Professor Mandy Burton

My research lies in the fields of criminal law, criminal justice and family law. I am particularly interested in police and prosecution decision-making, criminal courts (including magistrates and jury trials) and victims’ rights. My main expertise is legal responses to domestic abuse in the criminal and family justice systems. I have carried out numerous empirical studies and produced several research reports for UK government departments suggesting how the legal system can improve the way it responds to domestic abuse.

My book ‘Legal Responses to Domestic Violence’ took a comprehensive look at how the legal system handles domestic abuse in the family, civil and criminal justice spheres. It is my view that there are flaws in the responses in each of those spheres, but one of the biggest obstacles to protecting victims, both adults and children, is silo working; each sphere operates in isolation from the others, with different approaches and differing values. This was one of the themes the ‘Harm Panel Report’, which I co-authored, highlighting the problems with the process and outcomes in child arrangement cases involving allegations of domestic abuse. The report was published by the Ministry of Justice in 2020 alongside the Government’s implementation plan for improving the response of the family courts to domestic abuse. The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 incorporated some changes to the law based on the panel’s recommendations, including ‘special measures’ to protect vulnerable victims in court. 

I am currently working on a new book on domestic abuse and victims’ rights, examining how legal developments are driven by a better understanding that ineffective responses to domestic abuse are a violation of the human rights of victims.

• Socio-legal studies
• Criminal law
• Criminal justice
• Family law

Burton, M. (2024) Policing Men, Policing Women: Responsibility and Accountability for Violence Against Women and Girls, Including Domestic Abuse and Femicide Journal of Gender, Sexuality of the Law, 3(1), https://doi.org/10.19164/ijgsl.v3i1.1575

Burton, M, Bettinson, V, and Munron, V. E (2024) 'It isn't just a shove': Judical understandings of domestic abuse and the challenges of recognising and responding to 'coercive control' in the criminal and family courts. Child and Family Law Quarterly, 36(1) 39-57.

Munro, V. E., Bettinson, V., & Burton, M. (2024) Coercion, Control and Criminal Responsibility: Exploring Professional Responses to Offending and Suicidality in the Context of Domestically Abusive Relationships. Social & Legal Studies, 33(3) 392-419.

Burton, M. (2023). Policing Domestic Abuse: No 'freedom day' for victims of coercive and controlling behaviour. In Ed Johnson (Ed.) Covid-19 and Criminal Justice: Impact and Legacy in England and Wales, Routledge.

Burton, M and Hunter, R (2023) Reforming the approach of the family courts in child arrangement proceedings involving allegations of domestic abuse. In M Maclean and R Treloar (eds) Research Handbook on Family Justice Systems. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Burton, M. (2022) Falling through the fault lines: Victims experiencing poor and fragmented legal responses to domestic abuse in England and Wales. In S Maxwell and S Blair (Eds), The Justice System and the Family: Police Courts and Incarceration. Emerald Publishing Limited.

Burton, M. (2022) Domestic Abuse, Victims and the Law, Routledge.

Burton, M. and Bettinson, V. (2022) Domestic abuse and child arrangement proceedings: identifying and assessing the risk of harm, including coercive and controlling behaviour. Child and Family Law Quarterly, 34(1) 3-20.

Hunter, R., Burton, M & Trinder, L. (2020) Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases: Key Findings and Recommendations. Family Law, 1477-1484.]

Hunter, R., Burton, M & Trinder, L. (2020) Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases, Ministry of Justice.

Burton, M., and Watkins, D. (2020) Interdisciplinary approaches and collaboration in legal education in England and Wales. In E Jones and F Cownie (Eds.)Key Directions in Legal Education: National and International Perspectives , Routledge. pp. 35-47.

I welcome applications from potential PhD students, especially those interested in doing empirical work in my areas of expertise.

I currently teach criminal law and criminal justice at undergraduate level. At postgraduate level I have a particular interest in socio-legal research methods, including research ethics.

I supervise a number of students who are working on PhDs in the fields of family law and criminal justice, many of them adopting empirical approaches.