Dr Rachel McPherson

  • Senior Lecturer (School of Law)

telephone: 0141 330 1777
email: Rachel.Mcpherson@glasgow.ac.uk

Room 316, Stair Building, University of Glasgow

Import to contacts

Biography

Rachel’s expertise lies in Criminal Law and Evidence and Family Law. She is particularly interested in legal responses to domestic abuse and intimate partner homicide.

Her research employs socio-legal methodologies.

She has worked across a range of socio-legal research projects including those funded by the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service, Economic and Social Research Council, Scottish Government, and Scottish Institute for Policing Research. 

Research interests

  • Access to justice
  • Criminal law
  • Criminal justice
  • Family law
  • Intimate partner homicide
  • Law of evidence
  • Legal responses to domestic abuse
  • Sentencing
  • Socio-legal research methodologies

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2015 | 2013 | 2012
Number of items: 38.

2025

McPherson, Rachel (2025) The problem of complex defence strategies: excessive self-defence as a remedy to cases involving claims of accident and self-defence. Criminal Law Review, 2025(5), pp. 264-280.

Fletcher, Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8725-4895, McPherson, Rachel, Peevers, Charlie ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9740-421X and Stevenson-McCabe, Seonaid (2025) Women, Law and Legal Work in Scotland: Dialogues about our Past, Present and Future. Edinburgh University Press. (Accepted for Publication)

2024

McPherson, Rachel, Burgess, Nicholas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2325-376X and Gormley, Jay ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2883-503X (2024) The sentencing of offences involving stalking in Scotland. Literature review. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council, Edinburgh.

Gormley, Jay ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2883-503X and McPherson, Rachel (2024) Rape Sentencing Guideline. Non-standard consultation response. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council.

McPherson, Rachel (2024) Reforming the landscape for women who kill their abusers in Scotland. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, (doi: 10.5204/ijcjsd.3514) (Early Online Publication)

Wood, Jill, Murphy, Catherine, Mitchell, Lynsey and McPherson, Rachel (2024) Outdated, Harmful and Never in the Public Interest: The Urgent Need to Modernise Scotland’s Abortion Law and Prevent Prosecutions. Documentation. Engender.

2023

McPherson, Rachel (2023) News media reporting on Scottish cases in which women kill following domestic abuse. Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism, (doi: 10.1177/14648849231207677) (Early Online Publication)

McPherson, Rachel M. (2023) Women Who Kill, Criminal Law and Domestic Abuse. Routledge. ISBN 9781032052878 (In Press)

McPherson, Rachel (2023) Killings following domestic abuse: public opinion, law reform and the future direction of Scots law. Juridical Review, 2023(2), pp. 97-112.

McPherson, Rachel (2023) Fit for purpose in today’s society? Reflecting on provocation pleas in modern Scotland. Journal of Criminal Law, 87(2), pp. 97-108. (doi: 10.1177/00220183231165813)

McPherson, Rachel (2023) Reflecting on legal responses to intimate partner femicide in Scotland. Violence Against Women, 29(3-4), pp. 686-704. (doi: 10.1177/10778012221094068) (PMID:35989666)

McPherson, Rachel (2023) Prosecuting and sentencing domestic abuse in Scotland. In: Bettinson, Vanessa, Speed, Ana, Richardson, Kayliegh and Burton, Mandy (eds.) Research Handbook on Domestic Violence and Abuse. Edward Elgar. (Accepted for Publication)

2022

McPherson, Rachel (2022) Women accused of killing with others: experiences of the Scottish criminal justice system. Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 61(4), pp. 484-501. (doi: 10.1111/hojo.12490)

McPherson, Rachel (2022) Women and self-defence: an empirical and doctrinal analysis. International Journal of Law in Context, 18(4), pp. 461-475. (doi: 10.1017/S1744552322000131)

McPherson, Rachel (2022) Unintended consequences of non-harassment orders: child contact decision-making. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 44(4), pp. 495-511. (doi: 10.1080/09649069.2022.2136714)

McPherson, Rachel, Gormley, Jay and Wheate, Rhonda (2022) The sentencing of offences involving domestic abuse in Scotland. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council, Edinburgh.

McPherson, Rachel (2022) An empirical study of criminal defences. Criminal Law Review, 2022(4), pp. 307-318.

McPherson, Rachel (2022) S. Cowan, C. Kennedy and V. Munro (eds), Scottish Feminist Judgments: (Re)Creating Law from the Outside In, Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2020, 472pp, hb £95.00. Modern Law Review, 85(2), pp. 563-566. (doi: 10.1111/1468-2230.12660)[Book Review]

2021

Biggs, Hannah, Reid, Susan, Attygalle, Kaushi, Vosnaki, Konstantina, McPherson, Rachel and Tata, Cyrus (2021) Public Perceptions of Sentencing in Scotland: Qualitative research exploring sexual offences. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council, Edinburgh, UK.

Creutzfeldt, Naomi, Gill, Chris, Cornelis, Marine and McPherson, Rachel (2021) Access to Justice for Vulnerable and Energy-Poor Consumers: Just Energy? Hart Publishing. ISBN 9781509939435

McPherson, Rachel (2021) Legal change and legal inertia: understanding and contextualising Scottish cases in which women kill their abusers. Journal of Gender-Based Violence, 5(2), pp. 289-306. (doi: 10.1332/239868021X16099485271900)

McPherson, Rachel (2021) The Sentencing Process Guideline Analysis of Consultation Responses. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council.

McPherson, Rachel (2021) Diminished responsibility post codification: lost opportunities, tensions and gendered applications. Edinburgh Law Review, 25(2), pp. 173-191. (doi: 10.3366/elr.2021.0693)

McPherson, Rachel, Burgess, Nick ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2325-376X, Gormely, Jay and Tata, Cyrus (2021) Sexual offences involving rape literature review. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council, Edinburgh.

McPherson, Rachel, Gormely, Jay, Burgess, Nicholas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2325-376X and Tata, Cyrus (2021) Sexual offences involving sexual assault literature review. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council, Edinburgh.

Reid, Susan, Biggs, Hannah, Attygalle, Kaushi, Vosnaki, Konstantina, McPherson, Rachel and Tata, Cyrus (2021) Public Perceptions of Sentencing in Scotland: Qualitative research exploring causing death by driving offences. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council, Edinburgh.

2020

Gormley, Jay, McPherson, Rachel and Tata, Cyrus (2020) Sentence Discounting: Sentencing and Plea Decision-Making. Documentation. Sentencing Council, Edinburgh.

McPherson, Rachel (2020) Sutherland v HM Advocate: the right to privacy, evidence gathering and the integrity of justice in a digital age. Juridical Review, 2020(2), pp. 104-109.

Creutzfeldt, N., Gill, C., McPherson, R. and Cornelis, M. (2020) The social and local dimensions of governance of energy poverty: adaptive responses to state remoteness. Journal of Consumer Policy, 43, pp. 635-658. (doi: 10.1007/s10603-019-09442-z)

2019

McPherson, Rachel (2019) Battered Woman Syndrome, diminished responsibility and women who kill: insights from Scottish case law. Journal of Criminal Law, 83(5), pp. 381-393. (doi: 10.1177/0022018319858506)

McPherson, Rachel (2019) Donegan v HM Advocate: a step in the right direction for female complainers in sexual offences? Edinburgh Law Review, 23(3), pp. 406-411. (doi: 10.3366/elr.2019.0577)

McPherson, Rachel (2019) Entrapment and the road to fraud. Juridical Review, 2019(3), pp. 277-281.

2018

McPherson, Rachel and Tata, Cyrus (2018) Causing Death by Driving Offences: Literature Review. Other. Scottish Sentencing Council, Edinburgh, UK.

2017

McPherson, Rachel (2017) Independent Review of Hate Crime Legislation: Analysis of Questionnaire Responses. Other. Scottish Government, Edinburgh, UK.

2015

McPherson, Rachel (2015) Pamela R Ferguson and Claire McDiarmid, 'Scots Criminal Law: A Critical Analysis'. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (www.euppublishing.com), 2014. lxv + 701 pp. ISBN 9781845861308. £40. Edinburgh Law Review, 19(2), pp. 297-298. (doi: 10.3366/elr.2015.0290)[Book Review]

2013

McPherson, Rachel (2013) The procedure of agreed narratives: Procedural efficiency or a concern for justice? Juridical Review, 141,

2012

McPherson, Rachel (2012) Fatal self-defence against rape: A call for clarification in Scots Law. Juridical Review, 111,

McPherson, Rachel (2012) Domestic abuse and partner homicide. SCOLAG Legal Journal, 411(4),

This list was generated on Fri Jun 20 21:09:55 2025 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Books | Book Sections | Book Reviews | Edited Books | Research Reports or Papers
Number of items: 38.

Articles

McPherson, Rachel (2025) The problem of complex defence strategies: excessive self-defence as a remedy to cases involving claims of accident and self-defence. Criminal Law Review, 2025(5), pp. 264-280.

McPherson, Rachel (2024) Reforming the landscape for women who kill their abusers in Scotland. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, (doi: 10.5204/ijcjsd.3514) (Early Online Publication)

McPherson, Rachel (2023) News media reporting on Scottish cases in which women kill following domestic abuse. Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism, (doi: 10.1177/14648849231207677) (Early Online Publication)

McPherson, Rachel (2023) Killings following domestic abuse: public opinion, law reform and the future direction of Scots law. Juridical Review, 2023(2), pp. 97-112.

McPherson, Rachel (2023) Fit for purpose in today’s society? Reflecting on provocation pleas in modern Scotland. Journal of Criminal Law, 87(2), pp. 97-108. (doi: 10.1177/00220183231165813)

McPherson, Rachel (2023) Reflecting on legal responses to intimate partner femicide in Scotland. Violence Against Women, 29(3-4), pp. 686-704. (doi: 10.1177/10778012221094068) (PMID:35989666)

McPherson, Rachel (2022) Women accused of killing with others: experiences of the Scottish criminal justice system. Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 61(4), pp. 484-501. (doi: 10.1111/hojo.12490)

McPherson, Rachel (2022) Women and self-defence: an empirical and doctrinal analysis. International Journal of Law in Context, 18(4), pp. 461-475. (doi: 10.1017/S1744552322000131)

McPherson, Rachel (2022) Unintended consequences of non-harassment orders: child contact decision-making. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 44(4), pp. 495-511. (doi: 10.1080/09649069.2022.2136714)

McPherson, Rachel (2022) An empirical study of criminal defences. Criminal Law Review, 2022(4), pp. 307-318.

McPherson, Rachel (2021) Legal change and legal inertia: understanding and contextualising Scottish cases in which women kill their abusers. Journal of Gender-Based Violence, 5(2), pp. 289-306. (doi: 10.1332/239868021X16099485271900)

McPherson, Rachel (2021) Diminished responsibility post codification: lost opportunities, tensions and gendered applications. Edinburgh Law Review, 25(2), pp. 173-191. (doi: 10.3366/elr.2021.0693)

McPherson, Rachel (2020) Sutherland v HM Advocate: the right to privacy, evidence gathering and the integrity of justice in a digital age. Juridical Review, 2020(2), pp. 104-109.

Creutzfeldt, N., Gill, C., McPherson, R. and Cornelis, M. (2020) The social and local dimensions of governance of energy poverty: adaptive responses to state remoteness. Journal of Consumer Policy, 43, pp. 635-658. (doi: 10.1007/s10603-019-09442-z)

McPherson, Rachel (2019) Battered Woman Syndrome, diminished responsibility and women who kill: insights from Scottish case law. Journal of Criminal Law, 83(5), pp. 381-393. (doi: 10.1177/0022018319858506)

McPherson, Rachel (2019) Donegan v HM Advocate: a step in the right direction for female complainers in sexual offences? Edinburgh Law Review, 23(3), pp. 406-411. (doi: 10.3366/elr.2019.0577)

McPherson, Rachel (2019) Entrapment and the road to fraud. Juridical Review, 2019(3), pp. 277-281.

McPherson, Rachel (2013) The procedure of agreed narratives: Procedural efficiency or a concern for justice? Juridical Review, 141,

McPherson, Rachel (2012) Fatal self-defence against rape: A call for clarification in Scots Law. Juridical Review, 111,

McPherson, Rachel (2012) Domestic abuse and partner homicide. SCOLAG Legal Journal, 411(4),

Books

Fletcher, Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8725-4895, McPherson, Rachel, Peevers, Charlie ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9740-421X and Stevenson-McCabe, Seonaid (2025) Women, Law and Legal Work in Scotland: Dialogues about our Past, Present and Future. Edinburgh University Press. (Accepted for Publication)

Creutzfeldt, Naomi, Gill, Chris, Cornelis, Marine and McPherson, Rachel (2021) Access to Justice for Vulnerable and Energy-Poor Consumers: Just Energy? Hart Publishing. ISBN 9781509939435

Book Sections

McPherson, Rachel (2023) Prosecuting and sentencing domestic abuse in Scotland. In: Bettinson, Vanessa, Speed, Ana, Richardson, Kayliegh and Burton, Mandy (eds.) Research Handbook on Domestic Violence and Abuse. Edward Elgar. (Accepted for Publication)

Book Reviews

McPherson, Rachel (2022) S. Cowan, C. Kennedy and V. Munro (eds), Scottish Feminist Judgments: (Re)Creating Law from the Outside In, Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2020, 472pp, hb £95.00. Modern Law Review, 85(2), pp. 563-566. (doi: 10.1111/1468-2230.12660)[Book Review]

McPherson, Rachel (2015) Pamela R Ferguson and Claire McDiarmid, 'Scots Criminal Law: A Critical Analysis'. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (www.euppublishing.com), 2014. lxv + 701 pp. ISBN 9781845861308. £40. Edinburgh Law Review, 19(2), pp. 297-298. (doi: 10.3366/elr.2015.0290)[Book Review]

Edited Books

McPherson, Rachel M. (2023) Women Who Kill, Criminal Law and Domestic Abuse. Routledge. ISBN 9781032052878 (In Press)

Research Reports or Papers

McPherson, Rachel, Burgess, Nicholas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2325-376X and Gormley, Jay ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2883-503X (2024) The sentencing of offences involving stalking in Scotland. Literature review. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council, Edinburgh.

Gormley, Jay ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2883-503X and McPherson, Rachel (2024) Rape Sentencing Guideline. Non-standard consultation response. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council.

Wood, Jill, Murphy, Catherine, Mitchell, Lynsey and McPherson, Rachel (2024) Outdated, Harmful and Never in the Public Interest: The Urgent Need to Modernise Scotland’s Abortion Law and Prevent Prosecutions. Documentation. Engender.

McPherson, Rachel, Gormley, Jay and Wheate, Rhonda (2022) The sentencing of offences involving domestic abuse in Scotland. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council, Edinburgh.

Biggs, Hannah, Reid, Susan, Attygalle, Kaushi, Vosnaki, Konstantina, McPherson, Rachel and Tata, Cyrus (2021) Public Perceptions of Sentencing in Scotland: Qualitative research exploring sexual offences. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council, Edinburgh, UK.

McPherson, Rachel (2021) The Sentencing Process Guideline Analysis of Consultation Responses. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council.

McPherson, Rachel, Burgess, Nick ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2325-376X, Gormely, Jay and Tata, Cyrus (2021) Sexual offences involving rape literature review. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council, Edinburgh.

McPherson, Rachel, Gormely, Jay, Burgess, Nicholas ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2325-376X and Tata, Cyrus (2021) Sexual offences involving sexual assault literature review. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council, Edinburgh.

Reid, Susan, Biggs, Hannah, Attygalle, Kaushi, Vosnaki, Konstantina, McPherson, Rachel and Tata, Cyrus (2021) Public Perceptions of Sentencing in Scotland: Qualitative research exploring causing death by driving offences. Documentation. Scottish Sentencing Council, Edinburgh.

Gormley, Jay, McPherson, Rachel and Tata, Cyrus (2020) Sentence Discounting: Sentencing and Plea Decision-Making. Documentation. Sentencing Council, Edinburgh.

McPherson, Rachel and Tata, Cyrus (2018) Causing Death by Driving Offences: Literature Review. Other. Scottish Sentencing Council, Edinburgh, UK.

McPherson, Rachel (2017) Independent Review of Hate Crime Legislation: Analysis of Questionnaire Responses. Other. Scottish Government, Edinburgh, UK.

This list was generated on Fri Jun 20 21:09:55 2025 BST.

Grants

  • UKRI (2022) Understanding Domestic Homicide in Scotland: Exploring Patterns, Promoting Safeguarding
  • British Academy (2022) Hidden Voices: how women convicted of killing their intimate partners experience the Scottish criminal justice system
  • Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (2021) Sentencing in cases involving domestic abuse
  • Royal Society of Edinburgh (2021) Understanding and translating cases in which women kill following domestic abuse
  • Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (2020) Sentencing in cases involving rape in Scotland and other jurisdictions
  • Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (2020) Sentencing in cases involving sexual assault in Scotland and other jurisdictions
  • Carnegie Trust (2020) Scottish homicides: bridging the gap between the empirical and theoretical
  • Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (2019) Analysis of Judicial Consultations on Sentencing 
  • Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (2019) Sentencing Discount, tendered in association with University of Strathclyde
  • Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (2019) Public Perceptions of Sentencing Survey, tendered in association with Ipsos MORI
  • Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (2019) Public Perceptions of Sentencing in the Scottish Courts, tendered in associated with ScotCen
  • Scottish Sentencing Council (2018) Death by Driving Literature Review, tendered in association with University of Strathclyde
  • Scottish Government (2017) Independent Review of Hate Crime Legislation 
  • Glasgow City Council (2017) Hate Crime Service Provision 

Supervision

Rachel is interested in supervising students with an interest in any aspect of criminal law and criminal justice; the law of evidence and family law. 

Current supervision:

  • Marsh, Clare   The introduction a specific defence in the context of the law of homicide where an accused has been a victim of domestic abuse, and how this defence should operate.
  • Burgess, Nicholas
    Tracking the synergy between criminal law theory and UK drug laws from the 19th to the 21st centuries
  • Reilly, Phoebe
    .An examination and evaluation of Scottish university responses to a complaint of student to-student gender-based violence (GBV)

Teaching

  • Criminal Law and Evidence
  • Family Law
  • Legal Responses to Domestic Abuse and Honour Abuse
  • Women, Law & Society

Research datasets

Jump to: 2023
Number of items: 1.

2023

Fletcher, M. , Peevers, C. , Stevenson, S. and McPherson, R. (2023) Women in Law Project - 100 Voices. [Data Collection]

This list was generated on Fri Jun 20 21:09:56 2025 BST.

Additional information

Affiliations

Gender-Based Violence Research Forum

Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research

Law Reform and Public Policy Research Group 

Socio-Legal Research Group

 

Blog Posts

Intimate Partner Violence and the Order for Lifelong Restriction: An Exploratory Study

Sentencing Domestic Abuse in Scotland

What do we know about sentencing sexual offences in Scotland?

Just Energy World Cafe Institute for Advanced Legal Studies