Heat and violence against girls and women in the UK: potential impacts of climate change and critical analysis of adaptation (LARSSONB_UEA_SENSSC26)
Key Details
- Application deadline
- The deadline for submitting your application for SENSS funding on HEIApply is 12:00 GMT on Monday 16 February 2026. No extensions to this deadline will be permitted.
- Location
- UEA
- Funding type
- Competition funded project (Students worldwide)
- Start date
- 1 October 2026
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Description
Primary supervisor - Dr Birgit Larsson
Climate change is a global emergency, with its impacts set to deepen the inequalities and social problems that already exist in societies, such as violent crime. Groups vulnerable to victimisation, such as women and girls, are likely to disproportionately bear the brunt of harms brought about, or accelerated, by climate change.
For example, emerging research from low, middle and high income countries globally suggests that domestic violence is particularly influenced by heat waves, increasing as much as 4.5% with every 1 degree rise in temperature. The link between domestic violence and heat has been suggested to be likely due to a complex interplay between poverty, urban heat islands, alcohol consumption, increase in irritability and discomfort, and a lack of available public and green spaces to use for refuge and de-escalation. However, much more research is needed on the relationship between heat waves, climate change and violence against women and girls globally, with a particular gap in the literature being the lived experience of girls and women. There is also very little research on the impact of heat on violence in UK, possibly because it is not usually seen as a particularly hot country. However, due to climate change, the UK is projected to see a large increase in hot days and nights even in the short term.
The University of East Anglia is excited to offer a fully funded PhD studentship to explore the impact of heat waves on domestic violence experienced by girls and women in the UK.
This project brings together cross-disciplinary academic supervision from the School of Social Work and Sociology; the School of Politics, Philosophy and Area Studies; and the School of Health Sciences (third supervisor). It is supported by two collaborators, Feathers Futures, a community-led women’s organisation specialising in supporting survivors of domestic abuse, and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner in Norfolk.
Combined, these collaborative partners represent academia, statutory (including commissioning) services, and the charity sector which will allow the successful student a unique opportunity to conduct ethical and co-produced research with survivors of domestic abuse, and the agencies who work with, and commission, services on their behalf. This has the potential to lead to real-world and cutting-edge impact for vulnerable women.
The successful student will have the opportunity to take advantage of two research placements. These are designed for students to be exposed to the commissioning of domestic abuse services and policy; service provision for survivors of domestic abuse; and to better understand the experiences of girls and women who access these services.
How to apply
To be considered for this funding, you must first apply to SENSS for this collaborative studentship. Please read the SENSS Collaborative Studentship Application Guidance Notes before completing our online application form. The Guidance Notes are available here.
If your application is successful, you will need to make a separate application for a place to study at the University of East Anglia, your host University. You will be provided with a link with information on how to make your application to the University of East Anglia once you have been offered a SENSS studentship.
The deadline for submitting your application for SENSS funding on HEIApply is 12:00 GMT on Monday 16 February 2026. No extensions to this deadline will be permitted.
Entry requirements
BA graduate in social work, sociology, political studies, psychology, criminology or related disciplines (including humanities, social sciences, health).
To apply for a Masters plus PhD (+4.5-year award), you will need: qualifications or professional experience equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree (Honours). To apply for a PhD only (+3.5-year award), you will need: qualifications or professional experience equivalent to a Masters degree, or a Masters degree and already have the research skills needed to successfully complete your research project.