PhD Research on Policing Technology-Facilitated Violence Against Women and Girls

Project Description:

In in the present day’s digital age, the road between on-line and offline areas is more and more blurred, enabling the proliferation of violence towards ladies and women (VAWG) in ways in which legislation enforcement is commonly ill-equipped to handle. As expertise advances, so do the techniques of those that perpetrate hurt, creating new complexities for policing responses. While authorized and coverage frameworks such because the Online Safety Act 2023, the EU AI Act 2024, and the EU Digital Services Act have emerged, responses to on-line harms are nonetheless typically fragmented, reactive, and lack cohesion.

Policing on-line harms focusing on ladies and women requires a proactive, evidence-driven, victim-centred method. A key problem stays the hole in data in regards to the numerous types of on-line violence and the ensuing lack of complete policing methods to forestall, examine, and reply to those harms. This problem is underscored by findings from Prof Jurasz’s (2024) four-nation study, which requires a extra knowledgeable and coordinated response to on-line gendered violence.

Key Information:

• Campus-based (The Open Business University) study solely.
• Starting date: 1^st October 2026.
• Application date: 12:00 (noon) (GMT) on 7^th January 2026.

Research Opportunity:

We invite PhD proposals targeted on understanding, stopping, and responding to technology-facilitated violence towards ladies and women. Applicants will discover methods to strengthen policing methods, foster higher collaborations, and assist officers in addressing the rising complexity of on-line gendered hurt.

Key Themes:

1. Legitimacy and Prevention:

• How can policing enhance public belief and confidence in addressing on-line harms?
• What victim-centred approaches and proactive methods can policing develop to forestall and reply to gendered on-line harms?
• How can policing foster built-in collaboration with expertise platforms and different businesses to fight on-line violence towards ladies and women?

2. Officer Well-being and Skills Development:

• What coaching and assets are wanted to equip law enforcement officials with the talents to research on-line harms successfully?
• How can police organisations assist officer well-being when coping with complicated, tech-mediated instances of abuse?

3. Understanding Suspect Behaviour:

• What are the behavioural patterns of people perpetrating gendered on-line harms, and how can these insights inform proactive interventions?
• How does anonymity and the disinhibition impact of on-line areas affect suspect behaviour?

4. Intersectionality and Vulnerability:

• How can policing tailor responses to the various experiences of ladies from intersecting identities and vulnerabilities in on-line areas?
• What position does intersectionality play in shaping threat components, sufferer experiences, and reporting behaviours?

Impact:

This PhD analysis could have a big influence on policing by:

• Contributing to evidence-based methods for stopping on-line gendered violence.
• Improving victim-centred practices and assist providers.
• Enhancing officer coaching and wellbeing to raised tackle tech-mediated abuse.
• Influencing the event of authorized and coverage frameworks that higher replicate the experiences of ladies and women in on-line areas.

Successful proposals could discover modern frameworks and strategies for policing, and candidates with backgrounds in policing, gender research, legislation, criminology, psychology, expertise, or public coverage are notably inspired to apply.

Centre for Protecting Women Online:

The profitable candidate shall be primarily based at the Centre for Protecting Women Online at the Open University. This centre, funded by a £7.7 million grant from Research England, is devoted to understanding and tackling the challenges that ladies and women face in on-line areas. The Centre adopts a novel, interdisciplinary analysis agenda, working throughout 5 interconnected areas: Law & Policy, Human Behaviour, The Future of Responsible Tech, Ethical Tech/AI, and Policing.

The Centre’s mission is to cut back on-line harms by cross-sector collaborations, informing legislation, coverage, and expertise growth. The work goals to make sure accountability and justice, whereas selling pro-social behaviours and accountable use of expertise.

About the Supervisors:

• Prof Olga Juraszis a number one professional on legislation, coverage, and gender points, focusing on on-line security and violence.
• Dr Keely Duddinfocuses on policing, with a spotlight on the intersection of expertise, legislation enforcement, and public security.

Application Process:

Candidates on this PhD alternative are inspired to submit proposals that tackle a number of of the important thing themes outlined above.

For extra data on easy methods to apply: Click Here

This is a novel alternative to contribute to a important space of public security and make a tangible difference within the combat towards on-line violence. Join us in shaping the way forward for policing within the digital age.

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