Clare Wiper

Clare is an Assistant Professor in Criminology at Northumbria University. Her research focuses on various forms of gender-based violence, including economic abuse, tech-facilitated violence and coercive control. Clare’s current research projects focus on women’s experiences of coerced debt in the context of domestic abuse; lawyers’ experiences of pursuing civil compensation claims for sexual violence; and women’s experiences of fear and perceptions of safety in public space. Previous projects have focused on activist and third sector responses to gender-based violence; the impact of government austerity measures on women’s experiences of domestic and sexual violence; and online and tech-facilitated forms of harassment and abuse against feminists. Clare’s work adopts qualitative, ethnographic and online methodologies, is committed to intersectional analysis and typically draws upon a feminist political economy theoretical framework.

Clare is the programme lead for MA Criminology and Criminal Justice and module lead for a number of Criminology modules at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including Identity and Diversity in Criminology, Intimate Partner Violence, and Social Exclusion and Victimisation in a Global Context. Outside of academia, Clare's work often extends into the community and into policy arenas at national and international levels. For instance, she has worked as a steering group member of North East Women's Network; has helped inform Police and Crime Commissioners’ strategies around violence against women; and has lobbied the UN CEDAW Committee about rising levels of violence against women in the UK.

Clare welcomes enquiries from prospective students who wish to undertake a PhD about any topic relating to gender-based violence – especially projects about economic abuse, post-separation abuse, tech-facilitated abuse, the measurement of risk in domestic abuse cases, and the political-economic causes and consequences of gender-based violence.

Clare's current research projects include: 

The role of coerced debt in domestic abuse contexts in Britain - this project is funded by the British Academy and uses semi-structured interviews with survivors of coerced debt, domestic abuse advocates, criminal and civil justice professionals, creditors and financial advisers to examine: (1) the occurrence of coerced debt in the context of domestic abuse; (2) survivors’ experiences of coerced debt and the consequences it has for their lives; (3) the links between coerced debt and other forms of domestic abuse; and (4) legal and financial responses to coerced debt in Britain. A feminist political economy framework guides this study, drawing attention to issues of structural gender inequality, economic insecurity, neoliberal reform, austerity and debt. 

Civil compensation claims for sexual violence - this project explores the benefits and limitations of civil law as a response to sexual violence in the UK. The research team are interviewing civil lawyers about (1) the nature and extent of civil cases for compensation brought by survivors of sexual violence; (2) access and barriers to the legal process and procedural legal problems; (3) the relationship between the civil and criminal legal systems in practice; and (4) their experiences of representing clients who may experience ongoing effects of trauma.

Pedestrian underpasses in Newcastle upon Tyne: safety, design and management - this project uses archival research, an online survey and interviews to explore people's experiences of pedestrian underpasses in Newcastle upon Tyne. Clare is particularly interested in gendered experiences of the underpasses.