NOTA NI Journal Club:
Femicide in Northern Ireland during the COVID‐19 lockdown: A model for differentiating male offender characteristics
Johnston, R., Synnott, J., Ioannou, M., & Ashton, S.‐A. (2024). Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 21(1), 52–67. https://doi.org/10.1002/jip.1623
Facilitators: Rea Johnston, BSc. Hons. MSc. MBPsS, Trainee Forensic Psychologist, Shannon Clinic Regional Medium Secure Unit and co-author of the above paper. Femicide, the lethal form of gender-based violence against women, is a global health crisis that transcends class and ethnicity. To date, there is no working model for differentiating male femicide offenders within Northern Ireland (NI); this study aimed to do this, focusing on the timeframe of the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.
Sonya McMullan Women’s Aid Federation NI Regional Services Manager. Sonya is the Regional Services Manager for Women’s Aid Federation NI and has worked for Women’s Aid in different roles since 1999. Sonya has a background in law and a keen interest in legal issues in relation to domestic and sexual abuse and has completed several pieces of research in this area. More recently she has worked closely on the new Domestic Abuse Offence and subsequent new legislation in the areas of domestic and sexual abuse on a policy level. Sonya sits on the European Women’s Lobby Observatory as UK Representative and is the NI Delegate for WAVE, Women Against Violence Europe. She is also on the Board of Rosario Football Club and is their Safeguarding Lead.
Dates, Times & Venues:
Tuesday 25th November 2025 15:00 – 17:00, Queen’s University Belfast,Law School (Room 02.006) Moot Court, University Road, Belfast, BT7 1NN
Monday 9th March 2026 15:00 – 17:00, University of Ulster, Magee Campus, Room MU211
To confirm Attendance: email paul.stephenson@nspcc.org.uk

