Dr Lyndsey Harris: Responding to Complexity - How do we “change the story”?

Dr Lyndsey Harris is an Associate Professor in Criminology and Inaugural Director of Linc-Eval (Health and Wellbeing Evaluation Unit) at the University of Lincoln. Lyndsey has extensive qualitative research experience of conducting sensitive interviews with women. A committed feminist, Lyndsey leads the Lincolnshire Women and Girls Research Network. In recent years her research has centred on exploring the criminalisation and victimisation of women; seeking to drive improvement of services for women (especially those experiencing multiple and severe disadvantage [SMD]). Lyndsey was part of the team of researchers who explored women’s experiences of the criminal justice system for Lincolnshire Office of Police and Crime Commissioner/Safer Lincolnshire Partnership in 2020. This research contributed to the development of Lincolnshire Women’s Strategy and the creation of a Lincolnshire Concordat.  Dr Lyndsey Harris is a recognised ESRC Impact Leader and champions knowledge exchange and professional practice development; consequently, Lyndsey holds a number of positions in the East Midlands: For example, she is Vice-Chair of Lincolnshire Womens Strategy [Reducing female offending] Strategic Development Group and since 2016, Lyndsey has chaired a multi-agency community of practice: Response to Complexity (R2C) Steering Group for Nottingham City Council as an independent academic. R2C seeks to take a co-ordinated multi-agency response in delivering a service for women survivors of domestic and sexual violence and abuse (DSVA) experiencing SMD. More recently, Lyndsey was invited by Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care SMD Partnership to chair the Women’s SMD Workstream.  Her latest publication (2022) with Dr Lauren Hall has introduced a new concept, Desistance Emotional Work (DEW), which explores the gendered burden of desistance, and the resources women provide to their desisting partners. In her spare time, she combines her love of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (a season ticket holder) and her academic practice by chairing Wolves Equality Advisory Board and representing that group on the club’s Fan Advisory Board. Lyndsey hopes her research will help improve services for all women.