Nicole Westmarland

Professor Nicole Westmarland (born 1977) is an internationally recognised British academic and activist in the area of violence against women. She is currently a professor at the University of Durham, where she researches rape, domestic violence and prostitution . Westmarland is also the Director and co-founder of the Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse , a multidisciplinary centre dedicated to understanding and responding to violence and abuse. She has authored six influential books, including her 2015 published book Violence against Women: Criminological perspectives on men’s violences. Originally a taxi driver in Darlington, Westmarland’s early work focused on security issues for female taxi drivers. Her undergraduate dissertation found that female drivers were significantly more likely to face sexual harassment from customers than their male counterparts. This work became one of the largest studies of taxi drivers worldwide.

Alongside her academic work, Westmarland is often in the news as a commentator on violence against women. She has appeared on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour and written articles for The Telegraph, The Guardian and the New Statesman. In 2007 Westmarland organised the 1st North East Conference on Sexual Violence, which brought together professionals from across various statutory and charity organisations to share knowledge and develop best practice in responding to sexual violence. The conference now runs annually in recognition of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Westmarland has sat on both governmental and non-governmental advisory panels, and has been a special advisor to the House of Commons and House of Lords Joint Committee on Human Rights for their inquiry into violence against women and girls. Professor Westmarland is Vice Chair of Rape Crisis Darlington and Durham and formerly chaired for over 5 years. She has been a trustee for Rape Crisis for over 25 years .

Biography Westmarland was born in 1977 in Darlington, County Durham, England. She began her academic career at the University of Teesside, where she studied for a BSc (Hons) in Psychology and Women's Studies. She then went on to study at the University of York, where she completed an MA in Women's Studies and a PhD in Social Policy and Social Work. and later International Approaches to Rape (2011). During her time in Bristol, Westmarland published a number of articles and official reports concerning violence against women, with a particular focus on domestic violence and prostitution. In addition to her academic work, Westmarland plays a significant role within grassroots feminist action and organisation, and it was through volunteering for feminist campaign "Truth about Rape" that she first became involved with Rape Crisis. In 2006, Westmarland became chair of Rape Crisis England and Wales, a position which she held for five years.

Following her time in Bristol, Westmarland returned to the North East to take up a position as lecturer in criminology at Durham University. In 2011, she was promoted to Senior Lecturer and gained her Professorship in 2013. She continues to combine academic work with feminist activism, allowing her research to both inform and be informed by grassroots groups. The organisation regularly features in Westmarland's work, with publications focusing upon assessment of the services provided by rape crisis centres, the Rape Crisis movement as a whole, and the lack of funding and concomitant closure of centres. found that women do not think that the police take rape, domestic violence and stalking as seriously as they should. The research, which surveyed 577 women across the North East and Cumbria, found that only half of women would report domestic violence (49%) or stalking (53%) if it happened to them. Whilst most women (89%) said that they would report rape by a stranger, fewer would choose to report rape if it was committed by someone they knew (68%). It was found that this pattern was similar across all four police areas in the region: Northumbria, Durham, Cumbria and Cleveland. Westmarland noted: We know that the police have put additional resources and effort into improving both victim care and investigations. However, this research shows women are still reluctant to make that first step and report these crimes to the police. Along with Jennifer Brown, Miranda Horvath and Liz Kelly, Westmarland authored a research review which summarised information about rape in the UK, including its prevalence, the support available to victim-survivors, the responses of the health and criminal justice services, and the effect of policy changes.

Westmarland and her colleagues were asked to report upon whether people's attitudes to rape have changed over time. To achieve this, they re-ran a survey which was originally carried out in 1977. Over 2000 participants filled in the survey online, and their responses were compared to those given in 1977. Opinions related to the victim-survivor had shifted: fewer people believed that a woman is responsible if she is raped (34% in 1977; 15% in 2010), and fewer people thought that the victim’s prior sexual experience should be taken into account in the punishment of those found guilty of rape (42% in 1977; 19% in 2010). Respondents were also asked how they would react if a man tried to rape them. In 1977, 65% of women said that they would resist, but in 2010, only 28% said they would resist, with the majority saying that they didn't know or that it would depend on the situation. Westmarland and colleagues suggest that this change may be due to a wider understanding of the different contexts in which rape takes place.

Domestic Violence Westmarland has conducted extensive research in the area of domestic abuse. In 2015 Westmarland collaborated with Liz Kelly and colleagues at the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, London Metropolitan University and Charlotte Watts at the Gender Violence and Health Centre, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on a landmark research programme called Project Mirabal, which evaluated Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programmes (DAPPs) . The research sought to assess the impact of community domestic violence perpetrator programmes on women and children's safety, as well as investigating specific factors that enable violent men to change their behaviour. The research was an independent investigation based upon key issues raised by perpetrator programme workers, via Respect, the UK's umbrella organisation for domestic violence perpetrator programmes.

In 2023, commissioned by the Home Office, Westmarland and Kelly published standards for perpetrator interventions. The project offered evidence-based standards for interventions with perpetrators of domestic abuse, these standards have been internationally recognised.

The Westmarland Review In 2017, Westmarland conducted an independent review into the University of Sussex's handling of a domestic abuse case with former student Alison Smith and former staff member Lee Salter . As a leading expert in the field of violence and abuse, Westmarland was commissioned to conduct the review by the University's Vice-Chancellor [at the time] Professor Adam Tickell to address the university's poor and good handling of the case. The review put forward a number of recommendations for university practice in handling cases of domestic abuse. After the publication of the report, a formal apology was issued from the university, after the review highlighted the institution's inadequate response.

Prostitution Westmarland's first book, International Approaches to Prostitution: Law and Policy in Europe and Asia. She also worked with Universities UK to create guidance to support universities' responses to spiking .