Project Title: Judicial Rationales for Remanding Women in Custody for Therapeutic Purposes: A Comparative Analysis.
My research interests centre on pre-trial detention and gender-informed sentencing practice and policy. Despite stringent legal criteria for denying bail, unsentenced women account for over a quarter of women received into prison within a given year in the jurisdictions of England and Wales and Ireland. Due to the absence of published reasons for denying bail in the magistrates’ and district courts in England and Ireland respectively, the extent to which remand is used to facilitate women’s access to therapeutic supports, including addiction services and psychological assessments, in the absence of a legal rationale under the Bail Acts is unclear. My research will endeavour to remedy this data lacuna by (i) recording the reasons for remanding women charged with non-violent, low-level drug and property offences in a select number of local justice areas (England) and districts (Ireland), (ii) analysing judicial rationales with reference to the relevant legislative framework of each jurisdiction and criminological feminist theory, and (iii) examining the significant points of convergence or divergence in remand decision-making across jurisdictions. This comparative study aims to reveal mutual insights which will inspire the implementation of suitable community-based alternatives to custodial remand for women offenders and/or remand-making guidelines to direct lower courts’ discretion.
I hold an LL.B. from Trinity College Dublin (First Class Hons.) and worked as a judicial assistant to the Supreme Court of Ireland before beginning the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Oxford. I have also held research assistant positions with penal policy non-profits and the Irish Legal Aid Board. As a former youth ambassador for Plan International Ireland, and current Chair of the Board of YWCA Ireland, I am passionate about gender justice advocacy and the distinct needs and interests of justice-affected women.
I am on the 1 + 3.5 pathway, which is generously supported by the ESRC and Trinity College’s Sir Roger Fry Graduate Scholarship.
