Andrea Escott

Research Student

Andrea Escott is affiliated with the Department of Law.

You can email Andrea Escott directly but for media enquiries, please contact a member of The Open University's Media Relations Team.

Biography

Andrea holds a first-class honours degree in Law (LLB), a undertook the LLM in Professional Legal Practice with the University of Law. Having completed the LLM, Andrea studied a Post Graduate Diploma (PGDip.) in Social Science Research Methods with University College London in preparation to undertake a PhD.

Andrea is a part time PGR student and works full time in HR, also holding a MSc in Human Resources Management. Andrea is also a Magistrate, currently with the Berkshire Bench.

Current Research

Rape myth acceptance and juror educative interventions that may disrupt them

While studying for the LLB, and specifically the criminal law module, Andrea began to research how the criminal justice system in England and Wales responds to serious sexual offences and to research some of the long-standing challenges in effectively prosecuting rape offences. This was explored further during her PGDip. where Andrea first wrote a version of the research proposal that forms the basis of her current research. There is an abundance of research relating to how rape myths are sometimes exploited by defence counsel during trial and how the judiciary are trained to advise juries. This is a particular difficulty in acquaintance rape where the offence can turn on the question of consent and jurors are asked to decide the facts with often conflicting accounts of only two witnesses: the complainant and the defendant.

Andrea’s research brings together two disciplines: law and psychology. The measurement instrument designed to determine a propensity to accept myths associated with the criminal offence of rape, the Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, was originally devised more than 50 years ago and was updated more than 25 years ago. Andrea’s research seeks to understand juror reliance on rape myths in a modern context and to explore how it may be possible to disrupt these prejudicial beliefs through educative interventions with jurors who are selected to decide the facts during acquaintance rape trials.