Understanding Victim Reporting Trends in Sexual Offences

Whilst statistics estimating the percentage of sexual offence cases not reported to the police are widely used in literature, there is currently little understanding of the accurate picture in relation to these types of offences. The aim of this research is to understand reporting trends in cases of rape and serious sexual offences.

This research will entail working in collaboration with Staffordshire Police and Third Sector Organisations (those related to supporting victims of sexual offences) to gather data relating to reporting trends. Analysis of these trends will enable recognition of opportunities to improve police investigations, to increase reporting, to better support victims and to improve prosecution rates for sexual offence cases.

The School of Law Policing and Forensics
The School of Law Policing and Forensics at Staffordshire University are inviting applications for Partial Scholarship PhD projects within our school. This scheme gives you the opportunity to enrol on to a PhD project without having to pay any tuition fees. In exchange for this, you would be expected to provide a maximum of 250 hours of teaching support to the Academic Staff. Please note, that no bursary or any other funding will be provided.

If you have any further questions regarding the scheme, please contact Dr Graham Williams at [Email Address Removed]

Applications
To apply, in the first instance contact the relevant supervisor with your interested project who will discuss the project with you and advise you on how to apply for the PhD. You will need to contact the supervisor directly before applying for the PhD project.