Napier Talks: For Sarah There Is Only One Life
Description
This lecture invites us to look beyond legal procedures and ask a deceptively simple question: what does justice feel like to the people living through it?
In For Sarah There Is Only One Life: Domestic Abuse and the Challenge of Human-Centered Justice, Professor Richard W. Whitecross explores how domestic abuse exposes some of the most profound challenges facing modern justice systems. Through the story of "Sarah" and her son "Will", this lecture reveals the gap between institutional processes and lived experience, examining how criminal courts, family courts, social services and policymakers often see separate cases, while families experience a single, interconnected reality.
Drawing on research into domestic abuse, children's rights, trauma-informed practice and family justice reform, the lecture asks provocative questions about power, legitimacy, participation and empathy. Are children truly heard? Do justice institutions understand risk? Can legal systems be designed around human experience rather than institutional convenience?
Part personal journey, part public challenge, this lecture will offer a thought-provoking exploration of justice, vulnerability and a major social challenge. It is an invitation to rethink how we support families, protect women and children, and build institutions capable of seeing the people behind the process.
Join us in the Lindsay Stewart Lecture Theatre at Craiglockhart Campus.
Following the lecture, attendees are invited to join a networking reception.
Lineup
Host Professor Peter Barlow, Dean of Research and Innovation
Welcome and host for the event
Professor Richard Whitecross, Professor of Law and Legal Education. Head of Law, The Business School
Professor Richard Whitecross is Professor of Law and Legal Education and Head of Law at Edinburgh Napier University. His career has been shaped by a distinctive interdisciplinary approach that brings together law, anthropology, public policy, and legal education to explore how legal systems operate in practice and how they can better serve society. His research spans child and family law, domestic abuse, legal professionalism, and the relationship between law, religion, and constitutional change. Throughout his career, he has worked closely with governments, professional bodies, courts, and third-sector organisations to ensure that research informs policy, legal practice, and justice reform. A National Teaching Fellow and Principal Fellow of Advanced HE, Richard is recognised for his leadership in legal education and for creating inclusive, practice-oriented approaches to learning, and professional development. His recent work has focused on the experiences of children and survivors of domestic abuse within justice systems, contributing to policy debates, legislative reform, and judicial training in Scotland. Through research, leadership, and public engagement, his work seeks to demonstrate how legal scholarship can bridge cultures, disciplines, and institutions to advance justice and social change.
Agenda
- 5:30 pm - 5:35 pm
Welcome
Welcome and introductions from Professor Peter Barlow
- 5:35 pm - 6:15 pm
For Sarah There Is Only One Life: Domestic Abuse and the Challenge of Human-Centred Justice
Presentation by Professor Richard Whitecross, followed by a 15 minute Q&A
- 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Networking Reception
A chance to ask any further questions and networking
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
