Post-Doc, Sociology
Thesis Title: Corroboration, Consent and Community: A "Meaning Finitist" Account of the Forensic Medical Examination of Rape and Sexual Assault Complainers in Scotland
About
My research investigates the process by which Forensic Medical Examiners (FMEs) in Scotland perform examinations of acute sexual assault complainers for a criminal investigation. This research was inspired by media reports suggesting that Scotland had the lowest conviction rate for rape in Europe. In their attempts to reverse this trend, both legal and governmental agencies took the trial as the principle area of focus, although attrition rate studies (conducted in England) demonstrated that approximately 80% of cases do not proceed to trial as they "drop out" due to police decision-making. This focus upon the trial is also reproduced in much of the Science and Technology Studies (STS) scholarship on science, medicine and the law (although this is currently changing). Academics interested in the forensic sciences have often investigated how expertise is managed during the adversarial processes of the courtroom, superficially mentioning the negotiations made and difficulties overcome during the pre-trial period in translating scientific and medical findings into forensic evidence. My research attempts to appeal to those investigating expert evidence from both Socio-Legal and STS backgrounds.
I have recently submitted by PhD thesis, which was split into two major sections; the first section concerned the classification of wounds of medico-legal significance, and provides a finitist analysis of how FMEs learn to draw inferences about injuries (not only of their cause, but also whether or not they corroborate the complainer’s allegation) and also the way in which they perform those classifications in practice. The second section related to the procedure of the medical examination (the recording of injuries and the taking of samples for forensic scientific analysis), particularly the role of guidelines and the introduction of standardised kits into forensic medical work. Again employing a finitist approach, I suggest that researchers should concentrate on how the community of practitioners understand and disseminate ideas of ‘best practice’.
I am currently following an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship in which I will be producing scholarly articles, presenting at conferences and performing non-academic knowledge transfer, all based upon the findings of my PhD research. I will supplement this with a limited amount of guest lecturing in criminology, sociology and science and technology studies.
Contact Information
Sociology,
School of Social and Political Sciences,
Room 5.03 Chrystal Macmillan Building,
15a George Square,
Edinburgh,
EH8 9LD
0131 651 1343
