5 March 2004

Women and crime - Scotland's first female "bobby"

Photo opportunity 5.30pm, Friday 5th March, Tower Extension Lecture theatre, Tower Building, University of Dundee.

From Scotland's first policewoman in Lochee, Dundee to the gruesome iron implement used to gag witches before they were burned, women at the University of Dundee are staging a unique exhibition examining all aspects of women and crime.

Lady Strathmore will talk about her ancestor Janet Douglas, Lady Glamis who was burned after a forced confession from her son convicted her of treason and witchcraft.

Sue Black, the University of Dundee's Professor of Forensic Anthropology will give an insight into infanticide and the reporting of it in the Orkney case and display some of the tools of her trade.

The University of Dundee is putting together this unique on women and crime to mark International Women's Day. There will be workshops, lectures and panel discussions.

Subjects covered include women as victims and women as perpetrators, women working as the investigators, the prosecutors and jailers. The exhibition will present an historical perspective along side work by contemporary artists working in this area. Lady Strathmore will officially open the exhibition.

To conclude the series there will be a workshop focusing on crime writing, with a discussion on female crime authors followed by a panel discussion with Melanie Garret-Fraser, script writer and crime author; Dr Gail Low from the department of English; Marion Wynne-Davies, a member for the teaching team for the Women, Culture and Society course, and Sue Black OBE.

The exhibition at the Lamb Gallery will be open to the public from Saturday 6 March 2004, 9.30am-4pm Mon to Fri, 9.30am-8pm, closes Friday 23 April 2004.

The bone lady - stories from a criminal casebook, an evening lecture by Sue Black OBE, Professor of Anatomy and Forensic Anthropology - Friday 5 March, 5.30 pm Tower Extension Lecture Theatre, University of Dundee. Workshop 2-5pm & panel discussion 5-7pm, Wednesday 31 March.

Editors' notes

This series of events will coincide with Dundee Contemporary Arts Scottish Women Crime Writers event Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 March 2004.

University of Dundee Exhibitions Department, DJCAD, 13 Perth Rd, Dundee DD1 4HT, call 01382 345330, exhibitions@dundee.ac.uk

By Jenny Marra, Head of Press 01382 344910, out of hours: 07968298585, j.m.marra@dundee.ac.uk