Capstone Editing Research Scholarship for Honours Students

By Hayley Gould

Last year, I had the privilege of being named the 2017 recipient of the inaugural Capstone Editing Research Scholarship for Honours Students. This scholarship has significantly assisted me in covering various costs associated with the researching and writing of my Honours thesis. My thesis explores why certain defences exist within the criminal justice system with respect to the rule of law and critically examines the effectiveness of the family violence self-defence provisions in Victoria; namely, section 322M of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) and discusses whether this provision adequately accommodates for battered women who kill in the context of family violence.

I used the scholarship funds to purchase a laptop, which was pivotal in assisting me to complete comprehensive research. This was of great assistance because I previously did not have a functioning laptop and needed to travel to university to access the library database to conduct research for my thesis. I also used funds to access multiple academic papers and textbooks, which I would not have otherwise been able to afford. One of these was the textbook The Battered Woman Syndrome by Dr Lenore E. A. Walker. This helped me immensely to examine the underlying principles of battered woman syndrome in relation to homicide cases. Moreover, I used funds to access an American journal article that addressed potential legislative reform and congressional resolutions to adequately deal with psychologically abused women who have killed their abusers.

In addition, I was able to use funds to cover some of my travel and living expenses, so I could dedicate more time to volunteering within the legal sector and gain insight into the criminal justice system, therapeutic justice and family law. I was fortunate enough to work alongside some very skilled criminal and family law solicitors. This allowed me to receive incredible practical exposure within these areas of the law and I was able to understand how specific criminal law defences operate within different jurisdictions. Finally, I have budgeted the remainder of my scholarship funds to access the thesis editing services provided by the highly experienced team of academic editors at Capstone Editing.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the team at Capstone Editing for their generosity in providing me with this scholarship and for their consistent offers of support throughout the writing process. I would also like to give a warm thank you to the Director and Head Editor at Capstone Editing, Dr Lisa Lines, who has been a tremendous mentor and supporter of my research; she is an extremely personable and dedicated academic who will go out of her way to assist you with your research. I cannot recommend the team at Capstone Editing highly enough and feel confident that my thesis will be scrupulously edited prior to submission in 2018.

If anyone would like to ask me questions about the Capstone Editing Research Scholarship for Honours Students application process, feel free to send me an email at: hayleyngould@gmail.com