Rebecca Hamer
Research Associate
Summary
Dr Rebecca Hamer is a Research Associate whose research focuses on marginalised women with complex needs and histories of trauma and the ways policy and practice recognising and responding to trauma on individual, community and systemic levels can mitigate against this. She has worked alongside the voluntary and statutory sector, researching with survivors and professionals to explore the impact of systems change and the needs and experiences of often excluded groups of women.
About
Rebecca predominantly uses qualitative research methods and is especially interested in introducing a trauma-informed perspective to these, especially where working with individuals and organisations concerning sensitive topics and who may be traumatised (as individuals and collectively).
She has led several evaluations of Rotherham’s Trauma and Resilience Service, the most recent of which, Travelling Through Trauma, has informed the development of policy and practice.
Rebecca’s article on The Scylla State, a gendered alternative to Wacquant’s Centaur State, is published in the British Journal of Sociology. An article on the Multidimensional Trauma Framework is forthcoming.
She is currently working on a fellowship exploring the development of a trauma-informed community of practice in Rotherham, through the development of a multidisciplinary network comprising the voluntary and statutory sectors to support survivors of trauma. This will involve developing case studies depicting survivors’ journeys in collaboration with both survivors and professionals.
Rebecca’s research interests include:
- Trauma-Informed Research and Practice
- Neoliberalism and the consequences for women
- Survival Sex Working
- Women’s experience of addiction and the drug treatment industry
- Gender and marginalisation
- Qualitative research
Teaching
College of Social Sciences and Arts
Research
- Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research
- Social and Economic Research Institute
Publications
Journal articles
Hamer, R. (2023). The Scylla State. A gendered understanding of the experiences of marginalised women in the United Kingdom. British Journal of Sociology. http://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.13053
Best, D., Vanderplasschen, W., Van de Mheen, D., De Maeyer, J., Colman, C., Vander Laenen, F., ... Nagelhout, G.E. (2018). REC-PATH (Recovery Pathways): overview of a four-country study of pathways to recovery from problematic drug use. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly. http://doi.org/10.1080/07347324.2018.1488550
Cunningham, S., Sanders, T., Scoular, J., Campbell, R., Pitcher, J., Hill, K., ... Hamer, R. (2018). Behind the screen: Commercial sex, digital spaces and working online. Technology in Society, 53, 47-54. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2017.11.004
Book chapters
Best, D., Colman, C., Vanderplasschen, W., Laenen, F.V., Irving, J., Edwards, M., ... Martinelli, T. (2019). How do mechanisms for behaviour change in addiction recovery apply to desistance from offending? In Strengths-Based Approaches to Crime and Substance Use. (pp. 86-102). Routledge: http://doi.org/10.4324/9781315227221-5
Best, D., Hamer, R., & Hall, L. (2019). An integrated model of change: desistance and recovery. In Strengths-Based Approaches to Crime and Substance Use. (pp. 279-297). Routledge: http://doi.org/10.4324/9781315227221-15
Reports
Crisp, R., Dallas, E., Fowler-Davis, S., Davies, M., Dobson, J., Hamer, R., ... Szydlowska, A. (2023). Understanding the SEED Domains: A scoping review of social, economic, environmental and democratic wellbeing. Sheffield Hallam University, Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research. https://www.shu.ac.uk/centre-regional-economic-social-research/publications/understanding-the-seed-domains-a-scoping-review
Clark, L., Coldwell, M., Pearson, S., Willis, B., Wilson, I., Byrne, E., ... Reaney-Wood, S. (2023). Family hubs innovation fund evaluation: Final research report City of Doncaster. London: Department for Education.
Hamer, R. (2022). Travelling through trauma: voices in partnership, 2021-22 - executive summary. Sheffield Hallam University, Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research. http://doi.org/10.7190/cresr.2022.125581967
Hamer, R. (2022). Travelling though trauma: voices in partnership, 2020-2022 - service evaluation. Sheffield Hallam University. http://doi.org/10.7190/cresr.2022.1249547970
Andersson, C., Best, D., Irving, J., Edwards, M., Banks, J., Mama-Rudd, A., & Hamer, R. (2018). Understanding recovery from a family perspective: a survey of life in recovery for families. Sheffield Hallam University for Alcohol Research UK.