I am a historian, editor and researcher, with expertise in Scottish gender, legal and social history and feminist legal studies. I am interested in women’s access to justice in the past and today, and I’m currently writing two books (mainly in my spare time): a monograph on women’s navigation of legal systems and property relationships in early modern Scotland, and a co-edited book with Professor Jane Mair on gender and civil justice in Scotland in historical and legal perspective.
I hold an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded PhD in History from the University of Glasgow (awarded 2020, as part of the UK-wide network ‘Women Negotiating the Boundaries of Justice: Britain and Ireland, c. 1100-c.1750‘), and have held funded postdoctoral positions at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London (funded by the Economic History Society) and the University of Glasgow (funded by the Economic and Social Research Council). I am currently an Editorial Fellow at History Workshop, a digital radical history magazine and sister publication of History Workshop Journal.
I am passionate about tackling issues surrounding gender inequality and women’s unequal access to civil and criminal justice in Scotland and around the world. I believe that the justice system continues to fail women and girls on a daily basis, and I’m dedicated to using my knowledge of historical injustices to enact meaningful change today. I currently work as a Parliamentary Researcher in the Scottish Parliament, advising on issues relating to women’s rights, gender-based violence, “inclusive” justice, and gendered law reform.
In my spare time I love climbing, reading, sewing, painting and playing the tin whistle.
Women, Marriage and Law in Scotland 