POWES BPS

Over the years, her openness in sharing opportunities and connecting people has supported many across POWES and beyond.

We’re so proud to honour Lisa with this award - a huge congratulations and so well-deserved! 🙌🏼🎊

Lisa‘s mentorship is grounded in care, generosity and a deep commitment to feminist principles. She creates spaces where people feel seen, supported and able to thrive, especially in environments where that isn’t always easy.

Professor Lisa Lazard receives the Professor Marcia Worrell Mentoring Award at #POWES 2025

Last month at #POWES2025, we had the joy of presenting the POWES Prof. Marcia Worrell Mentoring Award to Prof. Lisa Lazard ✨👏

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Such an important and powerful reminder for us as we continue working to build feminist spaces that are accountable and truly transformative 💪🏻💫
#Intersectionality #Feminism #Inclusivity #Diversity

Bipasha highlighted how systemic forces are ✨interlocking✨(not merely additive) and stressed that social justice must center (true) intersectionality at its core beyond neoliberal approaches to diversity and inclusivity.

Dr Bipasha Ahmed's #POWES2025 keynote on 'White Feminism and the Misappropriation of Intersectionality: Power Dynamics in the UK's Violence Against Women and Girls Sector'

Starting the week thinking about Dr. Bipasha Ahmed’s keynote at #POWES2025 on how white feminism and the misappropriation of intersectionality shape power dynamics within the UK’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) sector. 🧵

PS: It really is quite brief and will (genuinely) only take 5 minutes!

#POWES2025 folks, you may have received an email this week asking for ✨your feedback✨ on the conference. Positive feedback lets us know what we should keep doing and constructive feedback helps us improve your conference experience. So regardless, we’d love to hear from you 💜💛

✨Quick shout out to all #POWES2025 conference presenters✨

If you’re thinking about developing your presentation into a publication, consider submitting to PoWER. PoWER is a great home for feminist research and accepts submissions on a rolling basis.

More info: explore.bps.org.uk/content/bpsp...

Flora Tietgen presents work on immigrant women's experiences of intimate partner violence in Iceland.

Finally, Flora Tietgen presented "Exploring psychological violence and (non) support-seeking: immigrant women's experiences of intimate partner violence in Iceland" #POWES2025

Rylee Spooner presents work on LGBTQ+ identity abuse in romantic relationships.

Rylee Spooner followed up with a scoping review of risk and protective factors of LGBTQ+ identity abuse in romantic relationships.

Siouxsie Bytheway presenting on intimate partner violence in queer relationships at #POWES2025

First up, Siouxsie Bytheway presented '"We don't get to have break-up stories" : Repertoires of celebration and oppression that obscure intimate partner violence on queer relationships from view'.

Day 2 of this year's #POWES2025 conference started strong with three important papers on intimate partner violence.

Dr Sadiya Osman giving her prize-winning paper 'Visible yet invisible: The educational journeys of Black Muslim women students in UK Higher Education' at #POWES2025

🎉👏 Congrats to Dr Sadiya Osman for winning the POWES & Feminism & Psychology Postgrad Award at #powes2025! Her research on Black Muslim women's HE journeys stood out for its originality & relevance. We look forward to seeing this work out in the world! 🙌🏼🔥

Take me back to #powes2025 please (or forward to #powes2026 😆)

Massive thanks to everyone who attended and presented at #POWES2025 last week 💜💛 We’re still buzzing with energy from all the powerful conversations, connections, and feminist love! ✨ More photos from the conference coming soon - stay tuned!

Reflecting on my 1st @powes.bsky.social conference this week. I presented a project close to my heart on creative arts-based groups for women affected by abuse. Thoughtful questions, generous feedback, and space for real conversations. Plenty to take forward in the write up of Study2! #POWES2025

a cartoon of snow white drinking coffee from a coffee pot Alt: a cartoon of snow white drinking coffee from a coffee pot

Good morning #POWES2025! It's the morning after the legendary POWES disco and we're getting under way after some restorative breakfast. Still some highlights from yesterday to come including our prize winners!

Now it's time for Wendy Stainton-Rogers and Jo Law's roundtable ' "We are rebels, we are troublemakers" - a roundtable discussion on celebrating activism in academia'. #POWES2025

Bipasha Ahmed's keynote on White feminism and the misappropriation of intersectionality in the UK's Violence Against Women and Girls sector.

Just settling in for Bipasha Ahmed's keynote on 'White feminism & the misappropriation of intersectionality: power dynamics in the UK's Violence Against Women & Girls sector' #POWES2025

McKinlay presents a review of 20 studies of creative arts based groups, primarily community-based and in the minority world. #POWES2025

"The solidarity of a group provides the strongest protection against terror and despair, the strongest antidote to traumatic experience. Trauma isolates: the group re-creates a sense of belonging... Trauma dehumanises...the group restores her humanity'. Judith Herman, p. 214

McKinlay quotes Judith Herman on the healing power of group solidarity as as an antidote to traumatic experience. Groups create a sense of belonging and restore humanity. #POWES2025

Alison McKinlay presents a scoping review of creative arts groups for women subjected to gender-based violence and abuse

Next up in our session on gender-based violence, Alison McKinlay presents 'Creative arts-based groups for women subjected to gender-based violence and abuse : a scoping review'. #POWES2025

Although the Domestic Abuse Act now rules out the "Rough Sex Gone Wrong" defence, perpetrators still get lower sentences on cases where a female victim's sexual history is brought up. #POWES2025

Media representations circulate harmful stereotypes about both women's sexuality and BDSM, & raise questions about the impact of popular culture texts like "50 Shades of Grey".

Starr recounts how women are represented as either innocent or hedonistic, with no room for sexual agency.

Starr's research looks at how gender and power in heterosexual BDSM relationships are represented in mainstream UK media. #POWES2025

Catherine Starr presents statistics on femicide

Catherine Starr kicks off out first parallel session on gender-based violence with ' "The 50 Shades Defence" : Media representations of sexual agency and victim blaming in the Grace Millane case' #POWES2025

We’ve arrived at Milton Hill House and can’t wait to welcome you to #POWES2025 tomorrow!

Psychology of Women and Equalities Section Annual Conference 2025 | BPS Join the 2025 POWES conference for feminist scholarship in a friendly setting. Open to all interested in gender, sexuality & equality research at any career stage.

Today is the FINAL DAY to register for your places at the POWES conference in Oxford on 23-24 June!