Contact
Biography
I am an Associate Professor in Criminology who joined the University of Nottingham in January 2021 as an Assistant Professor in Criminology. Before this, I was a Senior Lecturer in Criminology & Justice Studies at RMIT University (Melbourne, Australia) where I completed a large-scale project on the career development needs of sex workers in Victoria, which included working with a team of sex worker peer researchers. Prior to joining RMIT, I was a Vice Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Criminology (Flinders University, Adelaide) with my project exploring Cambodia's human trafficking laws. I specialise in sex work and human trafficking, having researched with sex workers in Australia and Asia-Pacific for almost twenty years. I received my BA (Asian Studies) and Honours (Social Sciences) degrees from Curtin University and PhD in Gender, Sexuality and Culture from the Australian National University. I have a Graduate Certificate in Advanced Khmer from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which I gained after studying at the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute. I have a Graduate Certificate in University Teaching from the University of Melbourne and am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I was also a Research Fellow on the International HIV Program at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University and a Research Analyst at the Australian Institute of Criminology where I worked on the National Homicide Monitoring Program and Trafficking in Persons project.
Most recently, I was a British Academy Innovation Fellow (2023-24) working with POW Nottingham, a local sex worker organisation, on improving crime reporting options for sex workers in Nottingham.
ORCID ID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9341-1711
Expertise Summary
gender, sexuality and culture; sex work; human trafficking; victimology; gendered violence and sexual violence; policing; queer criminology; feminist theories and practice; Asian & Australian criminology; decolonial criminology; Southeast Asian ethnography; Khmer & Thai studies; applied Anthropology; Australian studies.
Teaching Summary
Current teaching
I am the Undergraduate Program Convener for Criminology and teach Human Trafficking (SOCI3038) and Crime, Victimisation and Criminal Justice (SOCI4117).
I also teach into Contemporary Theories in Crime, Justice & Society (SOCI2043); Research Design Practice (Qualitative Methods (SOCI2039) & Research Design Practice (Quantitative Methods) (SOCI2038)
Current doctoral supervision
Gabriela Franich, External Supervisor, March 2021 (University of Melbourne). Thesis topic: The experiences of women being placed on remand and the service providers who support them in Victoria, Australia
Peter Waugh, Joint Senior Supervisor, February 2023. Thesis topic: Towards a youth-centred, multi-agency approach to safeguarding young athletes from human trafficking in football.
Ashley Allen, Senior Supervisor, September 2023 (Adelaide-Nottingham Joint International Doctoral Training Program). Thesis topic: Regulating online grey zones: Exploring wildlife trade control on social media platforms.
Samantha Richardson-Martin, Senior Supervisor, September 2024 . Thesis topic: Street-based sex workers as agents in the policy-making process: An exploration of participatory regulation in sex industry policy in the Midlands, UK.
Doctoral alumni (since June 2022)
Bonnie Stevens, Associate Supervisor, School of Media and Communications, RMIT University (supervision commenced October 2018). PhD conferred March 2024. Thesis title: Community-led independent publishing with marginalised communities.
Shaez Mortimer, Joint Senior Supervisor, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University (supervision commenced March 2017). PhD conferred June 2022. Thesis title: Queering Survival: LGBQA peoples experiences of living through sexual violence, awarded the Australian Women and Gender Studies Association Award for the most outstanding doctoral thesis completed at an Australian University.
External examining
Criminology Undergraduate Subject External Examiner, University of York
External Examiner for MLaw, LLB, DLaw, Faculty of Business and Law, Northumbria University
Research Summary
Research England Quality-related Participatory Research Scheme (2025)
Project title: Designing justice
This project uses co-design methods with sex workers to develop a bespoke training package featuring community-focused materials for a crime reporting system.
British Academy Innovation Fellow (2023-24)
Project title: Creating opportunities for sex worker justice
This project was in collaboration with POW Nottingham (local sex worker organisation) and co-designed a local crime reporting and support system for sex workers in Nottingham.
Recent Publications
LARISSA SANDY and ANGELA DWYER, 2024. LGB women and sex work. In: ABBIE GOLDBERG, ed., The Sage Encyclopaedia of LGBTQ+ Studies (second edition).