The Public Gallery: Constructing Consent in the Courtroom

What’s on offer?

This day event is led by social science researchers Dr Sarah Cooper and Dr Owen Thomas and incorporates two workshop sessions engaging students aged 16-18 year old students in cutting-edge social science problems

What’s it about?

 Does society expect ‘proper’ victims of sexual violence to appear a particular way and does this have a pervasive impact on the courtroom? Are we failing to protect victims that do not confirm this stereotype? Widespread institutional failure to believe the victims of sexual abuse is a recognised, serious problem, and the presenters' previous work has been specifically concerned with the treatment of female complainants turned away by the Police and CPS because they do not appear as salient victims of a crime. Building upon this data, therefore, the event seeks to question if this mirrors more widespread trend's in society, and if these impact upon the courtroom and the minds of jurors. This is a vital civic issue: is there an institutional bias to dismiss some cases of sexual abuse due to the lack of a clear victim? 

Who’s leading the event?

Dr Sarah Cooper