The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) awarded $2.4 million in grants to 12 researchers at Carleton University to study a range of topics.
In a Jan. 5 press release, it was reported that either an Insight Developmental Grant, which supports initial research for a short period of time, or an Insight Grant, which provides long-term funding for research initiatives, would be awarded to Carleton professors.
“We absolutely needed these funds,” said Dawn Moore, an associate professor of law and legal studies at Carleton. “I am incredibly grateful that we were not only successful but ranked in the top ten this year in a nation-wide competition.”
When applicants apply for these grants, the SSHRC adjudication committee that is comprised of national and international research scholars considers their proposals either by a single person or a team, according to Moore.
The three sections of criteria that the committee looks at how important the research is, how the research will be obtained, and the ability for it to succeed, explained by the Government of Canada “Inside Development Grant” web page.
Moore will be researching the effects of visual evidence such as photographic evidence of injuries and videotape testimonies on victims of domestic violence.
She will be joined by teammates Rashmee Singh, an expert in domestic violence; co-investigator Benjamin Berger, an expert in evidence law; and Kelly Gates, who researched initial models of video evidence in San Diego, Calif.
“In San Diego about ten years ago they developed this model ‘Domestic Violence Prosecution’ called the ‘victimless prosecution,’” Moore said. “The idea behind it was that they would use things like video tape testimony and photographic evidence with the stated intent of alleviating the pressure from the victim.”
This system has been adopted into the Canadian Prosecution Model where Moore will identify how these initiatives have worked so far.
“We actually hope it will contribute beyond academia,” she said.
Within their research efforts, they will release two documentaries on women’s experiences that have undergone this form of evidence collection in domestic abuse trials.
Moore said she hopes that police officers, judges, and prosecutors alongside scholars and students will become more sensitized to the experiences of these women.
“I’m really proud of what we have achieved so far, and I believe that we will make good on our promises both to the granting agency but more importantly to the communities we want to do research with,” she said.
