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Events
Women’s Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence and Substance Use
- Time
- 1pm - 3pm
- Date
- 27 Nov 2025
- Duration
- 2 hour(s)
- Location
- The Hub, The Shtepps
- Presenters
Dr Sarah Morton (UCD), Dr James Windle (UCC) and Dr Joan Cronin (UCC)
- Keywords
- ISS21, Crime and Social Harm (CSH) Research Cluster
- Registration Required
- No
- Organising Department
A Seminar hosted by the UCC Department of Sociology and Criminology, and ISS21 Crime and Social Harm (CSH) Research Cluster
Seminar Background
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a widespread problem with an estimated 35 percent of women in Ireland reporting experiences of psychological, sexual or physical violence during their lifetime. A growing body of research has identified how IPV and problematic drug use are intertwined in complex ways, and that IPV can represent a significant barrier to individuals entering into treatment and recovery processes.
This seminar will be a conversation between researchers on two separate projects conducted in Cork and Dublin. Both projects, which were funded by Research Ireland New Foundations, conducted semi-structured interviews with women who had used addiction services. Many participants had been victims of IPV.
During the seminar, we will first introduce the two research projects and key findings. We will then open a dialogue around similarities and differences in data collection and findings.
Reports
- Report Available here: Morton, S., Gallagher, B. and McLoughlin, E. (2023). 'You can't fix this in six months': The intersectionality of women's substance use in the Irish context. University College Dublin and Merchants Quay Ireland.
- Journal article: Windle, J., & Cronin, J. (2025). From denial to pregnancy and motherhood to 'gender informed'? Women and Ireland's alcohol and drug strategies, 1996-2025. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy.
Biographies
Dr Sarah Morton is Director of the Community Partnership Drugs Programme and Assistant Professor in Community Engagement, University College Dublin. Over the previous ten years, she has focussed on the interplay of domestic violence and substance use in families, as well as leading organisation-based and international research and practice development in relation to drugs, alcohol and policy development. Recent policy development contributions have included; joint author of the Council of Europe Implementing a Gender Approach in Drug Policies (2022) handbook; and a member of the National Oversight Committee for Ireland’s National Drug Strategy (NDS) from 2022 to 2024; and chairing the Strategic Implementation Group on Evidence and Evaluation as part of the NDS implementation.
Dr James Windle is Senior Lecturer in Criminology at University College Cork. His primary research focus has been on the history of prohibition, illicit drug markets and drug policy. His books include The Desistance Journey: Into Recover and Out of Chaos (Palgrave, 2018), Giving Voice to Diversity in Criminological Research: 'Nothing about Us without Us' (Policy, 2022), Criminology, Crime and Justice in Ireland: An Introduction (Routledge, 2022), and The Role of Lived Experience in Criminal Justice Research Policy and Practice (Routledge, forthcoming).
Dr Joan Cronin is a Lecturer in Criminology and Sociology at University College Cork. Joan's research is informed by different strands of criminology, sociology, gender and feminism. In 2020, Joan was commissioned by Open Clasp Theatre Company to develop a CPD on Gender Matters and Women's Experiences in the Criminal Justice System. Together with Prof. Maggie O'Neill, Joan devised a suite of teaching resources using creative, participatory and convivial teaching and learning practices to critically reflect on women's lived experiences of including intersections of homelessness, probation, imprisonment, coercive control, domestic and intimate partner violence.