I have been campaigning against violence against women since the 1980s and have worked as an academic for many years, helping to provide the evidence base on the importance of sexual violence advocacy and support for survivors and the problems survivors face when engaging with the criminal justice system. I was involved in developing Leeds Rape Crisis in 1979 and involved as a helpline volunteer in both Leeds and Devon Rape Crisis between 1979 and 1992. I’m honoured to be involved as Trustee in DRCSAS.
I have written about many aspects of violence and abuse including domestic and sexual violence, child contact, domestic abuse in LGBT+ communities and forced marriage, and I am the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Gender Based Violence. I was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2012 for services to research and to the community in tackling domestic abuse, elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) in 2016 and as Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) in 2017.