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Department of Sociology
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Towards Inclusive Responses to Sexual Violence

22 May 2024
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New webpages have been created to present findings and resources from a series of participatory research projects. Since 2019, Dr Alison Jobe from Durham University (Department of Sociology) and Dr Helen Williams from the University of Sunderland have carried out this research, in collaboration with third sector organisations and learning disabled / autistic survivors of sexual violence.

A new webpage, dedicated to this important research, can be viewed here: Towards Inclusive Criminal Justice Responses to Sexual Violence

As shown in the link above, the first in the series of participatory research projects undertaken was carried out in 2019-2020 in collaboration with Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland (RCTN) and Northumbria Police, and funded by the N8 Policing partnership. This project was titled 'Access to Justice'  and explored the experiences of support available for victims of sexual violence of people with learning disabilities. Read more: Access to Justice? – Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland (rctn.org.uk)

In 2022-2024, research was undertaken in collaboration with 'Us Too', who are a group of women with learning disabilities and/or autism who have experienced Domestic/Sexual Violence. The findings from the Access to Justice project resonated with members of the Us Too group, who began working on a project to create 'Us Too: Alisha's Story, a film that tells the story of unheard survivors of sexual violence: Us Too Alisha's Story - Towards inclusive criminal justice responses to sexual violence (durham.ac.uk)

In 2024, Us Too, and the Association for Real Change England (ARC-England) have co-created a series of visual resources for criminal justice agencies and for others with learning disabilities and/or autism. View here: From Us Too to You - Towards inclusive criminal justice responses to sexual violence (durham.ac.uk)

 

For further information on this research, please contact Dr Alison Jobe 

Publication: Full article: Testimonial injustice: exploring ‘credibility’ as a barrier to justice for people with learning disabilities/autism who report sexual violence (tandfonline.com)