Criminology Students
On this page:
Cara Gledhill
MA student in Criminology
Supervisors: Dr Elizabeth Stanley and Associate Professor Jan Jordan
Responding to the criminalisation of same sex relations: The United Nations, human rights and sexuality
Consensual same sex activity remains a criminal offence, or is treated as one, in 80 countries around the world. The United Nations (UN) has remained relatively silent on the area of human rights and sexuality, despite concerted efforts by various campaigners about this issue. The lack of an explicit mention of sexuality in international human rights instruments cements the difficulty in bringing cases of sexuality-based human rights infringements to the forefront of UN debates. Despite this, in recent years there have been some steps forward in the area – usually emanating from committees for existing human rights covenants.
This research aims to draw together the various discourses within the UN around the criminalisation of consensual same sex activity. Relevant UN material will be examined using the method of documentary analysis. Following this, queer and feminist theories will be drawn on to contextualise the findings. It is hoped that this research will be able to explore the political and cultural environment within the UN that perpetuates the general reluctance to commit on a lasting resolution that acknowledges sexuality as a human right.
Contact: cara.gledhill@vuw.ac.nz
Wayne Goodall
PhD Student in Criminology
Supervisors: Dr Russil Durrant & Dr Warren Young
Sentencing consistency in the New Zealand district courts
Consistency in sentencing is expected. Like or similar cases are expected to be treated in like or similar ways and cases that are different from one another to be treated differently. My research explores the degree to which sentences of incarceration for driving with excess alcohol; burglary; and male assaults female conform to this expectation across fifteen geographic groupings of District Courts. The analysis will address: the degree of variation (if any) for each offence type; whether the extent of variation is similar or different for the different offence types; and the factors that explain the variation in sentencing. The policy implications of the findings will be canvassed.
Related areas of interest: sentencing decision-making theory; judicial discretion; sentencing guidance.
Contact: wayne.goodall@vuw.ac.nz
Kellie-Sue Hoy
MA Student in Criminology
Supervisor: Dr Elizabeth Stanley
A Critical examination of how the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has responded to Rape after Genocide
Despite the seriousness and brutality of rape that occurs during armed conflict, rape has only recently made its way onto the international agenda. In 1993, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) saw that the first person in history was successfully convicted of rape as a crime against humanity. Throughout the 1994 Rwandan genocide over 250,000 women were subjected to rape amongst many other devious and horrifying sexual violations. The United Nations (UN) International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) is one institution that has been established to define, prosecute and punish rape as well as other genocidal and rights violations.
This study aims to use the method of documentary analysis to critically examine how the UN’s ICTR has ‘approached’ the gross violation of rape. Learning more about how the ICTR has responded and ‘talked about’ rape in Rwanda is paramount given the ‘frame-setting’ nature of the UN institution as a whole. Through examining UN ‘responses’ to rape during conflict, one can gain a clearer picture of the international framework that has been employed, and can develop a stronger understanding of the development that may still be required within this area of International Law.
Contact: kellie-sue.hoy@vuw.ac.nz
Shannon Chan
MA Student in Criminology
Supervisors: Dr Elaine Mossman and Assoc/Prof Jan Jordan
Retaining women police officers: How women officers negotiate and experience police culture in New Zealand
Female police officers continue to represent a minority within the New Zealand Police (NZP). While the NZP have made concerted efforts over the past decade to increase the representation of women, this progress has been less favourable than in some comparable jurisdictions, such as England and Australia. International research has highlighted police culture as one of the greatest barriers to both recruitment and retention of female police officers. The police culture has often been characterised by a 'cult of masculinity' and is said to be shaped by predominantly white, heterosexual males. Furthermore, female officers often find that they must negotiate the balance between gender roles and the demands of the occupational role in order to be accepted or 'fit in' within police culture.
With this in mind, this research adopts a qualitative research design involving face-to-face interviews with female police officers to explore the link between retention of female police officers and their perceptions and experiences of police culture. This appears timely given the recent 2010 review of the 2007 Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct, which found that while the NZP have made efforts to shift the police culture and increase recruitments of women officers, progress to change the police culture has reached a plateau.
Contact: shannon.chan@vuw.ac.nz
Jared Walton
MA Student in Criminology
Supervisor: Dr Venezia Kingi
Intimate Partner Violence: An investigation into victims' treatment by family and friends
Intimate partner violence (IPV) involves a pattern of physical, emotional or sexual abuse, which someone (usually a male) uses to assert power and control over their current or former romantic partner. In New Zealand and around the world this is a very serious issue, with one in three New Zealand women experiencing IPV at some point in their lives. The effects of IPV on victims can be mental, physical, social and financial. While there are a number of studies looking at the treatment of IPV victims by formal support structures (e.g. the Police, Women's Refuge etc), there are very few examining support received by family and friends, despite the fact such informal support is the most common and important form of support accessed by women.
In order to address the lack of literature around informal support received by IPV victims this study will involve interviewing between five and ten women who are survivors of IPV. The aim is to find out about how their family and friends treated them on disclosure of the violence. The responses given by participants will be used to examine whether family and friends treated them differently when they were told and how their responses affected the survivors.
Contact: jared.walton@vuw.ac.nz