RESEARCHERS in Glasgow want to hear from survivors of domestic abuse about how the sentencing of offenders affected them.

Professor Nancy Lombard, of Glasgow Caledonian University, has been commissioned by the Scottish Sentencing Council to carry out a study.

The Professor in Sociology and Social Policy will hold focus groups and interviews with survivors and work alongside criminal justice system partners, community safety groups and third-sector organisations on the project.

The study will hear first-hand how sentencing affected survivors and their perceptions of the justice system, with the aim of contributing to the council’s work on developing a domestic abuse sentencing guideline.

Professor Lombard, who recently completed a Scottish Government-funded study of women's lived experiences of the criminal justice system, said: "We are aiming to understand what effective sentencing policy and practice responses look like from the perspective of women navigating the criminal justice system."

For more information, email nancy.lombard@gcu.ac.uk.