Dr Charlotte Barlow

Profile

I am an Associate Professor in Criminology and Criminal Justice, having joined the School of Law in December 2025. Prior to this, I was a Reader in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Lancashire and have previously held academic positions at Lancaster University and Birmingham City University. I completed my PhD in Criminology at the University of Liverpool in 2015 and graduated with First Class Honors from Keele University (Criminology and Psychology). I am elected Vice President of the British Society of Criminology and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I am on the editorial boar for the British Journal of Criminology. I am also a member of the Feminist Research into Violence and Abuse (FRIVA) Network at the University of Leeds.

I have led or been co-investigator on projects funded by the ESRC, Home Office, Ministry of Justice, British Academy and the N8 Policing Research Partnership.

Research interests

Over circa 15 years, I have led or co-led various research projects focussing on violence against women and girls, with a particular emphasis on criminal and family justice responses to domestic abuse. This includes leading three projects exploring police responses to coercive control in England and Wales, spanning 2016-2024, funded by the N8PRP and British Academy. I have also led research projects exploring victim-survivor experiences of Clare’s Law/ Domestic Violence Disclosure schemes. I was recently funded by the Ministry of Justice to lead a large-scale evaluation of the ‘Integrated Domestic Abuse/ Pathfinder Courts’ (see here) and was also part of the team who evaluated interventions for children affected by domestic abuse, funded by the Home Office. I am part of the ‘Pillar 3: Victim-centred approach’ team for Project Bright Light, which incorporates a holistic review of the police response to domestic abuse within one force area in England, based on the principles of Operation Soteria. Other examples of recent projects include an investigation of the impact of Family Drug and Alcohol Courts on parental substance misuse, offending and domestic abuse with colleagues at Lancaster University and the University of Lancashire; an exploration of police responses to domestic abuse in rural communities; and an evaluation of a new MARAC process for high risk cases of domestic abuse.

I am passionate about academic research being collaborative, engaged and impactful. Acheiveing real-world impact is central to my approach to research, and my work has influenced national and international domestic abuse policy, practice and informed the development of police and partner agency training. I have worked with statutory organisations such as the Home Office, College of Policing, National Police Chiefs Council, Ministry of Justice, many police forces, Women’s Aid and other domestic abuse services to advance responses to violence and abuse. I was also recently seconded as a Senior Research Fellow in the Violence Against Women and Girls Research Team at the Vulnerability, Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP).

Qualifications

• PhD Criminology, University of Liverpool
• Postgraduate Certificate of Academic Practice, Lancaster University
• BSc (Hons) Criminology and Psychology, Keele University

Professional memberships

• Fellowship of the HEA
• British Society of Criminology
• European Society of Criminology

Student education

I am a passionate educator and have taught in various universities since 2012. I have wide-ranging experience of module design and management.

I currently teach on various modules on the BA Criminal Justice and Criminology. I also supervise postgraduate dissertation students and doctoral research students.

I have extenally examined various PhD’s in the area of violence against women and girls and domestic abuse. I am also external examiner for Manchester University.