Personal statement

I am a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Work and Social Policy at the University of Strathclyde, where I was recruited in 2015 to establish the Social Policy undergraduate programme. Prior to this, I held academic posts in the University of Bristol where I was a long serving member of the Centre for Gender and Violence Research (School for Policy Studies) and I played a foundational role as an original member in the establishment of the Connect Centre for International Research on Interpersonal Violence and Harm (University of Central Lancashire).

I have a well-established track record of investigating and publishing in the fields of gender-based violence and violence against women and children. My research is driven by a commitment to reducing harm and promoting equity and social justice. It is grounded in collaboration, ethical practice, and a belief in the transformative potential of education and research to challenge and address sex- and gender-based inequality, violence, and abuse. I work closely with third-sector organisations and policymakers to ensure that research translates into practice, and my work has directly shaped both UK and Scottish Government policy.

My recent work includes a health-based gender-based violence intervention in Kenya funded by Collaborative Cultures. This project established a new international partnership between Save Kenya, a Kenyan NGO, and IRISi, a UK-based third-sector organisation. Since receiving the award in November 2024, we have worked with health-care practitioners across four sites in three Kenyan regions, employing a blended model of in-person engagement and digital communication to navigate geographical and logistical challenges.

Recent research outputs include work with Professor Karen Boyle and Melody House on Trigger Warnings in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences resulting in recommendations for  content notifications and two journal articles (Boyle, McCarry and House, 2025; McCarry, Boyle and House, 2025). I have also recently published on needle spiking with Prof Nicole Westmarland (Westmarland and McCarry, 2025). Prior to this I led the pioneering Equally Safe in Higher Education project which created the nationally mandated  Equally Safe Toolkit.  

All my teaching is evidence based and informed by my research. I teach widely across various undergraduate and masters programmes including the BA Humanities and Social Science degree programme (from first to honours level), MSc Applied Gender Studies, MSc Social Policy / Social Policy (Research Methods), MSc Criminology and Social Policy, and the BA and MSW Social Work programmes.

I am an experienced PhD supervisor and examiner, and I welcome applications from prospective students interested in researching gender-based violence, violence against women, domestic abuse, sexual violence, forced marriage, gender constructions - particularly masculinity, health interventions, intersectionality, and feminist theoretical frameworks and methodologies. Current and previous PhD topics include: the ‘manosphere’ and sexual violence, ‘Honour’ killings in Pakistan, South Asian women’s experience of coercive control in Scotland, gender-based violence and refugee women in Greek refugee camps, female genital cutting in Scotland, domestic violence prevention in India and rape and UK consent law.