Tell us about yourself

I have dedicated my career to supporting individuals affected by domestic abuse, beginning as a volunteer and progressing into senior leadership roles within the domestic abuse sector. This journey has provided me with extensive experience advocating for survivors, delivering support services, and influencing organisational and systemic change.

Recently, I transitioned into a safeguarding role covering Lancashire, where I continue to champion the rights, safety, and wellbeing of vulnerable individuals. Alongside this, I have recently become a Trustee of The Brunswick Centre, a charity that works to enable people to make informed choices, build healthier relationships, and live positive lives free from stigma. The organisation delivers a range of services, including HIV prevention and support, LGBTQ+ youth services, and wider wellbeing initiatives across local communities.

Over the past six years, my work in the third sector has focused on supporting survivors of domestic abuse and driving improvements in service accessibility. I am passionate about addressing inequalities, reducing barriers to support, and ensuring that minoritised communities receive the assistance and protection they need.

Alongside my professional and trustee roles, I am a PhD researcher exploring the experiences of Black women affected by domestic abuse. My research reflects my commitment to racial and social justice, with a particular focus on understanding and challenging the structural inequalities that shape access to support and justice.

Why did you want to become a Research Affiliate?

I was keen to become a Research Affiliate because the Centre’s mission closely aligns with both my academic research and professional experience. My work focuses on understanding how vulnerability is shaped by systemic inequalities and how institutions, including policing, can better respond to the needs of minoritised communities.

My PhD research centres the lived experiences of Black women affected by domestic abuse, examining resilience, intersectionality, and the challenges they face when engaging with support services and criminal justice agencies. At the same time, my professional role has provided frontline insight into the barriers many survivors encounter when reporting abuse or seeking help.

I am particularly interested in contributing to the Centre’s work on domestic abuse, vulnerability, multi-agency collaboration, and the integration of services across policing, health, and social care. Becoming a Research Affiliate offers an exciting opportunity to connect research with practice, share evidence on intersectional experiences of vulnerability, and collaborate with others working to improve outcomes for Black communities and other minoritised groups.

How does your research connect to the Centre’s mission and values?

My research and professional practice strongly align with the Centre’s commitment to understanding how policing can produce, exacerbate, and mitigate vulnerability, while supporting collaborative approaches that reduce harm and improve outcomes for vulnerable individuals.

Using qualitative and intersectional methodologies, my PhD research explores the lived experiences of Black women affected by domestic abuse. Through in-depth interviews, focus groups, and case-file analysis, I examine how race, gender, and structural inequalities shape experiences of abuse, help-seeking, and engagement with policing and wider support systems. Guided by Black feminist and intersectional frameworks, my work prioritises lived experience and seeks to generate evidence that can inform more equitable and effective practice.

My practitioner experience complements this research. Through my work supporting survivors, I have witnessed first-hand the challenges that many Black women face when navigating policing, statutory services, and other support agencies. These experiences reinforce the importance of culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and integrated approaches across policing, health, and social care.

As a Research Affiliate, I hope to contribute both academic insight and frontline expertise to the Centre’s collaborative work, supporting efforts to develop more inclusive policies, improve institutional responses, and reduce harm for minoritised communities.