A Criminological Analysis of the Criminal Justice System Response towards Women Victimised by their Intimate Partners
The School of Law of the University of Nicosia is organizing a Webinar titled “A Criminological Analysis of the Criminal Justice System Response towards Women Victimised by their Intimate Partners”, on Thursday, April 8 between 18:00 – 21:00. The presentation will be delivered by Dr Foteini Kyriakopoulou-Kollia, Lawyer of the Supreme Court Level, PhD in Criminal Law, Criminology, Criminal Justice. The webinar is going to take place online on Monday, 5th of April 2021 at 15.00. This webinar will take place under the roof of the University of Nicosia, while Dr Ioannis Giokaris, Adjunct Faculty Member of the School, will host and chair the presentation.
Abstract
Domestic violence between partners is currently a major issue in England as it is manifested through different types of abuse such as physical and emotional abuse that can affect individuals regardless of their characteristics such as gender, age, race, class, and sexuality. Although both men and women can be abused by their partners, research has shown that women constitute the majority of victims. For this reason, this seminar aims to provide an analysis of major themes regarding the response of the criminal justice system towards women’s victimisation by their intimate partners in England. Specifically, the analysis focuses on the physical and emotional abuse, and particularly, the criminal laws that aim to prevent these types of abuse, their interpretation by the courts, and their implementation by the criminal justice agencies. Moreover, criminological theories, and more specifically, feminist criminological theories on domestic violence will be discussed in order to provide insight on a theoretical approach that aims to improve the criminal justice system response regarding the prevention of domestic violence crimes and the protection of its victims. Domestic violence crimes can be manifested through a single incident but also through a repetitive pattern of abuse that can cause serious consequences to the physical and emotional well-being of the victims. For this reason, the criminal justice system response, shaped by an appropriate criminological perspective, is crucial for the prevention of abuse between partners.
About Dr Foteini Kyriakopoulou
Dr Foteini Kyriakopoulou-Kollia is an attorney of the Supreme Court level in Greece and currently practices law in Athens at the Law Firm “Law Help”, in which she is involved with cases of Criminal Law, Civil Law, and Commercial Law. She obtained her Bachelor in Law (LLB) from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece) and afterwards she completed two Master degrees (LLM) at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University (New York, USA) with focus on Criminal Law. Moreover, she studied at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (New York, USA), from which she obtained her third Master Degree (MA) in Criminal Justice with specialisation in Criminology and Deviance. During her Master degrees, she had the opportunity to develop her research interests on crimes against women such as domestic violence, marital rape, and the social profile of sexual predators serial killers. During her stay in New York, she worked in the non-profit organisation of HIAS in Immigration Law cases. Subsequently, she furthered her specialisation on criminal law, criminology, criminal justice, and domestic violence during her PhD studies. Specifically, she pursued her PhD at the Law School of Newcastle University (UK), where she completed her thesis with the title ‘A Feminist Criminological Critique of the Criminal Justice System and the Whole-system Response towards Female Victims of Intimate Partner Abuse’. Moreover, during her stay in the UK she participated in conferences by promoting through presentations the issues of women’s victimisation by their intimate partners. Additionally, she worked as a teaching assistant at the Research Training programme of Newcastle University and has been certified in teaching as an Associate Fellow by the Higher Education Academy in the UK.
