Project overview
The Accent Bias and Domestic Abuse Victimisation (ABDAVic) project is funded by an ESRC New Investigator Grant (£256,649.29).
The project builds on my recent work on the effects of pitch variation on victim perception, as recently published in Journal of Sociolinguistics (https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12723). The project is highly interdisciplinary, sitting at the intersection of sociolinguistics and criminology. Matthew will be mentored throughout the project by Professor Jenny Fleming (SSPC, FSS).
The first stage of the ABDAVic project will extend this research to a wider array of class and racialised accents, as well as a much bigger pool of participants. Using professional voice actors, Matthew will run perception experiments to examine the extent to which the accent/voice a person has influences how much credibility they are given by listeners when alleging abuse.
The second stage will involve conducting the same experiments with domestic abuse support workers to further interrogate the pervasiveness of victim stereotypes; this will be done in partnership with the Hampshire-based organisation Stop Domestic Abuse.
The final stage will involve working with a Southampton Public Policy Associate and partner organisation His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to create policy briefs and training materials on accent bias in a domestic abuse context.
The project builds on my recent work on the effects of pitch variation on victim perception, as recently published in Journal of Sociolinguistics (https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12723). The project is highly interdisciplinary, sitting at the intersection of sociolinguistics and criminology. Matthew will be mentored throughout the project by Professor Jenny Fleming (SSPC, FSS).
The first stage of the ABDAVic project will extend this research to a wider array of class and racialised accents, as well as a much bigger pool of participants. Using professional voice actors, Matthew will run perception experiments to examine the extent to which the accent/voice a person has influences how much credibility they are given by listeners when alleging abuse.
The second stage will involve conducting the same experiments with domestic abuse support workers to further interrogate the pervasiveness of victim stereotypes; this will be done in partnership with the Hampshire-based organisation Stop Domestic Abuse.
The final stage will involve working with a Southampton Public Policy Associate and partner organisation His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to create policy briefs and training materials on accent bias in a domestic abuse context.
