Dr Rachel Fenton
Associate Professor
Amory 109
Overview
Rachel Fenton's research interests lie in the areas of gender and the law, violence against women and assisted reproduction. She has published widely in these areas, including on Italian law. She joined Exeter in 2017.
Rachel has a particular interest in education about sexual offences. She set up the Women Law Students Forum at UWE and gained ESRC Festival of Social Science funding to work with her students and pupils at a local secondary school on tackling sexual violence, which was featured on BBC Regional news. She subsequently became the Project Lead for the Public Health England - funded work on bystander intervention for the prevention of sexual and domestic violence in university settings. The creation of the first evidence-based bystander programme for England, The Intervention Initiative, and accompanying research by Rachel and inter-disciplinary team at UWE has had significant impact on the higher education sector in the UK, being featured in the Government's Violence Against Women Action Plan, recommended by Universities UK and HEFCE and discussed in Parliament. Rachel has given over 30 invited talks to other universities about the research and implementation of bystander programming and has consulted for Universities UK, Universities Australia, HEFCE, NUS, ECU, Drinkaware and AMOSSHE amongst others. Rachel has given many interviews about her research on The Intervention Initiative, including on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC national news, BBC regional news. Rachel has appeared on The Sunday Politics Show and written articles in The Guardian and Times Higher Education. Whilst at UWE Rachel won the Vice-Chancellor's award for Outstanding Researcher of the Year with Impact, 2016.
Rachel holds a grant from Bristol City Council for the development and evaluation of a new version of The Intervention Initiative for communities.
Rachel has also been part of a UWE team led by Prof Phi Rumney on the evaluation of a police specialist rape investigation unit which gained British Academy, Leverhulme Trust and ESRC funding.
Rachel sits on the Editorial Advisory Board for the Journal of Gender-Based Violence.
Rachel is co-convenor with Ruth Lewis (Northumbria) of the Universities Against Gender-Based Violence (UAGBV) Network
(content trigger warning: rape) BBC national news coverage of The Intervention Initiative http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-37803968
(content trigger warning: rape) You can hear me speak about The Intervention Initiative along with students on Radio Five Live at one hour 35 minutes in http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b093lbn4#play
Follow me on twitter @rachelfenton72
Projects
- A Study of Bystander Experience of Domestic Violence and Abuse during the COVID-19 Pandemic - funded by: Public Health Wales
- Investigating Gender-Based Violence Intersectional (Dis)Advantages and Legal Duties - A Scoping Study of UK Universities - funded by: GW4
- Prevention of Violence Against Women through Bystander Intervention in Football and Sports - funded by: ESRC IAA Co-Creation Fund
- ABC: Active Bystander Communities - funded by: Bristol City Council, Devon County Council
- National study to investigate how British universities are challenging sexual violence and harassment on campus - funded by: SSIS ADR Discretionary Research Fund, SSIS. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Development Grant, UCLAN.
Publications
Copyright Notice: Any articles made available for download are for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the copyright holder.
| 2024 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2014 | 2013 | 2011 | 2010 | 2008 | 2005 |
2024
- Kovalenko AG, Fenton RA. (2024) Bystander Intervention in Football and Sports. A Quasi-Experimental Feasibility Study of a Bystander Violence Prevention Program in the United Kingdom, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, DOI:10.1177/08862605241239452. [PDF]
- Walker A, Fenton RA, Parry B, Barton ER, Snowdon LC, Donovan C, Bellis MA, Hughes K. (2024) Bystander experiences of domestic violence and abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic, Journal of Gender-Based Violence, pages 1-21, DOI:10.1332/23986808y2024d000000020.
2020
- donovan C, chantler K, Fenton R, bracewell K. (2020) Feminist Activism Amongst Academic Staff In The Movement To Address Gender Based Violence On Campus, book Collaborating for Change: Transforming Cultures to End Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education, OUP.
- Gainsbury AN, Fenton RA, Jones CA. (2020) From campus to communities: Evaluation of the first UK-based bystander programme for the prevention of domestic violence and abuse in general communities, BMC Public Health, volume 20, no. 1, DOI:10.1186/s12889-020-08519-6.
2019
- Gainsbury A, Fenton R, Jones C. (2019) A bystander programme to prevent domestic violence and abuse in UK general communities: evaluation of Active Bystander Communities, LANCET, volume 394, pages 42-42. [PDF]
- Chantler K, Donovan C, Fenton R, Bracewell K. (2019) Findings from a national study to investigate how British universities are challenging sexual violence and harassment on campus: Briefing Paper.
- Fenton RA, Jones C, Moss S, Cooke K. (2019) The challenges of developing and implementing a bystander intervention for the prevention of domestic violence and abuse in communities, Journal of Gender Based Violence.
- Fenton RA. (2019) The Globalisation of Assisted Reproduction: Vulnerability and Regulation, The Politics of Reproduction: Adoption, Abortion and Surrogacy in the Age of Neoliberalism, The Ohio State University Press.
2018
- Fenton RA, Mott HL. (2018) The Intervention initiative: Theoretical underpinnings, development and implementation, Gender Based Violence in University Communities: Policy, Prevention and Educational Initiatives, 169-188.
- Fenton RA, Mott HL. (2018) Evaluation of the Intervention Initiative: A Bystander Intervention Program to Prevent Violence Against Women in Universities, Violence and Victims, volume 33, no. 4, pages 645-662, DOI:10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-16-00074.
2017
- Fenton RA, Jones C. (2017) An Exploratory Study on the Beliefs about Gender-based Violence held by Incoming Undergraduates in England, Journal of Gender-Based Violence, DOI:10.1332/239868017X15090095609822.
- Fenton RA, Mott HL. (2017) The bystander approach to violence prevention: Considerations for implementation in Europe, Psychology of Violence, volume 7, no. 3, pages 450-458, DOI:10.1037/vio0000104. [PDF]
2016
- Rumney P, Fenton RA, Williams A, Solll J. (2016) A Comparative Analysis of Operation Bluestone: A Specialist Rape Investigation Unit - Summary Report, DOI:10.2139/ssrn.2911123.
- fenton R. (2016) Assisted Reproductive Technology Provision and the Vulnerability Thesis: From the UK to the Global Market, Vulnerability Reflections on a New Ethical Foundation for Law and Politics, Routledge.
- Fenton RA. (2016) Gender Issues in Teaching and Learning, The Legal Academic's Handbook, Palgrave Macmillan.
- Rumney P, McPhee D, Fenton RA, Williams A, Solle J. (2016) A comparative analysis of Operation Bluestone: A specialist rape investigation unit - summary report.
- Fenton RA, Mott HL, McCartan K, Rumney PNS. (2016) A review of evidence for bystander intervention to prevent sexual and domestic violence in universities, Public Health England.
2014
- Fenton RA. (2014) The Intervention Initiative.
2013
- Rumney PNS, Fenton RA. (2013) Rape, Defendant Anonymity and Evidence‐Based Policy Making, The Modern Law Review, volume 76, no. 1, pages 109-133, DOI:10.1111/1468-2230.12004. [PDF]
2011
- fenton RA. (2011) Shall I be Mother? Reproductive Autonomy, Feminism and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, Gender, Sexualities and Law, Routledge.
- fenton RA. (2011) Shall I be Mother? Reproductive Autonomy, Feminism and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, Gender, Sexualities and Law, Routledge.
- Jones J, Grear A, Fenton RA, Stevenson K, Stevenson SLILADOSK. (2011) Gender, Sexualities and Law, Routledge.
- Rumney PNS, Fenton RA. (2011) Judicial Training and Rape, The Journal of Criminal Law, volume 75, no. 6, pages 473-481, DOI:10.1350/jcla.2011.75.6.737. [PDF]
2010
- Fenton R. (2010) Rape in Italian Law: Towards the Recognition of Sexual Autonomy, Rethinking Rape Law International and Comparative Perspectives, Routledge.
- McDonald EBI, Fenton RA, Dabell F. (2010) Treatment Provisions: Proposals for Reform of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, volume 29, no. 3-4, pages 293-305, DOI:10.1080/09649060701752323. [PDF]
- Fenton R, Heenan S, Rees J. (2010) Finally fit for purpose? The Human Fertilization and Embryology Act 2008, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, volume 32, no. 3, pages 275-286, DOI:10.1080/09649069.2010.520520. [PDF]
2008
- Rumney PNS, Fenton RA. (2008) Intoxicated Consent in Rape: Bree and Juror Decision‐Making, The Modern Law Review, volume 71, no. 2, pages 279-290, DOI:10.1111/j.1468-2230.2008.00692.x. [PDF]
2005
- Fenton RA. (2005) Catholic Doctrine Versus Women's Rights: The New Italian Law on Assisted Reproduction, Medical Law Review, volume 14, no. 1, pages 73-107, DOI:10.1093/medlaw/fwi041. [PDF]
Biography
Rachel Fenton graduated from Cardiff University with First class honours in Law and Italian (LLB), winning the Sir Samuel Evans prize for the best First class degree between the Law schools of the University of Wales and the Edwards Geldard prize for the best Law and Languages degree.
Winning a scholarship, Rachel went on to complete her PhD at Cardiff University and subsequently became a Lecturer in law at Cardiff. During this time she was also a Guest Professor for Common Law at the University of Trier.
Rachel moved to the University of the West of England as a Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor, winning the Vice Chancellor's award for Outstanding Researcher of the Year with Impact in 2016 before joining the Law School at Exeter in 2017