Dr Cassandra Wiener

Overview

Dr Cassandra Wiener works on the criminalisation of domestic abuse, in particular the articulation in the criminal law in the UK and elsewhere of coercive control. From September 2022 - December 2023 she acted as Co-Investigator on Operation Bluestone/Soteria, a Home Office funded project working with police forces across England and Wales to transform the policing response to rape and serious sexual assault. Cassandra's strategic guidelines for all officers in England and Wales investigating domestic rape were incorporated into the new National Operating Model for police and became fully operational in September 2023. Together with Professor Katrin Hohl Cassandra received the research project of the year award at the City Staff Excellence Awards 2024. In July 2024 Cassandra was honoured to receive a Police Commendation from Avon & Somerset police in recognition of this work. From January 2024 Cassandra has been working with the College of Policing and the CPS to introduce new guidelines for CPS prosecutors who are responsible for charging decisions and case review in domestic rape cases, and from March 2025 has been part of the team working with Professor Katrin Hohl on Project End-To-End Soteria, bringing transformative Soteria practice to courtrooms in England and Wales to improve outcomes for victims of rape and serious sexual offending. 

Cassandra's monograph 'Coercive Control and the Criminal Law' was published by Routledge in January 2023, and is available to order here: https://www.routledge.com/Coercive-Control-and-the-Criminal-Law/Wiener/p/book/9781032422879. Cassandra is co-founder and Co-Director of the centre for justice reform: an interdisciplinary Crime Centre bringing together leading experts in criminal justice policy, practice and education to press an urgent agenda for social and criminal justice reform.

Cassandra is passionate about domestic abuse law reform and regularly acts as advisor to the Home Office and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner's office, among others. She played a key role in the drafting of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, successfully campaigning for a clause enhancing the criminal law protection of survivors of coercive control. She is regularly consulted by governments and activists around the world who are considering following the UK's lead and criminalising coercive control, most recently appearing before the House of Representatives in Paris as they debate new coercive control laws in France, and before the House of Lords post legislative scrutiny committee to suggest improvements to the definition of domestic abuse in law. She has previously advised the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on Coercive Control in New South Wales, Australia and advised the Canadian Government in relation to the new Canadian coercive control offence. She is currently campaigning for an increase in the sentencing cap in the coercive control offence (section 76, Serious Crime Act) and for reform to the sexual offences in England and Wales.

In addition to publishing in academic journals Cassandra advocates for domestic abuse law reform on social media and in the mainstream press, and has given interviews to BBC news, BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey, the Times, the Guardian, the Independent, CC Chat, Wired and Unilad among others.

Cassandra leads modules on criminal law for undergraduates on The City Law School LLB programme and teaches post graduates on the GDL. She would welcome enquiries from prospective doctoral applicants wishing to work in the area of domestic abuse, interpersonal violence (including sexual violence), violence against women and girls, coercive control and the criminal law.

Policy Impact

Cassandra was able to use her research findings to successfully introduce new guidelines on the prosecution of domestic rape to police forces in England and Wales in September 2023. Previously, she campaigned successfully for the extension of the criminal law on coercive control to ex-partners of abuse. Her work was referenced in the House of Lords by Lord Goschen, Baroness Hayman and Baroness Bertin (Hansard HL Deb 5 Jan 2021 vol 809, col 93; vol 809, col 100 and HL Deb 10 Jan 2021 vol 810 col 1717). She provided evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee, co-convened a Round Table for the House of Lords Domestic Abuse Bill Committee, and ran a sustained and successful media campaign with articles and interviews in the Inews, the Guardian and the Conversation, among others.

Policy Expertise

Cassandra is currently working on new policies for the CPS in relation to the prosecution of domestic sexual offending. In addition to her work with police, and on the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 above, Cassandra has previously acted as consultant to the Home Office on a number of occasions: for example providing advice to the Public Protection Unit on the eviction of perpetrators from the family home during lockdown, and advising the Domestic Abuse Research Team at the Home Office Analysis and Insight Unit on the Review of the Controlling or Coercive Behaviour offence. She has also been consulted by a number of governmental organisations in the US such as the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Domestic Violence Policy and Prevention Unit in Los Angeles. Cassandra works closely with the newly appointed Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs and has worked with her research unit on a number of recent issues including the introduction of new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders and the treatment of survivors in the family courts.

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Sussex, UK, September 2014 - July 2021
• MA (Distinction), University of Sussex, UK, 2021 - September 2014
• GDL/LPC (Distinction), University of Law, UK, 1993 - September 1995
• BA Hons, University of Manchester, UK, 1989 - September 1992

Employment

• Reader in Law, City, University of London, UK, September 2024 - present
• Co-Investigator, Home Office, United Kingdom, September 2022 - September 2023
• Director, The City Law School, United Kingdom, September 2022 - present
• Senior Lecturer in Law, City, University of London, UK, September 2021 - September 2024
• Research Assistant, Open Justice Project (funded by the Legal Education Foundation), University of Sussex, UK, April - October 2020
• Visiting Lecturer, City, University of London, United Kingdom, September 2019 - July 2021
• Associate Tutor, University of Sussex, UK, September 2018 - July 2019
• Research Assistant, Office of the Sentencing Council, UK, January - July 2017
• Senior Lecturer, University of Law, UK, September 2003 - July 2012
• Assistant Solicitor, Simmons & Simmons LLP, UK, September 1995 - September 2001

Awards

• Avon & Somerset Police (2024). Police Commendation
  In recognition of my contribution to the new national operating model for rape which became operational for all police forces in England and Wales in September 2023.
• City, University of London (2024). Research Project of the Year Award
  I was given this award together with Professor Katrin Hohl in recognition of my work on Operation Bluestone Soteria improving the policing response to rape.
• University of Sussex (2021). Adam Weiler Impact Award 2021
  Awarded to an exceptional doctoral researcher who demonstrates the potential to achieve great impact in their field
• Sentencing Council (2017). Impact Award
  Awarded for impact achieved via the production of new domestic abuse sentencing guidelines
• ESRC (2016). Full PHD studentship
• University of Sussex (2016). Impact and Knowledge Exchange Award

2^ndsupervisor

• Flavia Andrea Lamarre, Research Student

Publications by category