Dr Beverley Gilbert

Senior Lecturer Domestic/Sexual Violence and Criminology

School of Health and Wellbeing

Department of Community, Social Justice and Health

Contact Details

email: b.gilbert@worc.ac.uk
tel: 01905 542543

Beverley has over 30 years of experience working within the criminal justice system. She was a Police Officer in Birmingham deployed in various uniform and plain clothes roles, including in plain clothes surveillance roles and as a Detective Family Protection Officer. As a Probation Officer, Beverley worked with individuals who posed a high risk of causing harm, including perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence. She was a semi specialist officer working with custodial cases, including those serving Life and Indeterminate Sentence prisoners. Beverley has been a sessional Expert Domestic Violence Risk Assessor for London based DViP and the Family Courts in the London and Greater London areas.

Beverley works internationally connected to gender based and domestic violence. She was author of the Malta Government’s Multi Agency Risk Assessment Meeting guidelines (MARAM) and author of the Full Cooperation: Zero Violence Professionals’ Train the Trainer package, regarding multi agency best practice with those experiencing gender based and domestic violence.

Beverley co-wrote and delivered gender based and domestic violence training to over 700 multi agency professionals during repeat visits to Malta in 2017/18. This was as partner in an EU funded, two-year, multi-agency, gender-based violence and domestic violence programme: Full Cooperation Zero Violence. She has been an expert trainer in DASH (2009) Risk Checklist and risk relating to gender based and domestic violence, bringing this risk assessment tool to Malta’s Social Work, Government Commission on Gender Based and Domestic Violence and to the Maltese Police service.

Beverley is approved as an Individual Member of Women Against Violence in Europe (WAVE) and is one of the international trainers selected for the EU organisation Work with Perpetrators Europe (WWP-EN).

Beverley is the Founder, Director, Operations and Risk Manager for a Queen’s Award honoured woman centred peer support and peer mentoring social enterprise organisation called Cohort 4 in North Warwickshire. The organisation specialises in longer term peer support for women survivors of abuse who experience disability and/or multiple disadvantage.

Qualifications

2023 PhD Research: Examining peer mentoring in England with women who have multiple and complex needs. Anglia Ruskin University

2017 SEDA Postgraduate qualification in Leadership. University of Worcester

2016 MA Professional Development: The Dynamics of Domestic Abuse. University of Worcester

2015 Postgraduate Certificate Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 2015 (FHEA)

2010 MA Ethics: Policing and Criminal Justice. Keele University

2003 BA (hons) Community Justice, Diploma in Probation Studies. University of Birmingham

Teaching Interests

Beverley has been author and tutor of our postgraduate MA modules in working with perpetrators at the University of Worcester since 2011. She is Admissions Tutor for all the post graduate level modules connected with the MA Understanding Domestic and Sexual Violence and is the Module Lead for post graduate module DSVM 4004 Public Health Responses to Violence and Managing Perpetrators.

Beverley is a supervisor for postgraduate students undertaking their Dissertation for the MA Understanding Domestic & Sexual Violence.

Modules teaching on:

Postgraduate

DASV 4001 Theoretical Perspectives on Gender, Violence and Interpersonal Relationships (Both online only and blended learning delivery)

DASV 4004 Public Health Responses to Violence and Managing Perpetrators (Both available via online only and blended learning delivery)

Undergraduate

CRMN 3603 Intimate Partner Abuse: impact and Response

Current doctoral supervision

Jocelyn van Bruggen, PhD University of Worcester, ‘Neoliberalism, feminist leadership and the not-for-profit sector: A qualitative study into feminine ethics of care within domestic violence organisations.’

Charlotte Woodward, PhD Anglia Ruskin University, ‘Exploring the barriers and priorities of domestic abuse survivors in the recruitment and induction practices of domestic abuse sector services.’

Research Interests

Peer mentoring with women who experience multiple and complex disadvantage

Feminist ethical research around community strength

Peer led community approaches for individuals with a range of additional needs

Violence intervention and effective work with perpetrators of domestic abuse

Recent Publications

Publications

Orchid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6288-2019

Gilbert, B. (2025) Examining peer mentoring with women who experience multiple and complex disadvantage: a feminist ethical model of practice. Journal of Gender Studies, p:1–14. DOI: 10.1080/09589236.2025.2450649

Gilbert, B. (2023) ‘Support worker’s experience of self-disclosure within domestic abuse support services and women’s voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations: a qualitative enquiry,’ in Journal of Gender Studies, Open Access 02/11/23. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2023.2277447

Gilbert, B. (2023) ‘Peer Mentoring with survivors of abuse who have disabilities or multiple disadvantage,’ Fempower Magazine: Tackling violence against women in Europe Magazine, Women Against Violence in Europe (WAVE). 14.05.23.

Gilbert, B. (2020) ‘Exploring the experiences of domestic abuse survivors working in the field of domestic abuse support: Assisting recovery or re-victimization revisited?’ in Journal of Gender Based Violence, Vol 4(1): 73-87. https://doi.org/10.1332/239868019X15750194039901

Gilbert, B. and Campagno, E. (2019) ‘Challenges of grass roots women’s organisations in terms of sustainability: Social Enterprise and Peer Mentoring approaches’ in Fempower Magazine: Tackling violence against women in Europe Magazine, Vol 1 (30) :27-29. Vienna: WAVE.

Gilbert, B. (2019) Expert Domestic abuse risk assessment on Fathers who perpetrate domestic violence,’ in blog post Association of Child Protection Professionals, published 12/04/2019.

Gilbert, B. (2019) ‘Public Protection? The Implications of Grayling’s ‘Transforming Rehabilitation’ Agenda on the Safety of Women and Children: A Review, 5 Years On.’ Blog post British Journal of Community Justice online 12/03/19.

Gilbert, B. and O’Dowd, K. (2019) ‘Emotion, time, and the voice of women affected by the criminal justice process: Corston and the Female Offender Strategy’, in British Journal of Community Justice, Vol 15(1): 19-30.

Gilbert, B., and Egginton, R. (2017) ‘The Multiple Impact of Peer Mentoring Within Criminal Justice settings to Mentees, Mentors and to the Wider Community,’ in CL&J Criminal Law & Justice Weekly, Vol 181(1): 3-4.

O’Dowd, K. and Gilbert, B. (2016) ‘The power that comes from women supporting women’, in Ready, Steady, Go Magazine, Women in Prison, Autumn 2016 edition.

Gilbert, B. (2013) 'Public Protection? The implications of Grayling's 'Transforming Rehabilitation' agenda on the safety of women and children.' in The British Journal of Community Justice, Vol:11(2/3) Winter 2013.

Evaluation Reports

Gilbert, B. (2025) Evaluation of the Lived Experience Advisory Network at West Mercia Women’s Aid. Worcester: University of Worcester.

Gilbert, B., Johnson, A., and Azad, M.S., (2025) Evaluation of the Open 2 Change Healthy Relationship Programme: Swindon Without Abuse. Worcester: University of Worcester.

Bowen, E., Taylor-Dunn, H., Richards, C., Gilbert, B., Atkinson, T. (2020) Supporting victims of domestic violence who have complex needs: Literature review and evaluation of the EDNA project.

Gilbert, B., and Smith, E. (2016) A research evaluation of the current social and recreational provision for young people and consideration for their future needs: Ansley Village, North Warwickshire. Warwickshire: The Ley Group.

Ellis, J. and Gilbert, B. (2015) A Review of Relationship Education in Worcestershire Schools. NCSPVA University of Worcester.

Jones, R. and Gilbert, B. (2014) An Evaluation of the Freedom Programme for Professionals. Worcester: University of Worcester.

Jones, R., and Gilbert, B. (2013) An Evaluation of the Somerset "Make the Change" Voluntary Programme for Perpetrators of Domestic Violence. Worcester: University of Worcester.

Membership of Professional Bodies

Fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Fellow of School for Social Entrepreneurs

Individual Member of Women Against Violence in Europe (WAVE) since 2018

Associate Member of WWP-EN and is one of the international trainers selected for this important EU organisation Work with Perpetrators Europe (WWP-EN) since 2019

Member of the Voluntary Sector Studies Network

External Roles

Beverley is the Founder, Director, Operations and Risk Manager for a woman centred peer support and peer mentoring social enterprise organisation called Cohort 4 in North Warwickshire. The organisation specialises in longer term support for women survivors of abuse who experience disability and/or multiple disadvantage. Cohort 4 were awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2020.

Beverley wrote and co-delivers a suite of training units connected with OCN Level 3 accredited Reintegrative Mentoring training delivered to organisations across England in Malta and in the United States. This has been delivered over the past decade to a range of community organisations including Care Leavers, Asylum Seekers, Women’s groups, minoritised community groups and for services supporting individuals with multiple and complex disadvantage.

Beverley received the High Sheriff of Warwickshire’s award for great and valuable service to the county in 2018 and Beverley’s practice based and research interests around peer mentoring with women surviving abuse came to the attention of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s Office of England and Wales in 2023 where she presented at the DAC’s first best practice conference in Manchester ‘A Festival of Practice.’

Beverley is currently the Associate Editor of Cogent Social Sciences: Gender Studies and the Editorial Theme Lead of Gender & Violence.