Justice Journeys: tracing the lived experience of victim-survivors of rape as they navigate the criminal justice system

Prof Michele Burman1, Dr Oona  Brooks-Hay1, Dr Lisa Bradley1

1University Of Glasgow , Glasgow, Scotland ,

2University Of Glasgow , Glasgow, Scotland,

3University Of Glasgow , Glasgow, Scotland

This paper traces the justice journeys of victim-survivors of rape from point of reporting to final outcome as they navigated the Scottish criminal justice system. Drawing on in-depth narrative accounts of 17 victim-survivors, it considers their experiences at each stage of the criminal justice process and highlights the ways in which justice processes are experienced as cumulative and individually manifesting across their respective justice journeys. The paper is premised on a framing of justice that is contingent on victim-survivors justice accounts and needs and argues for a consideration of more innovative informal justice mechanisms and processes.


Biography:

Michele Burman is Professor of Criminology and  Head of the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow. She is a Founding Co-Director of the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) which is a unique cross-institutional research centre. Michele has long-standing research interests in gender and justice and in particular in criminal justice responses to gender-based violence

Dr Oona Brooks-Hay is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Glasgow and the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR). Oona has developed her interests in gender-based violence as an academic and a practitioner over the past 20 years.

Dr Lisa Bradley is a Research Associate in the Scottish Centre for `Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR). Lisa’s main research interests lie between the broad areas of sociology and cultural and urban studies. She is particularly interested in the use of innovative methods and practices in the production of knowledge