Lesley McMillan

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Lesley McMillan

FRSE
Occupation(s)professor of Criminology and Sociology
Employer Glasgow Caledonian University
Known forresearch on gender based violence influencing changes in police practice for rape or domestic violence survivors

Lesley McMillan, FRSE, professor of Criminology and Sociology at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), associate director of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research, [1] and associate director of the Centre for Research in Families and Relationships based at the University of Edinburgh, [2] researches gender-based violence and criminal justice systems. She influenced reforms in police training for best practice when dealing with traumatised rape or sexual violence survivors, [1] and was behind a multimedia campaign "Erase the Grey" which challenges traditional views on gender-based violence. [3]

Contents

Career and research

McMillan became a member of the Young Academy, and is registered by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), as a counsellor, volunteering for the NHS. [4]

Her work specialises in gendered and sexual violence and criminal justice, especially initial policing but also covering the whole system's responses to survivors, and also wider related areas like sexual victimising of university students. [5] She is an associate director of the Scottish Institute for Policing Research, and leads its Public Protection Network, and is also an associate director of multiple partner Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, based at the University of Edinburgh. [1] McMillan supervises Ph.Ds across a range of research such as 'policing rape; stalking; criminal justice policy.. on violence;.. initiatives on youth crime; legal defences to women who kill violent partners; rape as a war crime'. [5]

McMillan also heads up the GCU Masters Programme in Research (Strategy) in the Graduate School. [5]

McMillan has joined in public debate on what constitutes rape, [6] and as she studied 408 case histories, exploring why so many rape cases are dropped. The study noted that 90% of attacks were by people the women knew, or were in a sexual relationship with, and those were more likely to be dropped, of her sample only 10% went all the way to trial. [7] [8] She also commented on the anti-rape devices and apps, which she viewed as endorsing the misconception of 'stranger danger' and that rapists are mainly 'jumping out at night.' [9] [10] In 2019, she extended her work with students and Police Scotland to a social media campaign, 'Erase the Grey' [11] [3] as a way of offering help to reduce the average of nine people a year murdered in domestic abuse, [12] and a 'hard-hitting' approach to sexual risks on campus to help guide students and link to sources of support and help locally. [13] [14]

Following the murder of Sarah Everard by a member of the Metropolitan Police (the Met), [15] McMillan's work was quoted by another rape survivor, who was planning to write a book on her own experiences, quoting the findings that police believed women were lying about their rape or sexual assaults between 5% and 95% of the time, but her analysis had shown that no more than 3-4% of such claims could have been 'fabricated'. [16]

GCU Principal & Vice-Chancello r Pamela Gillies welcomed McMillan's election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, saying "Her research expertise in the area of sexual violence has garnered international acclaim and has influenced professional practice by police, governmental agencies and the third sector." [1] McMillan was nominated by the university as their candidate for the 2021 AdvanceHE National Teaching Excellence Award. [17]

Research publications

McMillan's research and selected publications are on-line, [18] and listed in Google Scholar, [19] and JSTOR. [20]

Books include her 2007 comparative account "Feminists organising against gendered violence" publisher Palgrave Macmillan, [21] for example refuges provided by Northern Ireland's women's liberation movement. In 2012, a further study of Diversity, Standardization and Social Transformation: Gender, Ethnicity and Inequality in Europe publisher Taylor & Francis , [22] looked at the interactions between national, European and regional regulatory aspects. She also co-edited in 2012 a theory and practice compendium "Violence against women." [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glasgow Caledonian University</span> Public university in Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow Caledonian University, informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley, is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow and Glasgow Polytechnic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Femicide</span> Murder of women or girls because of their gender

Femicide or feminicide is a hate crime which is broadly defined as "the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female", with definitions varying based on cultural context. In 1976, the feminist author Diana E. H. Russell first defined the term as "the killing of females by males because they are female." A spouse or partner is responsible in almost 40% of homicides involving a female victim. Additionally, femicide may be underreported. Femicide often includes domestic violence and forced or sex-selective abortions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rape culture</span> Society in which rape is pervasive and normalised

Rape culture is a setting, studied by several sociological theories, in which rape is pervasive and normalized due to societal attitudes about gender and sexuality. Behaviors commonly associated with rape culture include victim blaming, slut-shaming, sexual objectification, trivializing rape, denial of widespread rape, refusing to acknowledge the harm caused by sexual violence, or some combination of these. It has been used to describe and explain behavior within social groups, including prison rape and in conflict areas where war rape is used as psychological warfare. Entire societies have been alleged to be rape cultures. It is associated with rape fantasy and rape pornography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violence against women</span> Violent acts committed primarily against women and girls

Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed by men or boys against women or girls. Such violence is often considered a form of hate crime, committed against women or girls specifically because they are female, and can take many forms.

Rape by gender classifies types of rape by the sex and/or gender of both the rapist and the victim. This scope includes both rape and sexual assault more generally. Most research indicates that rape affects women disproportionately, with the majority of people convicted being men; however, since the broadening of the definition of rape in 2012 by the FBI, more attention is being given to male rape, including females raping males.

Statistics on rape and other sexual assaults are commonly available in industrialized countries, and have become better documented throughout the world. Inconsistent definitions of rape, different rates of reporting, recording, prosecution and conviction for rape can create controversial statistical disparities, and lead to accusations that many rape statistics are unreliable or misleading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rape</span> Type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse without consent

Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person who is incapable of giving valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, has an intellectual disability, or is below the legal age of consent. The term rape is sometimes used interchangeably with the term sexual assault.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesbophobia</span> Irrational fear of, and aversion to, lesbians

Lesbophobia comprises various forms of prejudice and negativity towards lesbians as individuals, as couples, as a social group, or lesbianism in general. Based on the categories of sex, sexual orientation, identity, and gender expression, this negativity encompasses prejudice, discrimination, hatred, and abuse; with attitudes and feelings ranging from disdain to hostility. Lesbophobia is misogyny that intersects with homophobia, and vice versa. It is analogous to gayphobia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Bindel</span> English radical feminist writer (born 1962)

Julie Bindel is an English radical feminist writer. She is also co-founder of the law reform group Justice for Women, which has aimed to help women who have been prosecuted for assaulting or killing violent male partners.

Corrective rape, also called curative rape, as well as homophobic rape, is a hate crime in which one or more people are raped because of their perceived sexual orientation such as homosexuality or bisexuality. The common intended consequence of the rape, as claimed by the perpetrator, is to turn the person heterosexual.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual violence in South Africa</span>

The rate of sexual violence in South Africa is among the highest recorded in the world. Police statistics of reported rapes as a per capita figure has been dropping in recent years, although the reasons for the drop has not been analysed and it is not known how many rapes go unreported. More women are attacked than men, and children have also been targeted, partly owing to a myth that having sex with a virgin will cure a man of HIV/AIDS. Rape victims are at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS owing to the high prevalence of the disease in South Africa. "Corrective rape" is also perpetrated against LGBT men and women.

A false accusation of rape happens when a person states that they or another person have been raped when no rape has occurred.

Campus sexual assault is the sexual assault, including rape, of a student while attending an institution of higher learning, such as a college or university. The victims of such assaults are more likely to be female, but any gender can be victimized. Estimates of sexual assault, which vary based on definitions and methodology, generally find that somewhere between 19 and 27% of college women and 6–8% of college men are sexually assaulted during their time in college.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clare McGlynn</span>

Clare Mary Smith McGlynn is a Professor of Law at Durham University in the UK. She specialises in the legal regulation of pornography, image-based sexual abuse, cyberflashing, online abuse, violence against women, and gender equality in the legal profession. In 2020, she was appointed an Honorary KC in recognition of her work on women's equality in the legal profession and shaping new criminal laws on extreme pornography and image-based sexual abuse. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Lund University, Sweden, in 2018 in recognition of the international impact of her research on sexual violence and she is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. She is a member of the UK Parliament's Independent Expert Panel hearing appeals in cases of sexual misconduct, bullying and harassment against MPs. She has given evidence before Scottish, Northern Irish and UK Parliaments on how to reform laws on sexual violence and online abuse, as well as speaking to policy audiences across Europe, Asia and Australia. In November 2019, she was invited to South Korea to share international best practice in supporting victims of image-based sexual abuse and she has worked with Facebook, TikTok and Google to support their policies on non-consensual intimate images.

Elizabeth A. Kelly CBE is a British professor and director of the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU), London Metropolitan University, former head of the, now defunct, Women's National Commission, and co-chair, along with Marai Larasi, of the End Violence Against Women Coalition.

Rape myths are prejudicial, stereotyped, and false beliefs about sexual assaults, rapists, and rape victims. They often serve to excuse sexual aggression, create hostility toward victims, and bias criminal prosecution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carceral feminism</span> Forms of feminism that advocate for increased prison sentences

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Rape Crisis Scotland is a charity which provides a national rape crisis helpline and email support for anyone affected by sexual violence, no matter when or how it happened. There are 17 local centres across Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Ritch</span> British feminist activist, campaigner, and author (1976–2021)

Emma Ritch was a Scottish women's rights campaigner who was the executive director of Engender, a feminist policy organisation working on women’s social, economic, and political equality in Scotland. She had been working there for 13 years when she died on 9 July 2021.

Rachel McLachlan is a Scottish rugby player from Edinburgh and 2015 U18 and U21 Scottish Judo Champion. Within nine months of starting rugby, she was asked to join the Scottish team. She played in the 2018, 2019 and 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Professor Lesley McMillan elected as RSE Fellow | Scottish Institute for Policing Research". www.sipr.ac.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "Centre for Research on Families and Relationships - associate directors". Centre for Research on Families and Relationships. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 "GCU And Police Scotland Launch Erase The Grey Campaign". Glasgow City of Science & Innovation. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  4. ↑ "Lesley McMillan". Young Academy of Scotland. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 "McMillan, Lesley | Glasgow School for Business and Society". www.gcu.ac.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  6. ↑ Williams, Rachel (24 August 2012). "George Galloway's rape comments 'made me feel sick', says rape victim". the Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  7. ↑ Brady, Jon (29 June 2020). "Why experts believe Scotland's domestic abuse statistics are only the tip of the iceberg". Evening Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  8. ↑ McMillan, Lesley (2 January 2018). "Police officers' perceptions of false allegations of rape". Journal of Gender Studies. 27 (1): 9–21. doi:10.1080/09589236.2016.1194260. ISSN   0958-9236.
  9. ↑ Riordan, Conor (14 December 2017). "Anti-rape apps 'place responsibility on everyone except perpetrators'". GlasgowLive. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  10. ↑ White, Deborah; McMillan, Lesley (1 August 2020). "Innovating the problem away? A critical study of anti-rape technologies". Violence Against Women. 26 (10): 1120–1140. doi:10.1177/1077801219856115. ISSN   1077-8012.
  11. ↑ "Erase the Grey". GCU. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  12. ↑ Spowart, Nan (25 November 2019). "Police launch social media campaign to tackle gender-based violence". The National. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  13. ↑ "Erase the Grey | University of Leicester". le.ac.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  14. ↑ "Erase The Grey Campaign at Glasgow Kelvin College" . Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  15. ↑ Dodd, Vikram (8 June 2021). "PC Wayne Couzens pleads guilty to kidnap and rape of Sarah Everard". the Guardian. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  16. ↑ Wright, Robert; Jacobs, Emma (16 March 2021). "Met faces its MeToo moment with anger over attitude of officers". www.ft.com. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  17. ↑ "Teaching Excellence: Prof Lesley McMillan selected for the prestigious National Teaching Fellow competition". GCU Academic Development & Student Learning. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  18. ↑ "Lesley McMillan". ResearchOnline. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  19. ↑ "Lesley McMillan". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  20. ↑ "JSTOR: Search Results - Lesley McMillan". www.jstor.org. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  21. ↑ McMillan, Lesley (2007). Feminists organising against gendered violence. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN   978-0-230-00772-7. OCLC   141483104.
  22. ↑ Diversity, standardization and social transformation gender, ethnicity and inequality in Europe. Max Koch, Lesley MacMillan, Bram Peper. London. 2011. ISBN   978-1-315-57774-6. OCLC   1073788024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  23. ↑ Violence against women : current theory and practice in domestic abuse, sexual violence, and exploitation. Nancy Lombard, Lesley McMillan. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 2013. ISBN   978-0-85700-330-0. OCLC   825978151.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
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