Events

In July 2021 lead and associate members of GDS took part in a panel at the British Society of Criminology conference - Crime and Harm: Challenges of Social and Global Justice? The Panel, Criminological Body Spaces, convened and chaired by Dr Alex Fanghanel, included the following papers from lead and associate members of GDS:

• ‘Which bodies matter? A review of sexual, coerced and reproductive violence committed against nonhuman animals.’ Dr Stacy Banwell (lead member).
• ‘The maternal body in law and criminal justice.’ Dr Emma Milne (associate member).
• “Pornographic domesticity”: An exploration into the visibility of domestic spaces of erotic webcam performers. Francesca Gaunt (associate member).
• ‘Sex working bodies in the digital factory space.’ Rachel Stuart.

Pedagogy and gender-based violence: Case studies from the classroom The Gender, Deviance and Society research group intersect gender, sexuality, feminist criminology, penology, deviance and issues of social justice. Their research in these areas informs their teaching practice. During this roundtable session the lead members of the group - Stacy Banwell, Alex Fanghanel, Camille Stengel and Giulia Zampini- will talk about how to engage with these issues in the classroom and why we should do it.

We will draw on examples from our teaching practice, including:

·       Culture and gender-based violence: female genital mutilation;

·       Gender-based violence during war and armed conflict;

·       Sexualised risk taking;

·       GBV and consent;

·       Gendered dimensions of perceived moral reprehensibility in prison education;

·       A student-led prostitution policy debate from different feminist perspectives.

Embedding anti-colonial, queer, and feminist pedagogy across the curriculum.

To discuss these examples members of the group will be joined by Francesca Gaunt. Francesca is a PhD student at the University of Greenwich and an associate member of the research group.

Read more about this event

The Gender Deviance and Society Research Group will host three of its associate members, Dr Emma Milne, Dr Rachel Seoghie and Dr Carly Guest, for an evening of talks and networking. 

Finding ways to punish the failed mother: criminal law and newborn child death

Dr Emma Milne, Durham University

The death of a newborn child is perhaps the most shocking and distressing form of homicide, particularly as it most usually results due to the actions or neglect of the baby’s mother. Such women offenders pose significant challenges for criminal justice as it can be incredibly difficult to prove that a homicide offence has been committed. Analysis of such cases illustrates that a variety of offences can and are used by prosecutors to facilitate the punishment of women. Furthermore, assessment of court transcripts indicates that concern of the courts lies not only in the death of the child, but in the women’s failure to act as an “appropriate” mother and thus a suitable woman. These cases provide a lens through which to analyse the gendered assumptions that surround reproduction, including women’s and behaviour during pregnancy. This paper will explore the gendered experiences of these offenders and the criminal justice responses to their behaviour.

RIP N1 - Closing Holloway Prison: the women’s voices

Dr Rachel Seoighe, University of Kent and Dr Carly Guest, University of Middlesex

This paper reflects on interviews and focus groups with women who experienced the closure of Holloway Prison in the summer of 2016. Some of these women were since released, some remained imprisoned in different prisons. It considers the far-reaching implications of the closure of the prison on women’s lives - the women detail the impact on relationships within and beyond the prison. These include relationships with self, others, the particular carceral space of Holloway and the wider system. In these accounts, we trace the women’s immediate reactions to the announcement of the closure to the experience of being moved to ‘peripheral’ prisons. We consider emerging issues of memory and nostalgia surrounding the prison post-closure which risk sanitising and reifying its history. The women’s experiences also illustrate the persistent inadequacies of support outside of the prison, such as housing and mental health support, that shaped the criminalisation of these women and their relationship with the prison.

Blog to celebrate the launch of the publication of the Sex and Crime textbook: