Since I have now reached the half-way point of my research, I thought I would share some reflections and thoughts so far.
My thoughts on my research:
Since my research is literature based, the bulk of my work thus far had been gathering and reading literature. Since I have now finished my fourth week, the work has moved to deciphering key themes and ideas that are intrinsic to building the big picture on the situation. I have read a variety (about 60 in total) articles on all different aspects of the different social groups and am now at the point where I need to almost join them all together. The best way to think about this is that I have now identified all the relevant puzzle pieces and am now putting the puzzle together. This part of the project has been the most rewarding so far because it feels like all my individual ideas are joining together and I can really grasp the issues at hand.
My thoughts on completing a self-defined project:
Completing a self-defined research project had really forced me to practise the leaderships skills I started consciously developing during my two residentials (which were really enjoyable). Something that has stood out to me so far regards the independence and self-motivation required. Whilst I have weekly meetings with my AMAZING supervisor Rebecca Shaw (from the law school not the Laidlaw network), this project has really forced me to hold myself accountable. I have to set myself targets to ensure I stay on track and cultivate habits to ensure my research gets completed. I have done this by treating it like a 9-5 job and having daily reflections to consider that the research is maintaining in line with the topic.
My interest in my topic has almost caused me problems. I know this sounds absurd but let me explain; this is because I find my project so interesting that it is really easy to go down a rabbit hole of researching an irrelevant but still slightly linked topic (and i will admit I have done this once or twice :) ). In order to make sure I stay on topic, I think it comes down to being a conscious researcher; being conscious that the research is staying in line with the topic.
Moving forward:
Anyways, (enough of my rambling!), moving into the final 2 weeks of my research, I cannot wait to see the progression in my research. My plan is to finish identifying the themes, writing my reflective report and disseminating to a number of academics within the school of law. I am so excited to continue with the project and continue developing my knowledge on this extremely interesting topic.
Hi, my name is Poppy and I am a University of Leeds Law Student. This undergraduate study has developed my passion of how the law applies to different groups of invididuals with a particular focus on the inadequate treatment of women. This interest led me to propose a self-defined research project which I completed last summer. This surrounds how women who have been domestically abused from various social groups are treated differently by the criminal justice system. I am focusing on England and Wales since this is my jurisdiction. The social groups that I am considering are BAME, LGBTQ+ and disabled women and effectively contrasting this to the experiences of the white heterosexual woman. I am so excited to start this research and be able to inspire positive societal change through hopefully flagging up areas for further governmental emphasis.
I am currently on my LIA at GVI Ghana undertaking both a Gender Equality for Girls and Justice, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Internship.
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