Today we welcome Professor Stephanie Cain as the new head of our Research and Evaluation team.
Stephanie brings more than twenty years of experience across criminal justice and forensic psychology research, spanning academic, practitioner and managerial roles in educational and correctional settings. Her research focuses on vulnerability, risk and need in the context of child sexual abuse and violence prevention, offender rehabilitation, and public protection.
Stephanie is Visiting Professor of Forensic and Criminal Justice at Liverpool John Moores University, and serves as Chair of the NOTA Research Committee and Associate Editor for the Journal of Sexual Aggression. She is not new to the CSA Centre, and has worked as a member of our Research Team since 2023 co-authoring our Trends in Official Data 2023/24 report and What you need to know about child sexual abuse resource.
“I’m absolutely delighted that we’re welcoming a new Deputy Director of the calibre of Professor Stephanie Cain. Stephanie has a long history of excellent work around the prevention and response to sexual violence, and we’ve been lucky to have had the opportunity to get to know her while working with us on secondment from Liverpool John Moores University. The whole CSA Centre team is so pleased to have the opportunity to make that arrangement permanent, and we can’t wait to see how Stephanie builds on Sophie’s legacy and takes our research and evaluation work into new and exciting areas in the years to come”.
Ian Dean, Director
“I am genuinely privileged to be stepping into the role of Deputy Director of Research and Evaluation at the CSA Centre. Having worked in the Research and Evaluation team for more than two years, I already know what a thoughtful, committed, and inspiring group of people they are, and it means a great deal to continue this journey with them. I am also deeply grateful for the strong foundations that Sophie Laws has built over the years. Her leadership has shaped so much of what makes this work meaningful, and it is an honour to build on that legacy. I am really looking forward to continuing to work alongside colleagues at the CSA Centre who care so passionately about improving outcomes for children and families and am equally excited to keep learning from and collaborating with the many dedicated people across the wider field whose commitment to research, practice, and partnership continues to drive improvements in the prevention, identification, and response to child sexual abuse.”
Stephanie Cain, Deputy Director for Research and Evaluation
Sophie Laws presenting at the CSA Centre PhD Student Workshop
Stephanie takes over from Dr Sophie Laws, who is retiring after leading the Centre’s research and evaluation work for almost ten years. Sophie was instrumental in establishing the CSA Centre in 2016 and has been part of the team since our launch in 2017. Under her leadership, the Research and Evaluation team produced more than 50 reports, key messages summaries, briefings, articles and blogs – work that is now widely referenced across the sector and has shaped how professionals, leaders and decision makers understand and respond to child sexual abuse.
Sophie has consistently championed the value of combining research evidence with practice wisdom and lived experience, bringing much-needed rigour and clarity to some of the most complex and sensitive subjects in the field. The foundation she has built is one we will continue to build on.
“It’s impossible to overstate the impact that Sophie’s had during her time at the CSA Centre, having led all aspects of our research and evaluation work from our inception. Sophie has always brought such a robust approach to her work, and holds the whole team to high standards of quality and rigour so that our research has a genuine impact on the lives of children, families and adult victims and survivors – everything we do at the CSA Centre is always so strongly grounded in evidence, and Sophie’s influence has been central to that from day one. What we lose through Sophie’s departure will be eased by knowing that she leaves such a capable team to continue the good fight.”
Ian Dean, Director
