Diversifying Justice examines access to justice within the contexts of diversity and domestic abuse, with a view to revealing viable pathways for a particularly underserved population: South Asian women. The research adopts a participatory, arts-based approach, designed to capture and respond to the diverse factors which shape and limit South Asian women’s help-seeking during and following domestic abuse. In doing so, the research seeks to explore the ways in which race, culture, education, social and community factors intersect to shape South Asian women’s perceptions of domestic abuse and their decisions to access help services; as well as draw into view alternative help-seeking pathways that they may follow. Inspired by approaches in community development and education, the project works with community groups and dedicated BME women’s organisations to explore if, when and how victims engage with criminal justice, and how they locate their experiences within the context of their own lives. In addition to producing policy briefings and reports for the Scottish Government, the research works directly with South Asian women to co-produce literature for service providers highlighting particular barriers that are faced, and literature for South Asian women which outlines viable pathways to help and justice through criminal justice and other services.
The project is led by Dr Nughmana Mirza, Dr Lisa Bradley and Ms Nicola Dickson – researchers working between the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research and the School of Education, at the University of Glasgow. The work is funded by the Scottish Government and runs until December 2022.
diversifying justice 