Sarah Lamble

Birkbeck College, University of London, Social Sciences, Faculty Member

Birkbeck College, University of London, Law, Faculty Member

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Phone: +44 (0)207 631 6017
Address: School of Law
Birkbeck College, University of London
Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX

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Papers by Sarah Lamble

Response to the DWP consultation paper: No one written off: reforming welfare to reward responsibility

Sexual peril and dangerous others: The moral economies of the trans prisoner policy debates in England and Wales

Sexualities

This article analyses a widely publicised case in England, where a trans woman was remanded to a ... more This article analyses a widely publicised case in England, where a trans woman was remanded to a women’s prison and subsequently sexually assaulted other women prisoners. The article traces how the case was politically mobilised to support a growing backlash against trans rights in Britain. The article argues that the case was successfully deployed by trans-hostile groups because of a combination of carceral politics and sexual exceptionalism, which cut across both left and right politics and has roots in racialised narratives of ‘dangerous others'. These narratives, while ostensibly claiming to guard against sexual violence, paradoxically limit the capacity to meaningfully address underlying causes of sexual harm.

Defund – not defend – the police: A response to Fleetwood and Lea

The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice

We argue that defunding the police is necessary to address fundamental and systemic problems plag... more We argue that defunding the police is necessary to address fundamental and systemic problems plaguing British policing. We do so in response to an article written by Fleetwood & Lea (2022), published in this journal, claiming that ‘defunding the police does not translate well to the UK’ (p.172).

format_quoteDefunding calls are part of dismantling carceral norms and building alternatives to prevent violence and address inequality, not just reallocating funds.format_quote

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Practising everyday abolition

This chapter offers some strategies and examples for taking an everyday approach to prison and po... more

Guest Editors' Introduction: Queer Theory and Criminology

Sage, Nov 1, 2020

Why context matters in the Trans prisoner policy debates

format_quoteMainstream media spreads unfounded claims about trans prisoners, portraying them as dangerous while lacking evidence.format_quote

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Queer Theory and Socio-Legal Studies

Routledge Handbook of Law and Society, 2021

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Response to the DWP consultation paper: No one written off: reforming welfare to reward responsibility

Building sustainable communities of resistance

Book synopsis: In late April, tens of thousands of people gathered to protest at the Second Peopl... more Book synopsis: In late April, tens of thousands of people gathered to protest at the Second People’s Summit of the Americas (the FTAA Summit). RESIST! is a collection of young peoples’ experiences from Quebec City. Surprising in their honesty, these accounts, including poems, photos and essays, look at what happened during the FTAA weekend. The contributors seek answers to explain the treatment of the protesters, marvel at the strength of character of those that they encountered, and celebrate many successes. The material gathered here reflects the variety of people who felt compelled to go to the protests and talks about how they chose to participate. The contributors found themselves on either side of the fence and in jails, and they watched as friends were harassed or taken away by police. They talk about their participation in the Saturday march, sleeping on gymnasium floors and being fed and taken care of. Amongst the personal stories are responses from many different groups an...

Guest editorial: Queer theory and criminology

Criminology & Criminal Justice, 2020

In 2015, queer theorist Heather Love called for her fellow queer scholars to recognise the centra... more In 2015, queer theorist Heather Love called for her fellow queer scholars to recognise the centrality of the study of norms and deviance to 'the intellectual genealogy' of queer studies. She argued that queer approaches and understandings, with their 'embrace of a politics of stigma' and 'reliance on a general category of social marginality', were 'borrowed' from mid-20th century social science studies of deviance (Love, 2015: 75). For most criminologists, it is axiomatic that this tradition is equally central to our own genealogy, and our concerns with deviance, normativity, social control and the production of power and marginalisation. Despite this shared set of concerns, queer theory and criminology have little contemporary crossover. We share Love's concern around this state of affairs, but where she is primarily concerned about the stakes for queer studies, the focus of our Special Issue is on what criminologists can gain from greater engagement with the analytic and conceptual tools of queer theory.

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The marketisation of prison alternatives

Criminal Justice Matters, 2014

The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with p... more The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.

format_quoteAlternatives to prison often widen the criminal justice net, increasing societal control rather than reducing recidivism.format_quote

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The Quiet Dangers of Civilized Rage: Surveying the Punitive Aftermath of England’s 2011 Riots

South Atlantic Quarterly, 2013

This article considers the state’s punitive response to the civil unrest that swept across Englan... more This article considers the state’s punitive response to the civil unrest that swept across England in August 2011. Surveying measures taken by police, courts, and politicians—including lengthy prison sentences, violent police raids, increased surveillance, and proposals for new benefit sanctions—the article highlights the targeting of disaffected young people, impoverished neighborhoods, and racialized communities. Considering these measures alongside the accompanying political rhetoric, the article argues that the state’s actions worked to depoliticize the riots and generate a narrative of blame that worked to rationalize the state’s own vindictive violence.

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Unknowable Bodies, Unthinkable Sexualities: Lesbian and Transgender Legal Invisibility in the Toronto Women's Bathhouse Raid

Social & Legal Studies, 2009

Although litigation involving sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination claims has ge... more Although litigation involving sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination claims has generated considerable public attention in recent years, lesbian and transgender bodies and sexualities still remain largely invisible in Anglo-American courts. While such invisibility is generally attributed to social norms that fail to recognize lesbian and transgender experiences, the capacity to `not see' or `not know' queer bodies and sexualities also involves wilful acts of ignorance. Drawing from R. v Hornick (2002) a Canadian case involving the police raid of a women's bathhouse, this article explores how lesbian and transgender bodies and sexualities are actively rendered invisible via legal knowledge practices, norms and rationalities. It argues that limited knowledge and limited thinking not only regulate the borders of visibility and belonging, but play an active part in shaping identities, governing conduct and producing subjectivity.

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Queer Necropolitics and the Expanding Carceral State: Interrogating Sexual Investments in Punishment

Law and Critique, 2013

This article examines the changing relationship between sexual politics and the carceral state. W... more This article examines the changing relationship between sexual politics and the carceral state. While sexual and gender nonconforming people have been historically punished for transgressing social norms, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists in Europe and North America have begun to invest in the state punishment of others. Whether supporting hate crime legislation, calling for more police in gentrifying neighborhoods, or participating in police recruitment campaigns, organisations that formerly fought against criminalisation trends now actively support expanding forms of state violence and punishment. Focussing on examples from the British and US context—and drawing from the concept of ‘queer necropolitics’—this article considers how the carceral state has shifted from a key target of queer protest to celebrated guardian of sexual citizenship. Arguing that this process constitutes more than just another story of queer assimilation and co-optation, the article suggests this shift reflects a deeper reconfiguration of sexual politics, where citizenship norms and practices are increasingly infused with a chillingly punitive and deathly logic.

Queer Anti-Racist Activism and Strategies of Critique: A Roundtable Discussion

Feminist Legal Studies, 2011

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Over-policed and under-protected: why does nothing change

Institute of Race Relations - News & Comment, 2023

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Defund -not defend -the police: A response to Fleetwood and Lea

by Sarah Lamble, Megan McElhone, and J M Moore

The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 2023

We argue that defunding the police is necessary to address fundamental and systemic problems plag... more

format_quoteDecades of policing reforms fail to constrain police power, exacerbating racial and gendered harms in the UK.format_quote

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Sexual peril and dangerous others: The moral economies of the trans prisoner policy debates in England and Wales

Sexualities, 2023

This article analyses a widely publicised case in England, where a trans woman was remanded to a ... more This article analyses a widely publicised case in England, where a trans woman was remanded to a women's prison and subsequently sexually assaulted other women prisoners. The article traces how the case was politically mobilised to support a growing backlash against trans rights in Britain. The article argues that the case was successfully deployed by trans-hostile groups because of a combination of carceral politics and sexual exceptionalism, which cut across both left and right politics and has roots in racialised narratives of 'dangerous others'. These narratives, while ostensibly claiming to guard against sexual violence, paradoxically limit the capacity to meaningfully address underlying causes of sexual harm.

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Retelling racialized violence, remaking White innocence: The politics of interlocking oppressions

The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users ar... more

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Queer desires and critical pedagogies in higher education: reflections on the transformative potential of non-normative learning desires in the classroom

This article considers what a queer approach might offer in addressing some of the challenges of ... more This article considers what a queer approach might offer in addressing some of the challenges of higher education in the contemporary neoliberal landscape. Despite a rich literature on queer issues in the classroom, most of the existing scholarship has focused on engaging queer students, being a queer teacher, or teaching queer content in the curriculum. Very little work has focused on what it means to take a queer approach to pedagogic techniques or how such an approach might impact educational practices more broadly. We ask: What does it mean in theory and practice to “queer” our teaching methods? What role can queer pedagogic practices play in contesting the marketization of higher education and the shift towards more instrumentalist and consumer-based modes of learning? We argue that a queer approach to pedagogy, which explicitly seeks to open up spaces for non-normative educational desires to emerge, potentially offers fruitful strategies for fostering critical and transformati...

format_quoteA queer pedagogical approach opens spaces for non-normative educational desires, offering strategies to resist neoliberal constraints in education.format_quote

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