CSEL Members
Amina Memon (@aminamemon.bsky.social)
Professor of Psychology, Royal Holloway
Research Interests: Amina’s research in social and cognitive psychology contributed to best practice in forensic interviews of vulnerable witnesses. Her studies have included children, individuals with autism, seniors, police officers and judges.Current projects include assessing credibility and reliability of witness testimony, cognitive/social biases on decision making and characteristics of memory reports of victims of single and repeated childhood trauma. In 2017, she received the Economic and Social Research Council Outstanding Impact on Public Policy Prize.
Contribution to CSEL: Amina is co-director of the Centre. Her research on information gathering in legal contexts and contextual influences (including emotion) on judgement of accuracy, truthfulness and credibility led her to forge this new interdisciplinary focus. She is currently funded by Unbound Philanthropy to disseminate research on psychological issues pertinent to children and adults seeking international protection.
Jill Marshall (@JillMarshallLAW)
Professor of Law, Royal Holloway
Qualified and practising solicitor, admitted England and Wales 1992
Research Interests: Jill is a Human Rights lawyer. Her work focuses on the relationship between law and living well, human flourishing, what it means to be free, with a focus on women’s human rights. This includes analysis of conceptions of privacy, freedom, care, belonging and recognition and how they relate to the purpose of law, including human rights and anti-discrimination law purporting to protect aspects of our personal freedom, dignity and identities. She carries out human rights consultancy work. Current projects include analysing secrecy and confidentiality in pregnancy and childbirth, ‘baby boxes’, ‘children born of conflict’, freedom of religion, expression and identity especially through dress. She has written widely on these topics and is the author of three books including Human Rights Law and Personal Identity (Routledge 2014). She is Royal Holloway’s human rights research cluster lead for Global Challenges Research Fund work.
Contribution to CSEL: Jill is co-director of the Centre. Her research on the underlying purpose of law and its connection, or disconnection, to our everyday lives led her to seek out inter-disciplinary collaborations to investigate issues from many expert perspectives and to foster debate to advance knowledge and understanding.
Jane Herlihy
Clinical Psychologist; Honorary Research Fellow, CSEL; Honorary Lecturer UCL
Research Interests: Jane’s particular interest is in the contribution that psychological knowledge and empirical research can make to the establishment of fair and humane processes for those fleeing persecution and seeking justice. A process that relies so heavily on credibility assessment, which in turn relies on the presentation of a narrative, must entail an understanding of memory, traumatic memory, disclosure, intercultural communication and the effects of mental health on all of these processes as well as on the decision makers themselves.
Contribution to CSEL: Jane was the co-founder and executive director of the Centre for the Study of Emotion & Law in the charitable sector (2005-2017), prior to its adoption into RHUL. She has published in the scientific and law literature and presented widely to clinicians, lawyers, judges and state decision-makers, examining and interrogating the contribution that psychological science can make to fair and just refugee status decision-making. Jane continues to promote and develop research examining the role of psychological processes in refugee status determination. Jane is currently working with Hilary Evans Cameron to bring the field of cognitive psychology to the law of evidence to improve the law and practice of Canadian refugee status decision-making funded by Bridging Provides.
Zoe Given-Wilson
Clinical Psychologist and Postdoctoral Researcher, Royal Holloway
Research Interests: Zoe’s research focuses on issues relating to young people seeking protection from persecution or danger. This research has included credibility indicators used in assessment of asylum claims such as limitation of autobiographical memory, developmental considerations, trauma and depression and cultural differences. Zoe has also investigated decision-making and interview practices and how these influence the detail and quality of information provided by interviewees.
Contribution to CSEL: Zoe is a researcher for CSEL. She conducts research and disseminate research findings on psychological issues pertinent to children and adults seeking international protection. Zoe has contributed to UNHCR guidance on credibility assessment in young people, UK Home Office training for asylum case workers and European Union Agency for Asylum Asylum training as well as working along side third sector organisations in the field of asylum.
Gary P. Brown (@paperbag1)
Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Royal Holloway
Research Interests: Gary’s research concerns measurement in clinical psychology, with a focus on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and especially the central challenge of translating findings from the research literature to the idiosyncratic needs of those seeking services in applied contexts such as psychotherapy, which depends critically on valid and precise measurement and parallel understandings of phenomena at the population and individual levels. Another central focus is on improving the extent to which self-report measures can be relied upon. Gary has been involved in the development of a number of the key measures used in the CBT field.
Contribution to CSEL: Gary’s research contributes to greater understanding of trauma including its measurment and longitudinal impacts of trauma. He is currenlty supervising a doctoral student systematic review of the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the risk on women’s sexual health and an empirical study in veterans the relationship between adverse childhood experience, potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs), and Physical Health. Gary also collaborates with health services and third sector on trauma related projects. For example currently Gary is working with Springfield Hospital and Cambridge University to evaluate longitudinal assessments of individuals with PTSD and with the Berkshire Trauma Service evaluating a measure of dissociation.
Hilary Evans Cameron
Research interests: A former litigator, Hilary Evans Cameron represented refugee claimants for a decade and now holds a doctorate in refugee law from the University of Toronto. Her research explores fact-finding in refugee status decision-making with a focus on credibility assessment. Her recent book investigates the law that governs these kinds of judgments in Canada and internationally (Refugee Law’s Fact-finding Crisis: Truth, Risk, and the Wrong Mistake, Cambridge 2018). Her interdisciplinary research also looks to the social sciences – principally psychology, but also sociology, anthropology, economics, and political science – to evaluate the assumptions that guide refugee status decision-makers.
Contributions to CSEL: Hilary is working together with colleagues at the CSEL to bring social scientific insights to bear on refugee status decision-making. She also looks forward to future such collaborations. Hilary Evans Cameron is currently funded by Bridging Provides to bring the field of cognitive psychology to the law of evidence to improve the law and practice of Canadian refugee status decision-making.
Sharron A. FitzGerald (@SharronAFitzGe1)
Senior Scholar in Criminology and the Sociology of Law, University of Oslo, Norway and Executive Director of the LEX Research Network
Research interests: Sharron’s research interests and expertise lie at the intersection of mobility, gender, sexuality and law. She has conducted large and small scale empirical and theoretical research in the areas of human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, sex work, sexual politics, gender equality law and policy and migration from the Global South to the European Union. Sharron is an experienced social scientist and has expertise in qualitative research methods and fieldwork, including psychosocial approaches to researching ‘vulnerable’ and ‘difficult to reach’ groups.
She has written widely on these issues and is the author of four books including Sexual Politics in Contemporary Europe (Palgrave MacMillan 2022). Sharron is the Founder and Executive Director of LEX an international Research Hub focused on research at the intersection of law, gender and sexuality. Current projects include Medical, Legal and Lay Understandings of Physical Evidence in Rape Cases (Evidently Rape) with May-Len Skilbrei.
Contributions to CSEL: Sharron will participate in collaborative and transdisciplinary research with other centre members. These collaborations will include the development of research links that advance the Centre’s profile and interests internationally. She will contribute her expertise and empirically and theoretically grounded knowledge to support CSEL
Louisa Morrison
Louisa Morrison is a clinical psychologist with a special interest in child mental health and in particular child trauma, as well as the impact of working with traumatised individuals on the people working with them. She currently works in a service supporting foster carers and the children in their care.
Having completed her doctoral thesis with CSEL on the impact of interpreting emotional information on interpreters, Louisa is keen to remain connected with the CSEL community, to maintain her link to research work. She is hoping over time to continue disseminating the findings of her doctoral research with CSEL. Additionally, CSEL’s research on the interface between psychology and law is integral to many aspects of her clinical work with traumatised young people.
CSEL Student Members
Marria Riaz
Masters in Forensic Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London
Research interests: Marria is currenly undertaking a Masters in Forensic Psychology whilst working as a Research Assistant for both CSEL, Royal Holloway and Buckinghamshire New University. Her research interests include neurodiversity in the criminal justice system, with a passion for driving meaningful change for vulnerable populations.
Contribution to CSEL: Marria is working on a project to imrpove understanding of impact of use of digital techonology in the asylum system along with Professor Amina Memon, Professor Gill Marshall and Dr Zoe Given-Wilson. She is coordinating focus groups with people with lived experience of the asylum system and professionals working in asylum and refugee issues to identify the key opportunities and challenges of harnessing digital technology in the asylum process.
Zeast Kamal
Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London
Research interests: Zeast’s research interests are centred around the psychological wellbeing of police officers, particularly in relation to trauma exposure and its subsequent impact. She is keenly focused on how the constant exposure to traumatic events, such as those encountered in child abuse and exploitation cases, affects police officers’ mental health, including the prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Complex PTSD, compassion fatigue, and burnout. Additionally, Zeast is interested in exploring the systemic impact of trauma within police organisations and the role of protective factors in mitigating these adverse effects.
Contribution to CSEL: Zeast is a Trainee Clinical Psychologist on the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Royal Holloway. As part of her doctoral thesis, Zeast is working with Professor Amina Memon and Dr Zoe Given-Wilson on a research project that investigates the emotional impact on police officers working in the domain of child abuse and exploitation. Building on previous data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, which indicated high levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress in this workforce, Zeast aims to conduct further exploration and data collection to identify risk and protective factors among officers exposed to explicit graphic material and those directly interacting with traumatised children. The goal is to contribute to the evidence base for effective trauma-informed interventions within the police force.
Isabella Da Re
PhD student in the Department of Law and Criminology, Royal Holloway, University of London
Research Interests: Isabella’s broader research interests are in the remits of Violence Against Women (VAW), domestic violence and sexual violence in conflict, particularly from a feminist perspective. Her current research focuses on the conceptualisation of ‘female suffering’ in International Human Rights Law (IHRL), which aims to provide an interpretative framework broadening the current androcentric nature of IHRL by integrating female realities, feelings, and experiences of suffering.
Contribution to CSEL: Isabella is a PhD student in the Department of Law and Criminology at Royal Holloway, University of London. She is working with Professor Jill Marshall and plans to engage with members of CSEL on interdisciplinary research, especially in the fields of Violence Against Women, and participate in the centre’s seminars and projects.
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Emma Bailey
Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Graduate, Royal Holloway, University of London.
Research interests: Emma’s research interests are primarily in the remits of trauma, particularly within asylum-seeker and refugee populations. She is interested in how Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder may impact an asylum-seeker’s claim and the mechanisms underlying this, including the role of deceptive cues. Additionally, she is interested in the development of trauma-informed approaches and is currently writing up a small-scale service evaluation on the use of such approaches in an acute inpatient setting. She hopes to incorporate research on trauma-informed approaches within the field of law in her systematic review as part of her doctoral thesis.
Contribution to CSEL: Emma completed her doctorate in clinical psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London. As part of her doctoral thesis, she worked with Professor Amina Memon and Dr Zoe Given-Wilson investigating how behaviours associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, expectations and emotions might impact credibility judgements in a mock asylum-seeker interview. Emma is working on publishing her results.
Gaia Giampietro
PhD student in the Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London
Research interests: Gaia’s broader research interests lie in eyewitness testimony and identification. As a direct continuation of her MSc Forensic Psychology dissertation, her current research explores the impact of altered face distinctiveness on eyewitness performance during forensic lineups, striving to improve accuracy of eyewitness identification in real-world forensic contexts. In the future, Gaia would moreover like to be involved in research within the area of deception detection.
Contribution to CSEL: Gaia is a PhD student in the department of Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London. Gaia is eager to collaborate with CSEL members, particularly in inter-disciplinary research concerning judgement of accuracy and credibility in forensic contexts. She moreover looks forward to get involved in organising and helping promote the work of CSEL.