by centering women’s voices but also incorporating other stakeholders directly involved in this area.
This research is critically important for two reasons. First, we are doing an in-depth qualitative inquiry into the needs and experiences of some of the most marginalised victim-survivors of domestic abuse; women leaving prison. Second, our team includes people with lived experience - women with criminal justice and domestic abuse histories - and so builds capacity and inclusivity.â€
Professor Michaela Rogers
The study will adopt a multi-method qualitative research design, starting with women being trained as peer researchers in qualitative research methods and Photovoice. Peer researchers will go on to co-facilitate focus groups across 5 women’s centres in England and Wales with academic team members, adopting a Photovoice methodology, in which participants can share their experiences through the means of photographs. The project team will then conduct interviews with key stakeholders such as policymakers, service providers and professionals.
A spokesperson for User Voice said, “at User Voice, co-production is a core value that underpins everything we do. We're so pleased to be working in partnership with the University of Sheffield to support women with lived experience to become peer researchers. It's great to see the university placing lived-experience knowledge and insights at the heart of research to understand what support women with experience of domestic abuse need as they leave prison and return to the community.â€