Academic
Dr Elizabeth Bates
Dr Elizabeth Bates is an Associate Professor of Family Violence and Abuse at the University of Cumbria. Her PhD focused on the relationship of men’s and women’s partner violence to personality and psychopathology. Post-PhD, she has focused on working with male victims of domestic abuse and their children. She has published nearly over 45 peer review papers and three co-edited books. Dr Bates is also a committee member and Past Chair of the British Psychological Society’s Male Psychology Section, and a trustee of the ManKind Initiative, a UK-based male victims’ charity.
Professor Mike Hartill
Mike Hartill is Professor of Sociology of Sport at Edge Hill University and director of the Centre for Child Protection and Safeguarding in Sport (CPSS). Mike has conducted research into child sexual exploitation in sport for the past fifteen years, leading a number of national and international projects, such as the VOICE project, aimed at preventing abuse of children in sport. He has been particularly influential in highlighting the sexual abuse of boys within sports contexts and promoting better engagement with the victim-survivor community. Mike works with a wide range of organisations and charities within Europe and beyond. He served as the child protection in sport expert for the English Football Association’s independent review into allegations of child sexual abuse in football (Sheldon, 2021) and he recently led the CASES project, a large-scale prevalence study of abuse in European sport.
Professor Darren Langdridge
Darren is Professor of Psychology at the Open University (UK), and a United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) accredited existential psychotherapist. He has also previously been Visiting Professor at Aalborg University, Denmark (2011-18) and Seattle University, USA (2014). He has acted as Head of Department of Psychology and established the teaching of counselling at the OU. For many years Darren has researched and written on sex, sexualities, masculinities and health, publishing more than 100 books, papers and book chapters. Most recently, Darren has been focusing his research on male survivors of adult sexual assault, with a scoping review on the topic just published. He also has a keen interest in public engagement with academic research. This includes work as academic consultant on the OU/BBC television co-production Prejudice and Pride and co-leading the Art of Relationships project, designed to engage the public with social scientific research.
Dr Siobhan Weare
Dr Siobhan Weare is a Reader in Law at Lancaster University Law School. She is currently leading an ESRC funded research project, ‘Trial by Gender? Examining jury decision making in cases of rape and sexual abuse involving male victims.’ She previously co-led the JiCSAV (Justice in Covid-19 for Sexual Abuse and Violence) project, which was funded by the ESRC/UKRI Rapid Response to Covid-19. Siobhan researches in the area of sexual offences, criminal law, and criminal justice, and she conducted the first research project in the UK on forced-to-penetrate cases, capturing the experiences of male survivors. She was awarded funding from the British Academy to support this work. Siobhan’s research has been published in leading international journals and has also received extensive media coverage, including on the BBC, Channel 4 News, and LBC Radio. Her research has influenced both policy and practice related to supporting male survivors of sexual violence. Click the link for access to further information and Siobhan’s publications.
Dr Kennath Widanaralalage
Dr Kennath Widanaralalage is a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London. His research focuses on the experiences of male survivors of sexual violence across different age groups and ethnic backgrounds. He examines the processes of disclosure, recognition, and help-seeking, exploring how socio-cultural factors, masculinity norms, and institutional responses shape survivors’ access to support and justice. His work also investigates victim blaming, rape myth acceptance, and barriers within the criminal justice and mental health systems. He is particularly interested in how men’s experiences of sexual violence are perceived by society, professionals, and survivors themselves, and how these perceptions influence reporting, investigation, prosecution, and aftercare. Through empirical research, he aims to challenge misconceptions, improve service responses, and inform policies that enhance support and recognition for male survivors of sexual violence.
Doctoral Candidates
Kathryn Bovington
Kathryn is a Postgraduate Researcher and Graduate Teaching Assistant in Social Sciences at Edge Hill University. She received an MA in Criminology at the University of Manchester in 2018, having completed her undergraduate studies in Forensic Science at the University of Kent. She joined Edge Hill University in 2024 and is currently working on her PhD researching sexual violence against boys and men whilst teaching across several degree programmes at Edge Hill, including Sociology and Criminology. Her research interests are identity, gender, intersectional research, sexual violence and abuse, and qualitative research methods.
Kathryn is currently researching identity and male childhood sexual abuse survivorship. Her research aims to build a greater understanding of the way that identities, such as gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality, religion, disability and citizenship, shape the lives and experiences of men in the UK. Through interviews with stakeholders and life history research with men who have experienced childhood sexual abuse, the research focuses on developing current understanding of the unique challenges male survivors face depending on their identities and life circumstances. Ultimately, her research aims to inform support strategies to ensure more inclusive and effective systems are in place for men, and to inform further intersectional research on sexual violence.
Disha Handique
Disha is a Postgraduate Researcher and Graduate Teaching Assistant in Social Sciences at Edge Hill University. She began her journey at the university in 2024 and is currently pursuing her PhD on sexual violence against men and boys, while teaching courses in Criminology, and Social Policy and Welfare.
Her research focuses on how cultural and structural factors influence the experiences of male survivors of child sexual abuse when it comes to disclosure, with a comparative lens on the UK and India. She investigates how masculinity affects disclosure patterns, the obstacles to seeking help, and the societal responses in both nations. Utilizing qualitative methods like semi-structured interviews, qualitative questionnaires, and case studies, her work involves engaging with both survivors and professionals from NGOs and legal support systems.
With an academic background in Political Science and Social Work, her interests lie in gender advocacy, qualitative research methods, and sexual violence and abuse, especially concerning children and marginalised groups. Through her research and teaching, she aspires to enhance the understanding of masculinity, disclosure, and the support systems available for male survivors of sexual abuse, while contributing towards developing sensitised interventions.