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Research into increasing the safety of women and girls in Nottinghamshire receives Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community award

Researchers from Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and the University of Nottingham have received the Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community trophy at the seventeenth annual THE Awards for their work evaluating the success of Nottinghamshire Police’s misogyny hate crime policy in increasing safety for women and girls.

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    Research into misogyny hate crime has received the THE award for Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community

    The THE Awards – widely referred to as the ‘Oscars of higher education’ – are the biggest celebration in the HE calendar, attracting hundreds of entries from individuals, teams and institutions from all corners of the UK and Ireland.

    The winning project is a collaboration between researchers at Nottingham’s two universities, taking an evidence-based approach to addressing violence, abuse and harassment directed at women and girls, putting Nottinghamshire at the forefront of national change.

    The unique research project by Associate Professor Loretta Trickett, criminologist at Nottingham Law School, part of NTU, and University of Nottingham linguist, Professor Louise Mullany, studied the impact of Nottinghamshire Police’s policy of treating misogyny as a hate crime – said to be the first of its kind in the world – on members of the public, victims and police officers. This work has improved the safety of women and girls in public spaces in Nottinghamshire and in other communities across the UK, and has empowered them to report such crimes.

    A retired chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police said other police forces have now implemented similar policies and “the evidence base that this research provides has been compelling in making the difference.”

    Having reached an audience of more than 90 million people worldwide via online media, radio and TV, the research struck a chord not just in Nottingham’s local community but far beyond.

    The judges said this “timely and successful inter-university collaboration between a linguist and a criminologist” had not only “encouraged greater reporting by victims” but had also become “the ‘go‑to’ resource in law and policing”, been “rolled out across communities and educational institutions” and “led to the establishment from September 2021 of a national register of police records of gender/sex hate crimes.”

    THE editor, John Gill, said:“The Times Higher Education Awards have been recognising outstanding achievements in UK higher education for the best part of two decades, but never before have they shone a light on the level of effort and creativity that was demanded of universities throughout the 2019-20 academic year.

    “The response required, and delivered, in the face of a global pandemic was unique, and many of the awards submissions reflected those unprecedented circumstances.

    “But universities’ great strength is not just that they respond to circumstances, but that they also provide a level of constancy at times of uncertainty and change.

    “2019-20 was not just a year of pandemic disruption, it was also a year in which incredible achievements were made in all the areas you would hope and expect: world-changing research, brilliant learning and teaching, international and industrial engagement, and the full gamut of activities that run through universities like words through a stick of rock.”

    The THE Awards entry window opened in Spring 2021, and primarily focused on activity during the 2019-20 academic year.

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      About Nottingham Trent University

      Nottingham Trent University (NTU) was named University of the Year 2019 in the Guardian University Awards. The award was based on performance and improvement in the Guardian University Guide, retention of students from low-participation areas and attainment of BME students.

      NTU was also the Times Higher Education University of the Year 2017, and The Times and Sunday Times Modern University of the Year 2018. These awards recognise NTU for its high levels of student satisfaction, its quality of teaching, its engagement with employers, and its overall student experience.

      It is one of the largest UK universities. With over 37,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across four campuses, the University injects £1.6bn into the UK economy. It has been the largest recruiter of UK undergraduates in each of the last four years. With an international student population of more than 6,000 and an NTU community representing around 160 countries, the University prides itself on its global outlook.

      The university is passionate about creating opportunities and its extensive outreach programme is designed to enable NTU to be a vehicle for social mobility. NTU is among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and was awarded University of the Year in the UK Social Mobility Awards 2019.

    Published on 26 November 2021
    • Category: Press office; Nottingham Law School