Heidi McCafferty

Social Justice and Inequalities (2024 cohort)

My research is exploring how a rarely used qualitative research method known as the correspondence method, can help to better understand the role intimate partner violence has played in the legal experiences of women incarcerated in Nevada, USA. Currently, the experiences of these women have been generally overlooked by the academic community. I will be drawing on power theory to better understand the patterns of abuse incarcerated women in Nevada have experienced and how this has contributed to their pathways towards criminal engagement, along with Muted Group Theory, which asserts that dominant groups are afforded access to spaces and opportunities where they will be heard, while marginalised groups (in this case, women), are denied the same exposure to be heard. Ultimately, my aim is for my research to support organisations and individuals in Nevada who are seeking to introduce a new bill in the state similar to New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act, 2019, which could offer sentencing relief for many incarcerated women in Nevada.

I have a BA (Hons) in Literature with The Open University and graduated with a distinction for my MSc Criminology with Birkbeck, University of London.