Sydney Hitchcock
- Thesis Title: An investigation into the barriers and facilitators guiding bystander decision-making in UK university students during situations of sexual misconduct
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About
Sydney holds a first class BA degree in Criminology and a MSc in Organised Crime, Terrorism and Security with Distinction from the University of Essex. She previously worked in campus crime prevention and created an engaging bystander training to safely reduce sexual misconduct and hate crime across university campuses.
In October 2021, Sydney began her PhD at the Institute of Criminology, under the supervision of Dr Kyle Treiber.
Research
Sydney’s doctoral research seeks to uncover the individual, situational and institutional factors informing bystander decision making in UK university students when considering sexual misconduct in familiar settings. By using a mixed methods approach, her research will focus on the experiences and beliefs of students and training facilitators in the UK and USA. As UK bystander trainings are built on a foundation of USA college and military data, Sydney is particularly interested in investigating potential correlations and differences between the data collected in both countries. It is the intention of her research to better inform UK university bystander trainings to ensure they are evidence-based, safe and appropriate for their target audience.