Dr Rebecca Hamer is a Research Associate whose research focuses on marginalised women with complex needs and histories of trauma and the ways policy and practice recognising and responding to trauma on individual, community and systemic levels can mitigate against this. She has worked alongside the voluntary and statutory sector, researching with survivors and professionals to explore the impact of systems change and the needs and experiences of often excluded groups of women.

Rebecca predominantly uses qualitative research methods and is especially interested in introducing a trauma-informed perspective to these, especially where working with individuals and organisations concerning sensitive topics and who may be traumatised (as individuals and collectively).

She has led several evaluations of Rotherham’s Trauma and Resilience Service, the most recent of which, Travelling Through Trauma, has informed the development of policy and practice.

Rebecca’s article on The Scylla State, a gendered alternative to Wacquant’s Centaur State, is published in the British Journal of Sociology. An article on the Multidimensional Trauma Framework is forthcoming.

She has recently completed a fellowship exploring the development of a trauma-informed community of practice in Rotherham, through the development of a multidisciplinary network comprising the voluntary and statutory sectors to support survivors of trauma. This involved developing case studies depicting survivors’ journeys in collaboration with both survivors and professionals.

Rebecca’s research interests include:

• Trauma-Informed Research and Practice
• Neoliberalism and the consequences for women
• Survival Sex Working
• Women’s experience of addiction and the drug treatment industry
• Gender and marginalisation
• Qualitative research