Michelle Cunliffe

Role

Michelle Cunliffe is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology and the module leader for Explaining Crime. She also contributes to the year one module Conversations in Criminology and the year two module Applied Criminology. She supervises undergraduate dissertations and acts as a personal tutor, supporting students throughout their academic journey.

Her teaching is shaped by her own experience as a non-traditional student with a diverse career background. She is committed to inclusive education and to creating supportive learning environments where students feel confident to engage and succeed.

Michelle’s research focuses on sexual harassment in the night-time economy. She is currently undertaking a PhD in Psychology with a thesis titled Unwanted Sexual Attention in the Night-Time Economy. Her wider academic interests include sexual violence, violence against women and girls, feminist criminology, intersectionality, and social class.

Career overview

Michelle began teaching in 2013 on Access to Higher Education programmes and has since taught across a range of qualifications, including BTECs, GCSEs, and A-Levels. Before joining NTU, she worked in the voluntary sector, including as a Young Women’s Independent Sexual Violence Advocate at Nottinghamshire SVS Services (formerly Nottingham Rape Crisis), and as a volunteer for the ChildLine Schools Service. These roles have deeply informed her academic and pedagogic approaches.

External activity

Michelle is currently working on a QR-funded pilot study in collaboration with Central Women’s Aid, evaluating the effectiveness of a victim/survivor programme developed by the organisation.

Her previously funded projects include:

• Addressing Domestic Violence: Developing a Shared Understanding of the Evidence on Domestic Violence in the Midlands
• Building Knowledge Exchange: Domestic Violence and its Impact on Individuals, Families and Communities in the Midlands
• Closing the Gap: Building Knowledge Exchange between the Forensic Mental Health Sector and NTU Psychology
• Understanding Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) (Home Office)

Professional and voluntary experience includes:

• Young Women’s Independent Sexual Violence Advocate, Nottinghamshire SVS Services (formerly Nottingham Rape Crisis)
  • Provided advocacy and support to young women who had experienced sexual violence
  • Worked within a multi-agency safeguarding framework
• Programme Volunteer, ChildLine Schools Service, NSPCC
  • Delivered assemblies and classroom workshops to children aged 9 to 11
  • Helped deliver the Speak out Stay safe programme using the NSPCC mascot, Buddy, to introduce topics such as bullying and abuse in a child-friendly and age-appropriate way
  • Supported children in identifying safe adults they could speak to if they were worried about themselves or a friend
  • Promoted awareness of ChildLine and the support it offers
  • Worked within NSPCC child protection guidelines

Michelle is happy to speak on issues related to sexual violence in the night-time economy and welcomes opportunities for collaboration, public engagement, or knowledge exchange in this area.