Helen Gavin was, before retiring in 2023, Subject Lead in Criminal Psychology at the University of Huddersfield, having previously been Head of Psychology at two universities. She taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses in this area, and now carries out research that focuses on deviant and homicidal sexual expression. She is currently collaborating with researchers and practitioners across the UK and in the USA, concerned with projects in female aggression, non-apprehended offenders, and issues concerning policing. She has supervised a number of research students, some of whom have investigated female aggression and psychopathy, the effect of childhood abuse, witchcraft and child homicide, sexual assault in hidden populations, traumatic incidents experienced by police officers, characteristics of homicide, sexual deviancy and disgust responses, and incarcerated sex offenders.
Previous books include Women and the Abuse of Power (Emerald), Understanding Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology (Sage), The Essence of Cognitive Psychology (Prentice-Hall), and Sex Drugs and Rock & Roll: Psychological, Legal, and Cultural Examinations of Sex and Sexuality (ID-Net Press). She has also contributed chapters to over a dozen edited books, and published widely in forensic and medical journals. Helen feels that studying criminal psychology can make one lose a sense of perspective, so she also studies cultural issues such as music and fairy tales, both of which, she has discovered, have a dark side.
