On the 17th May, Dr Lauren Smith presented her work on the lived experiences of crime and gambling at the ‘HMPPS Insights 22 Festival’ session entitled Exploring Peopleās lived Experiences of Crime and Gambling Harms.
In May, Elizabeth Deehan (PhD student), along with Ross Bartels, published a new qualitative study examining somnophilia and dormaphilia in theĀ Sexual AbuseĀ journal.
Deehan, E. T., & Bartels, R. M. (2022). A qualitative exploration of sleep-related sexual interests: somnophilia and dormaphilia.Ā Sexual Abuse, 10790632221098359.
Abstract
Somnophilia is an under-researched paraphilia. Consequently, there are discrepancies in its definition and conceptual understanding. Also, literature regarding the sexual interest in being asleep during sexual activity (dormaphilia) is even more limited. As such, there is a need to understand these paraphilias more deeply. This study recruited 232 participants online to discuss the content, origin, sexual appeal, emotional appraisal, and behavioural enactment of their somnophilic and dormaphilic interests and fantasies. A Thematic Analysis led to the identification of four main themes: (1) Relevance of Sleep State; (2) Roles within Sleep Sex; (3) Enactment of Sleep Paraphilia and (4) Lack of Consent and Awareness. These four themes spanned across both those reporting somnophilic and dormaphilic fantasies. The Discussion explores the multi-faceted nature of the interests, and implications for the understanding of somnophilia and dormaphilia. This study provides the first qualitative exploration of sleep-related paraphilias, opening avenues for future research and practice.
On May 19th 2022, The work of Hannah Merdianās research group (onlinePROTECT) was showcased via a video at the Stop it Now! Flanders (Belgium) anniversary symposium entitled āBeyond stigma: 5 years Stop it Nowā.
In May 2022, Lauren Smith, along with colleagues Lyndsey HarrisĀ andĀ Lauren Hall (School of Social and Political Sciences) were awarded Ā£20,000 by The Probation Service and The Leicestershire Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.
The funding is being used to develop a model of co-production for women experiencing complex needs.
On the 10th May 2022, Lauren Smith was interviewed for a ‘File on 4’ (BBC Radio 4) documentary about crime and gambling.
The documentary will be released in June.