The Fabric of Safety: Weaving Civil Society and Citizenship to Address Domestic Violence [Podcast]

Lundy Bancroft, writing in his groundbreaking book, Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men, wrote, “An abuser can seem emotionally needy. You can get caught in a trap of catering to him, trying to fill a bottomless pit. But he’s not so much needy as entitled, so no matter how much you give him, it will never be enough. He will just keep coming up with more demands because he believes his needs are your responsibility, until you feel drained down to nothing.”

2. For decades, we have treated domestic violence as a private tragedy. It is time we recognised it as a public tear in our social fabric—one that requires the collective hands of civil society to mend.

3. As we progress with our 2026 series on citizenship and civil society, a pressing question arises: Who can assist us in genuinely comprehending and navigating the complexities of domestic violence within the framework of safety, intertwining civil society and citizenship to effectively tackle this issue?

4. No one is more qualified to throw light on this vexing question than Professor Susan Edwards KC, a British academic, legal researcher, and activist whose career has spanned over four decades of transformative advocacy. As a Professor of Law and a newly minted King’s Counsel (Honoris Causa) in 2026, her work sits at the vital intersection of feminist legal theory and criminal justice. Her pioneering research in the 1980s was among the first to expose the systemic failure of the “private” sphere, forcing a public conversation on how the law treats—and often mistreats—women.

5. Throughout her tenure, Professor Edwards has been a relentless architect of legal reform. Her influence is etched into the evolution of the Domestic Abuse Act and various international human rights frameworks, where she has consistently argued that safety is a fundamental prerequisite for citizenship. By bridging the gap between the ivory tower and the courtroom, she has provided the empirical evidence needed to dismantle the “culture of denial” that once surrounded gender-based violence, ensuring that the law recognises the coercive and cumulative nature of abuse.

6. Today, as she takes up her inaugural post at the University of Northumbria, her focus has shifted toward the “Fabric of Safety”—a vision of civil society where the law is only one thread in a larger tapestry of protection. Professor Edwards remains a leading global voice, challenging us to see domestic violence not as an isolated crime but as a breach of the social contract. Her 2026 lecture serves as both a reflection on forty years of progress and a radical blueprint for a future where community and state work in tandem to safeguard the vulnerable.

7. In this episode, we discuss the topic: The Fabric of Safety: Weaving Civil Society and Citizenship to Address Domestic Violence.

8. Please take a moment to listen to Episode 027 of Conversations with Stephen Kamugasa. We invite you to follow us on your preferred podcast app to stay updated with the latest insights from our esteemed guest thought leaders.

Recommended Reading:

 1. Female Sexuality and the Law: A Study of Constructs of Female Sexuality as they Inform Statute and Legal Procedure (Routledge Taylor & Francis, December 1, 2025). By Susan S. M. Edwards.

2. Sex and Gender in the Legal Process (Blackstone Press Ltd, November 7, 2002). By Susan S. M. Edwards.