PhD project summary:
Domestic abuse is a broad concept including physical or sexual abuse, violent or threatening behaviour, controlling or coercive behaviour, economic abuse and psychological or emotional abuse against a current or ex-partner or a relative. It is estimated the cost of domestic abuse for victims is around £66 billion, with the cost to the economy estimated at around £14 billion. 2.3 million people in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse in 2024, however, the Crown Prosecution Service reported only 51,183 domestic abuse related prosecutions in the year ending March 2024, highlighting a substantial proportion of cases never entering the Criminal Justice System. Post-separation is a known period of danger of domestic abuse and even risk of homicide within families. Since 2009, most UK police forces use the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honour-based Violence (DASH) risk assessment to determine whether it is likely domestic abuse is happening however, the risk assessment has come under scrutiny due to its poor predictive accuracy. Domestic abuse is a prevalent in childcare proceedings within family courts, but there are often no associated formal prosecutions. This proposed PhD will outline the characteristics and outcomes of post-separation domestic abuse cases within family courts and criminal justice data. This PhD will also focus on understanding experiences of domestic abuse post-separation within families and experiences of practitioners using domestic abuse risk assessment tools in these contexts. Together the results will be used to co-produce a prototype domestic abuse risk assessment checklist for post-separation. Overall, the findings will provide important insights into who is at risk of post-separation domestic abuse, the impact of experiencing this type of abuse and the difficulties of working to manage risk in the post-separation period with the goal of better preventing post-separation domestic abuse in families. This PhD will be completed in partnership between Queen Mary University of London and the Stalking Threat Assessment Unit (STAC).
Supervisor(s):
Hannah Jones: h.jones@qmul.ac.uk
Georgina Mathlin: g.mathlin@qmul.ac.uk
CASE non-academic partner: Stalking Threat Assessment Centre
LISS Institution: Queen Mary University of London, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Centre for Psychiatry and Mental Health
PhD Programme: PhD FT Wolfson Institute (Non-Clinical) – Semester 1 start
Full-time / Part-time: Either
1+3.5 or +3.5 studentship: +3.5
Fee Eligibility: Home‑eligible applicants only (UKRI eligibility guidance)
How to apply:
To apply, please complete and return the documents below to the project supervisor(s) directly:
- LISS DTP CASE application form
- Academic transcripts
- References
- Additional information as stipulated in the CASE project listing
Additionally, all applicants must complete:
- LISS DTP Diversity Monitoring Form (online)
- QMUL admission application to PhD FT Wolfson Institute (Non-Clinical) – Semester 1 start
Closing date for applications: 20th February 2026, 12pm
Interviews date: Commencing from 2nd March 2026