Criminology has long highlighted that female defendants often receive shorter sentences than male defendants. Recent research reveals similar patterns in terrorism-related offences (Monaghan and Slocombe, 2024, Monaghan et al., 2023).
Reasons for these differences are unclear, though perceptions of women’s reduced agency may play a role. Agency is a debated academic term which broadly refers to the decisions and actions an individual makes, based on the options available and without external pressure.
This thesis explored possible explanations for sentencing differences among terrorism offenders in England and Wales.
Methods
Data included individuals convicted of Terrorism Act offences (TACT) and terrorism‑connected offences (TACT‑c). This summary refers to both categories collectively as terrorism‑related offences.
This thesis used varied data sources to understand sentencing differences, consisting of:
- LawPages data, 546 TACT and TACT-c offenders (male n=505, female n=41) sentenced between 2006-2024.
- 28 sentencing remarks, 50 defendants (male n=28, female n=22) sentenced between 2017- 2024.
- Trial observation, four terrorism trials held in London between 2023- 2025.
- 18 interviews with academics and professionals experienced in terrorism-related legal processes.
To read the full Thesis summary, you can download the pdf on this page.
Read more
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