The title of my study is ‘Attitudes and Perceptions of Coercive Control in Queer Intimate Relationships’. This study is a comprehensive exploration of coercive control within the LGBTQIA+ community. It examines the community's attitudes, perspectives, and awareness of this form of abuse, as well as insights from practitioners. The research aims to potentially include the voices of harm users, providing a 360-degree view of how coercive control affects LGBTQIA+ individuals and how it manifests in intimate relationships.
I chose this PhD topic because it is deeply personal to me. Having experienced a coercively controlling relationship myself, I feel it's crucial to better understand these dynamics within the Queer community, a topic that has not been widely explored.
Before I started my PhD I was undertaking a multidisciplinary Masters in Social Inequalities at the University of Sunderland.
I enjoy contributing to a field that I believe is incredibly important. I love the process of research and the creation of new knowledge. Being part of this project and having ownership over such important work has been life-changing for me.
A PhD is much more independent compared to undergraduate or postgraduate study. You have very limited contact time with your supervisors, typically just one hour a month. This requires you to take full responsibility for driving and managing your own research project, something I found very difficult at the start of my studies, yet now find entirely rewarding.
Loughborough has good facilities for postgraduates. It largely depends on your subject and the community you engage with, but there are plenty of great resources and opportunities available on campus.
My advice would be go for it! But make sure you do your research first and make sure that a PhD is right for you. It requires a lot of dedication, but the reward comes once you have your data to analyse and start publishing your work. Good luck with the journey!
In five years, I see myself lecturing at a university, ideally teaching Queer Criminology, and continuing my research into domestic abuse within the queer community.