INSTITUTE OF LAW AT THE LITHUANIAN CENTRE FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES

Dr. Rūta Vaičiūnienė

Senior Research Fellow, exercising functions of the Head of the Department, PRISTA project Senior Research Fellow
(+370 5) 2497591

 

Started working at the Institute – since 2015-12-01.

 

Research interests:

Sociology of imprisonment and correctional programming, sociology of gender with a focus on domestic violence, critical criminology, youth justice.

 

International scientific profiles:

 

Publications:

 

Principal publications (from 2018):

Michalovič, I., Vaičiūnienė, R. Justickaja, S., Viršilas, V. (2022), Challenges to an Individualized Approach Toward Batterers Intervention Programs in the Context of Coordinated Community Response to the Intimate Partner Violence in Lithuania, Journal of Family Violence. DOI: 10.1007/s10896-022-00467-6/

Vaičiūnienė, R., Arta Idrissi, Artūras Tereškinas (2022), „Gender-specific strategies of adaptation to imprisonment in a Lithuanian women’s correctional facility“. The Routledge Handbook of Women‘s Experiences of Criminal Justice, ed. Issla Mason and Natalie Booth. New York: Routledge.

Michailovič, I., Justickaja, S., Vaičiūnienė, R., Banach-Gutierrez, J. (2022), Domestic Violence Against Women in Lithuania and Poland: Seeking Adequate Protection of Victims. Legal Protection of Vulnerable Groups in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland. Edited by Agnė Limantė, Dovilė Pūraitė-Andrikienė. Cham: Springer Cham, 2022. p. 409. (European Union and its Neighbours in a Globalized World, ISSN 2524-8928, eISSN 2524-8936 ; 8). ISBN 9783031069970. eISBN 9783031069987. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-06998-7.

Tereškinas, A., Vaičiūnienė, R., Jarutienė, L. (2022), Gender and Sentencing in Lithuania: More Mercy for Women? // Laws: 2022, 11, 5, p. 1-15. MDPI AG. ISSN 2075-471X. eISSN 2075-471X. DOI: 10.3390/laws11050070.

Limantė, A., Vaičiūnienė, R., Apolevič, J. (2022), Child-Friendly Legal Aid and Individual Assessment of Children in Conflict with the Law: Building the Basis for Effective Participation // International journal of environmental research and public health: A Further Look at Risk Behaviors in Adolescents: An Update on Assessment Instruments, Explanation Models, and Interventions Focused on Individual and Environmental Risk/Protective Factors : 2022, 19, 1, p. 1-17. MDPI. ISSN 1660-4601. eISSN 1660-4601. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19010017.

Michailovič, I., Justickaja, S., Vaičiūnienė, R., Viršilas, V. (2021), Change in domestic violent behaviour: perspectives for developing work with perpetrators in Lithuania. Vilnius: Lietuvos socialinių mokslų centro Teisės institutas, 2021. 116. ISBN 9786099623955. eISBN 9786099623962.

Tereškinas, A., Vaičiūnienė, R., Nikartas, S., Jarutienė, L. (2021), Women in the lithuanian criminal justice system: from sentencing practices to punishment experiences. Vilnius: Žara, Lietuvos socialinių mokslų centro Teisės institutas, 2021. 195 p. ISBN 9789986343776.

Vaičiūnienė, R. (editor); Nikartas, S., Apolevič, J., Povilaitytė, V., Dodig Hundric, D., Ricijaš, N., Mirosavljevic, A., Mandic, S., Pitsela, A., Nouskalis, G., Karagiannidis, Ch., Giagkou, A., Mavrou, Ch. (2020), Individual Assessment of Suspected or Accused Children: insights into good practice in the light of the Directive (EU) 2016/800 / Edited by Rūta Vaičiūnienė. Vilnius: Žara, Lietuvos socialinių mokslų centro Teisės institutas, 2020. 216 p. ISBN 9789986343707.

Nikartas, S., Vaičiūnienė, R., Rinkevičiūtė, G. (2020), Probation officers’ discretionary decisions in responding to probation violations: The case of Lithuania // Probation Journal. Thousand Oaks, CA: 2020, 68, 1, p. 28-46. SAGE Publications. ISSN 0264-5505. eISSN 1741-3079. DOI: 10.1177/0264550520980057.

Sakalauskas, G. (editor), Jarutienė, L., Kalpokas, V., Vaičiūnienė, R. (2019), Conditions of imprisonment and premisses for social integration of prisoners. Vilnius: Lietuvos teisės institutas, Žara, 2019. p. 1-512. ISBN 9789986343493.

Michailovič, I., Justickaja, S., Vaičiūnienė, R, Kalpokas, V., Visockas, E. (2019), Towards the effective cooperation between police and other stakeholders: model for the identification, support and prevention of domestic violence.Vilnius: Lietuvos teisės institutas, 2019. p. 70 l. eISBN 9789986704638.

Slade, G., Vaičiūnienė, R. (2018), In comparative perspective: The effects of incarceration abroad on penal subjectivity among prisoners in Lithuania // European Journal of Criminology: 2018, 15, 2, p. 217-234. Sage Publications Ltd. ISSN 1477-3708. eISSN 1741-2609. DOI: 10.1177/1477370817726716.

Vaičiūnienė, R. (2018), Killing Time in Prison: Purposeful Activities and Spare Time in Lithuanian Correctional Facilities // The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies: The Evolution of Prisons and Penality in the Former Soviet Union: 2018, 19, p. 1-16. Centre for Research and Study on Post-Soviet Societies and Institutions. ISSN 1769-7069. DOI: 10.4000/pipss.5082.

Vaičiūnienė, R., Viršilas, V. (2018), The implementation of social rehabilitation measures in Lithuanian correctional institutions: the improvement of existing practices. Vilnius : Lietuvos teisės institutas, 60 l. eISBN 9789986704546.

 

Research Projects:

2020 – 2021, Changes in domestic violent behavior: perspectives for developing work with perpetrators at institutional and communal levels (SMEAK). Senior Research Fellow. Project partner - Lithuanian Probation Service. Project budget ~ 110 000 eur.

2020 – 2021, Legal aid for children in criminal proceedings: developing and sharing best practices (LA CHILD). Senior Research Fellow. Project partners - Belgium (Defence for Children (DCI-Belgium)) and Albania (Center of Integrated Legal Services and Practices (CILSP).

2019 – 2021, Defeminised criminal justice: female offenders’ penalties and their experiences of punishment (FemiJust). Senior Research Fellow. The project partners – Cambridge Institute of Criminology and Vytautas Magnus University. Project budget: 145 724 Eur.

2019 – 2020, Procedural safeguards of accused or suspected children: improving the implementation of the right to individual assessment (IA-CHILD). Project leader/ Senior Research Fellow. Project partners - Croatia, Greece, Cyprus, Belgium.

2018 – 2020, Increasing the organizational capacity of the Women and children sections of the Gendarmerie general command. Project partner (leading) - Lithuanian Police Department under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania. Project budget ~ EUR 1.65 million.

2018 – 2019, Towards the effective cooperation between police and other stakeholders: model for the identification, support and prevention of domestic violence” (POSIB). Research fellow. Project budget 70000 eur.

 

Presentations at Conferences (from 2018):

2021-11-30, Vaičiūnienė Rūta. „Implementing batterer intervention programs: the importance of inter-institutional cooperation and coordinated response“. International conference „The Change of Domestic Violent Behaviour: Working with Perpetrators at Institutional and Community Levels“, Vilnius.

2021-06-23, Vaičiūnienė Rūta, Jarutienė Liubovė. Gender & Sentencing in Lithuania: more mercy for women? International conference „A just punishment for women? Punitive practices and female offenders‘ experiences“, Vilnius.

2021-02-11, Vaičiūnienė, Rūta, Nikartas, Simonas. Legal aid for children in Lithuania (Presentation of LA CHILD research results.). Conference “Legal aid for children in criminal proceedings: child-friendly legal aid at focus”, Vilnius.

2021, Rūta Vaičiūnienė, Artūras Tereškinas. „Defeminised criminal justice: female offenders’ crimes and penalties in Lithuania“. 20st Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology. Criminology in a time of pandemic.

2019-03-28/29, Vaičiūnienė Rūta. “Doing prison work: inconsistent institutional identities and roles of prison officers”. International seminar of Working Group on Prison Life and the Effects of Imprisonment (European Society of Criminology). Amsterdam, Netherlands.

2019-03-08, Vaičiūnienė Rūta, Michailovič Ilona. “Towards the effective cooperation between police and other stakeholders: model for identification, support and prevention of domestic violence”, International meeting of The European Organisation of Prison and Correctional Services, EuroPris and Confederation of European Probation, CEP. Vilnius.

 

Academic Visits:

2019-03-28/29, Participation in workshop (Working Group on Prison Life and the Effects of Imprisonment of European Society of Criminology), Amsterdam, Netherlands.

 

Memberships

Professional Associations:

Member of the Board of the Lithuanian Criminologists Association.

Member of European Society of Criminology, member of ESC Prison Working Group.

 

Editorial Board:

2021 – Present. Member of editorial board in scientific journal Kriminologijos studijos (Criminological studies).

 

Science Promotion (from 2018):

16 September 2021, “LRT Klasika” podcast “72 Shades”: A conversation about the expression of masculinity and femininity in prisons, the impact of sexuality on the social position and behaviour of individuals.

4 July 2019, Start FM's "Law Clinic Live." The programme focuses on the conditions of imprisonment in Lithuanian correctional facilities feel.

 

National and International Awards:

On February 10th 2020, Virgilijus Kulikauskas, Director of the Prison Department under the Ministry of Justice, presented a letter of appreciation on the occasion of the 101st anniversary of the founding of the Lithuanian Penitentiary System, to Rūta Vaičiūnienė, Senior Researcher at the Law Institute, for her significant scientific contribution and initiatives in improving the process of resocialisation of convicts in the Lithuanian Penitentiary System.