Powerful Perpetrators

Welcome to our quarterly project update. Since our last newsletter, we’ve been laying the foundations for data collection and planning for what promises to be a very busy 2025. Scroll down to read more about the latest news, developments, and project activities that have been happening since the Autumn.   

Powerful Perpetrators is a 5-year European Research Council awarded/UKRI funded project looking at sexual misconduct and abuse perpetrated by UK professionals, and the regulatory and administrative justice mechanisms used to investigate and sanction their behaviour. In particular, the project focuses on professions that have a guardianship role (the police, the military, barristers, judges and politicians) or a confidante role (the clergy, doctors and psychiatrists) in society.   

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What we’ve been doing

We have now launched our survey, begun interviews, and created opportunities for you to feedback on the project. Information on how to get involved can be found here. If you are able, please do re-share our posts on X/Twitter and BlueSky, and share the downloadable study flier below within your networks:  

Some of the other highlights from the past 3 months:  

• We have been approaching the different regulators to establish what data is held on sexual misconduct across the various professions and what datasets we might be able to build from this. 

• We wrote to the BMJ about sexual misconduct perpetrated by doctors. You can see our commentary here.  

• In December, Emma spoke at a screening of the play, Prima Facie at King’s College London hosted by the Violence, Abuse and Mental Health Network (VAMHN)  

• Hannah co-convened a knowledge exchange workshop at the National Army Museum. The workshop brought together researchers and stakeholders within Defence to explore collaboration and criticality in research on the military.    

• Hannah and Emma presented a paper exploring ideas of secrecy and transparency in administrative justice mechanisms at SPIN’s annual colloquium.  

Data update

Our survey is already gathering a lot of interest. We would like to thank our academic and NGO colleagues who reviewed the draft survey and made it infinitely better with comments and suggestions: 

• Sara Kirkpatrick, CEO of Welsh Women’s Aid;  

• Dr Anna Bull, Senior Lecturer, University of York, and co-founder and director of The 1752 Group;  

• Dr Katie Thorlby, Research and Impact Manager, Beyond the Streets;  

• Dr Sandi Dheensa, Research Fellow, University of Bristol Medical School. 

We have also started our interviews with people who work on professional misconduct cases (regulators, journalists, legal counsel). If you are interested in talking to us, there is more information about how to arrange an interview here.   

Interesting news

• Religious leaders: John Smyth QC: Decades of abuse covered up by church, report says – BBC News 
• Police: Met Police: PCs Jerome Beasley and Luke Robinson deny sex assault – BBC News 
• Politicians: Political parties to hand role of investigating misconduct by MPs to independent body | House of Commons | The Guardian 
• Politicians: Ex-Tory MP reprimanded for ‘brazen’ sexual misconduct | House of Commons | The Guardian 
• Doctors: Mohamed al-Fayed: Accusers to complain to doctors’ regulator after tests – BBC News 
• Doctors: Struck-off sex GP still medically advising private patients – BBC News 
• Military personnel: Hundreds of men sexually abused in British military | openDemocracy 
• Military personnel: British army to investigate conduct of troops in Kenya amid rape and murder claims | Ministry of Defence | The Guardian 
• Barristers: Jo Sidhu KC committed sexual misconduct, says tribunal – Tortoise 
• Barristers: Barrister barred from legal profession following rape conviction  – Legal Cheek 

Political developments

• The Worker Protection Act came into force in October 2024. The Act places duties on employers take a more proactive and preventative approach to protecting their employees from workplace sexual harassment. 
• The NHS launched a new policy and framework that will allow NHS staff to anonymously report incidents of sexual misconduct.  
• Child Rights International Network published their report into the exploitation and abuse of British Army trainees taking place at the Army Foundation College between 2014-2024. 

Upcoming events

Nate and Hannah will be travelling to the International Studies Association Annual Convention in Chicago this March, where they will be presenting our preliminary thoughts on how sexual misconduct manifests amongst police and military personnel.  

What we’ve been reading

As part of our fortnightly ‘Kitchen Table’ meetings (focused on managing work and wellbeing) we read and discussed Audre Lorde’s open letter to Mary Daly from 1979, and (tangentially) have been watching Audre Lorde Interview Series – YouTube. 

We’ve also been exploring the emerging literature on the concept of sexual corruption which has given us a lot of food for thought! Thanks to Dr Sam Power for coming to speak to us about his work on corruption in politics, and to the team of Elin Bjarnegård, Dolores Calvo, Åsa Eldén, Silje Lundgren, Sofia Jonsson, Amy Alexander, and Lena Wängnerud who have just received a grant for further investigating sexual corruption in the Swedish context. 

Emma and Hannah have also been delving back into Sara Ahmed’s brilliant book, ‘Complaint’. 

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter, and we hope to hear from some of you in due course!

All the best, 

Natasha, Nate, Emma, and Hannah (The PP team) 

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