Isobel Walsh

Profile

Biography

In September 2026, I began by PhD in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of York, funded through the White Rose DTP. The working title of my research is: ‘Living with joy: survivor narratives of recovery in the aftermath of sexual violence’.

My research examines the narrative and embodied experiences of the aftermath of sexual violence through the lens of joy, by means of mixed methods: creative methods and interviews. What is learned then, I ask, when we emphasise the living after surviving sexual violence, rather than emphasising the violence itself? Joy here is not felt in the absence of trauma, but is experienced in the discussion of imagined futures, of care and connection. The aim is to look beyond ‘survivor’ or ‘victim’ to the living that takes place in this aftermath of sexual violence, as well as to provide space for survivors to discuss their lives outside of the traumatic experience itself.

Previous education: MSt in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Oxford and BA (Hons) in Sociology, University of Warwick.