Frank Dawtry Memorial Lecture: Katrin Hohl

Join CCJS to discuss the fundamental challenges affecting police responses to rape and sexual assault and explore radical alternatives to current practice.

About the event

The Centre for Criminal Justice Studies is delighted to welcome Katrin Hohl (City, University of London) to deliver the annual Frank Dawtry Memorial Lecture. This year's lecture will explore how police responses to rape and sexual assault can be radically improved and transformed.

In England and Wales, the policing of rape is in permacrisis. Low charge rates, poor treatment of victim-survivors and scandals of police-perpetrated sexual violence and domestic abuse produce a bleak picture. Senior police leaders have pledged reform but are yet to find a way of turning the tide. This lecture provides a critical examination of the problem of police responses to rape. It sets out a practice-oriented theoretical framework for radically and sustainably transforming rape investigations, rape prevention, and the quality of officer engagement with victim-survivors. Professor Hohl reflects on the journey of putting this framework into practice within Operation Soteria Bluestone, a ground-breaking police-academic collaboration aimed at radically transforming police responses to rape in England and Wales.

The lecture will be followed by a comment from Alison Lowe (West Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime) and an opportunity for questions and discussion.

About the speaker

Katrin Hohl is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice and inaugural Lord Mayor’s Fellow at City, University of London. Her research centres on police responses to sexual violence and domestic abuse. She was joint academic lead of Operation Soteria Bluestone and is Independent Advisor to the UK Government on the Rape Review.

Registration

The event is free and open to all but advance registration via this form is essential.