Skip to main content

Staff profile

Overview

Laura Bower

Postgraduate Research Student

Affiliations
Affiliation
Postgraduate Research Student in the Department of Sociology

Biography

Biography

I originally joined Durham University in 2016, completing both a BA (Hons) in Criminology and a MA in Social Research Methods (Criminology) and now I have the privelged of being a Teaching Fellow and PhD Researcher in the Department. Curently I am rounding off my doctoral research that is funded by the ESRC NINE DTP, conducted in partnership with Rape Crisis in Darlington and Survivors West Yorkshire.

My research centres on victim-survivor identity with people with lived experience of sexual violence and/ or professionals working on a day-to-day basis with victim-survivors. Particularly passionate about conducting Arts-Based Research and using creative research methodologies, especially visual methods and participant-made art. I also have significant interests in the use of trigger warnings in criminology classrooms, especially when considering the implications that their usage can have for trauma-affected students, considering the victim-survivor binary. 

Currently, I am teaching on the Introduction to Criminology module as a seminar leader, as well as delivering workshops on Research Methods in Action. I am also the acting module convenor for Feminist Anti-Violence Activism at Level Three. 

Twitter: @theberetgirl

Recent Works
Bower, L. J. (2023). 'The Woman in Black: A defense of trigger warnings in creating inclusive spaces for trauma-affected students through a feminist disability studies pedagogy.' Journal of Criminal Justice Education, DOI 10.1080/10511253.2023.2264370 
 
Hepworth, L. J. (2023). ‘The butterfly is only beautiful because the caterpillar is brave’: Exploring victim-survivor identities of people who have experienced sexual assault through arts-based research methods. Astonish the World Conference, 2022. https://dro.dur.ac.uk/38662/1/38662.pdf?DDD29+vbdv77
 
Hepworth, L. J. (2022). 'Victim? Survivor? The importance of the language we use to talk about people who have experienced sexual violence.' Blog post for RSACC, https://www.rsacc-thecentre.org.uk/guest-blogs/victim-survivor-the-importance-of-the-language-we-use-to-talk-about-people-who-have-experienced-sexual-violence/
Research Area
Research Area

My research centres around the meanings and associations with ‘victim’ and ‘survivor’ identities, as well as the implications that these labels hold for victim-survivors of non-consensual sexual experiences. Artwork and photographs can function to visually display the powerful emotions behind identity and labels in a way that words simply may not fully encapsulate. My thesis utilises an arts-based framework to understand the multiple realities of identity for victim-survivors, as well as service providers offering services to those with lived experiences of sexual assault. 

Research Interests

Research interests

  • Sexual violence
  • Victim ideology and victimisation
  • The survivor discourse
  • Symbolic interaction and victim-survivor identity
  • Arts-based research methods and methodologies
  • Trigger warnings, disability studies pedagogy and the victim-survivor binary
Teaching
  • Introduction to Crimological Theory (seminar leader and guest lecturer) 
  • Research Methods in Action (workshops) 
  • Feminist Anti-Violence Activism (module convenor) 

Research interests

  • Sexual violence
  • Victim ideology and victimisation
  • The survivor discourse
  • Symbolic interaction and victim-survivor identity
  • Arts-based research methods and methodologies