Kirsten is a third year PhD candidate at Queen’s University Belfast researching the feasibility and viability of the use of a victim-led restorative justice system for cases of serious sexual violence in Northern Ireland.

This research is a qualitative study seeking to listen to the voices of the relevant stakeholders including victim-survivors, offenders and professionals who work in criminal justice, the support sector and restorative justice organisations. The project comes as a reaction to the Gillen Review and as such is in partnership with the Department of Justice and Queen’s University Belfast.

Previous to moving to Belfast, Kirsten studied for a MRes in Criminology at the University of Glasgow in 2019, receiving a Merit. Her dissertation, which received a Distinction, consisted of a policy analysis using Carol Bacchi’s WPR framework to assess Scotland’s current policy regarding the use of restorative justice and how it would affect cases of gender-based violence.

Kirsten also competed her undergraduate degree at the University of Aberdeen doing a joint honours in Sociology and Politics between 2015-2019.

Criminal Justice & Legal Reform Trauma, Mental Health & Recovery