Niámh is a PhD student currently studying at the University of Brighton, her research is funded by the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership.

This research explores the invisibility of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in the Northern Irish conflict (1968 and 1998) and the implications of shedding light on this phenomenon on social policy and policy processes. This study aims to explore the invisibility of SGBV by exploring the perceived ‘public’ and ‘private’ occurrences of this violence, in the context of the conflict in Northern Ireland. Through this, this research explores State perpetuated SGBV as ‘public’ violence, the manifestation of the conflict within ‘private’ forms of SGBV, alongside how the intersections of religious ideology, political identity, and gender impact on this.

This research utilises an ‘Oral History’ interview approach, designed with intent of engaging with and paying respect to the longstanding tradition of storytelling in Irish history. Established through Niámh’s previous volunteer work, this research has the support and involvement of various women’s organisations located within the North of Ireland. Niámh has also previously studied a Bachelor of Laws before obtaining her Master’s degree in Human Rights Law with Distinction at Queen’s University Belfast.

Conflict, Migration & Social Change Gender, Sexuality & Power