Professor of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of Central Lancashire and Co-Director of the Connect Centre for International Research on Interpersonal Violence.

Her previous experience includes: work as an independent researcher, work in the voluntary sector (from 2006 to 2011 she was Head of Research at the NSPCC), in government (formerly research manager in the Department of Health Victims of Violence and Abuse Prevention Programme) and previous posts in academia.

Lorraine has led a number of externally funded research studies on violence and abuse, working with researchers in the UK and overseas. Her particular areas of research interest and publications include: uncovering the ‘hidden nature’ of violence and abuse; researching the overlapping nature of abuse experiences especially the inter-relationship between violence against women and the abuse and neglect of children and young people; researching working together to prevention violence.

Lorraine has over 30 years of experience working within the voluntary sector on violence prevention issues and with a range of governmental and professional organisations in the UK and internationally developing training, policy and practice. She is currently working on research on protecting children and young people in low income countries from sexual abuse and sexual exploitation (for UNICEF), on a new study of policies to reduce violence towards to children across Europe, and on mapping sexual and domestic violence services in Wales.