Meet Dr Hannah Bows, Associate Professor in Criminal Law at Durham University Law School. 

Where did it all start? 

I am the first in my family to attend university and started my undergraduate studies in my early 20s as a 'mature' student after leaving high school without any A levels.  
After completing an undergraduate course at the University of Salford, I joined Durham University to study an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice and stayed on to complete my PhD in 2016. In 2018 I returned to Durham, joining the Law School as Assistant Professor in Criminal Law before being promoted to Associate Professor in 2020. 

My career to date 

In addition to my role at Durham University, I have recently been appointed as a specialist adviser to the UK Parliament Women and Equalities Committee. My role, along with three other advisers, is to support the committee on their preventing violence against women and girls strategy.

  
I am also the Deputy Director of the Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse, Chair of the British Society of Criminology Victims Network and Associate Editor of the British Journal for Social Work.  

Making a difference in society 

I have been researching violence against women and girls for the last decade and I am passionate about conducting research that makes a difference to society. I am also passionate about working with professionals and non-academic partners and translating my research for those audiences, to improve practice.  

The impact of my work has been recognised through external awards including the ESRC Outstanding Impact award 2017 (runner-up) and the Emerald Publishing Real Impact Award 2019 (winner).  

My research 

My work includes studies on extreme pornography, sexual violence at music festivals, violence against women in public/private spaces, technology and violence against women, sexual violence at universities and the so-called ‘rough sex’ defence. I recently contributed to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) research project on child sexual abuse in institutions. 

I am probably best known for my research on domestic abuse, sexual violence and homicide of older adults, and criminal justice responses to crimes involving older adults, which I am currently researching (funded by a British Academy Wolfson Fellowship). My work has had a significant influence on policy and legislation, for example influencing the Crime Survey for England and Wales to include older adults in the domestic violence, sexual violence and stalking module.  

Influencing policy

I work extensively with policymakers and regularly interact with Parliament, charities and other statutory and non-statutory agencies. I have sat on several committees advising on the issue of violence against women, including the Law Commission Hate Crime Review, CPS Review of Prosecuting Crimes Against Older People, HMICFRS Inspection into Police and CPS response to crimes against older people, and the Northern Ireland Independent Review into Hate Crime Legislation.  

I have produced briefings, by request, for MPs on these topics and given evidence to government consultations, including the Scottish Justice Committee’s prosecution of elder abuse.  

I was seconded to the Scottish Parliament (2019/2020) to research and advise on potential legal reform to address violence and abuse of older adults, funded through an ESRC IAA grant. The findings and recommendations of this project have influenced the recent Law Commission Review into Hate Crime, which draws heavily on my work and ultimately agrees with my recommendations.  

My work in this area led to Comic Relief launching a specific funding stream for projects working to prevent or respond to violence against older women (2019-2021). I am the Learning Coordinator for the seven funded projects, overseeing the learning and knowledge generated within and across the cohort.

Find out more

Read  to learn more about her research interests and publications. 

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