Research

PhD Research

Survivor employment in the VAWG sector

My Doctoral Study

My PhD research explores how domestic abuse sector organisations support women employees who are themselves survivors of abuse.

It examines how lived experience shapes recruitment, induction, supervision, and progression, and how workplaces can respond in ways that are both trauma-informed and empowering.

Using a qualitative multiple-case study design, the study draws on a liberal feminist framework and feminist post-structuralist methodology to centre women’s voices and challenge traditional narratives of professionalism and recovery. The research aims to inform compassionate employment practices and organisational cultures that recognise survival as a source of strength rather than stigma.

My Master’s Degree

My Master’s degree in Domestic & Sexual Violence at the University of Worcester also focused on this area and provided the building blocks for my doctoral proposal.

Why this research is for survivors

A significant proportion of women who survive domestic abuse and coercive control experience disrupted education. Due to grooming, exploitation and teenage relationship abuse, I rarely attended school beyond the age of 13-14 years old. I did not take any kind of formal qualification until my late twenties. Although I did not view myself as academic, I managed to collect a number of academic and professional qualifications in the intervening years, but I was in my late fifties before undertaking post graduate education.

I understand and have experienced barriers faced by survivors of domestic or sexual violence who work in the VAWG sector. As the sector shifts away from traditional models that supported and empowered survivors towards competitive tendering, it is important we understand the needs and experiences of survivors, and all women, employed in this space.‍ ‍

All of my work, my contributions, research and training are in honour of those who survived abuse, and those who did not.

Guest lectures. Presentations. Panels. Podcasts.

I’m always happy to consider contributing to events or public education, whether it’s in my capacity as Head of Training & Development at the National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV), or as a contributor and researcher in the VAWG space. These two threads often plait together, and I am very grateful to NCDV for supporting my studies and appreciating the value of my contributions to the sector.