Project Portfolio

  • Project Honeycomb

    The project is growing our understanding of human trafficking across Greater Manchester through establishing data-sharing partnerships, developing AI applications for text analysis, and providing recommendations on interventions to combat human trafficking. Role: project manager and lead researcher.

  • Analysis of the victim’s experience of the An Garda Síochána

    Developing an understanding of victim’s perception of the Irish Police. This includes developing and conducting research methods for a literature review, focus groups, surveys, interviews. Role: project manager.

  • Project HAMOC

    Provided knowledge on human security that was leveraged by the technical team to develop a data analytics application to better understand the human terrain environment in conflict/crisis. Role: lead social science researcher.

  • Project SOLEBAY

    Developed a human trafficking in conflict risk assessment that considers risk from the perspective of the individual and the impact of wider societal factors to understand the threat and harm. Role: lead researcher and domain expert.

  • Crime and Mental Health

    Collected, processed, and analysed data to develop a report on understanding the complex issue of crime and mental health in a borough of London. Role: lead social science researcher.

  • iTRACK

    iTRACK (Integrated system for real-time TRACKing and collective intelligence in civilian humanitarian missions): Carried out a privacy and ethics impact assessment on a smart system for supporting humanitarian organisations in conflict and crisis situations. Role: lead researcher for privacy and ethics.

  • Project TRACE

    Project TRACE (Trafficking As a Criminal Enterprise): Through qualitative research, including review of court files and interviews with perpetrators, developed an understanding of human trafficking as a business. In addition undertook work on one of the first reports on the role of human trafficking in facilitating and combating human trafficking. Role: researcher.

  • Survivor engagement

    Supporting the Home Office in developing a new strategy on Modern Slavery by undertaking research with survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking. The project runs from February – April 2022.

  • Project CCEM

    Acting as a project manager for a Home Office funded project that aims to strengthen social norms around the non-use of modern slavery in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). To achieve this, amongst other things, the project will develop an application to enable investors to understand the modern slavery risks regarding target geographical areas and/or companies.

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  • Project RESTART

    Project RESTART supports survivors of human trafficking in having their voices heard and provides evidence for policymakers seeking to develop policies on supporting survivors of human trafficking. Role: Providing subject matter expertise on human trafficking in the development of Natural Language Processing models for extracting insights on survivor needs from text.

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Human trafficking expertise

I began building my expertise in human trafficking in 2013 through my PhD, where my thesis looked at the following question: The legal framework on non-liability for victims of human trafficking: should, and can, the European Union ask more of Member States? My theoretical and policy knowledge is complimented by first-hand real-world experiences, including numerous interactions with trafficking victims, perpetrators, and counter-trafficking practitioners.

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Teaching (selection)

Space Law at the University of Amsterdam

Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Amsterdam

Thesis module at the University of Amsterdam

Human Trafficking on a LLM program at the University of Warsaw

Guest Lecture at Lecture Deakin University: Digital defence and human security

Guest Lecture at Aberystwyth University: Human Trafficking in Armed Conflict: A Manifestation of Human Insecurity

Guest Lecture at the University of Warsaw: Human Security and Human Trafficking in Conflict

Guest Lecture at Manchester University: Organised Crime in Conflict

Podcast

Humans of Security

In this podcast series we speak to experts, practitioners, thinkers and decision-makers who are involved in studying, understanding and operationalising human security.

 Training

As an expert trainer, including on human trafficking, I have delivered over 15 training sessions to a wide range of audiences, including government officials, police, border forces, civil society, senior military personnel, humanitarian organisations, and youth programs. Examples include:

Training on using data for understanding human trafficking - multiple audiences including NGOs, governmental bodies, helplines

Training on human trafficking to UK MOD troops as part of a human security course

Training on safeguarding policies to the Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR)

Training on human trafficking to NGOs and policy makers at the International Centre for Parliamentary Studies

Training for the Polish police and border guard on trafficking in children

Training for staff at Manchester Airport on how to identify cases of human trafficking

Training to Manchester’s Women’s Institute on how to understand human trafficking in a local community

Support to vulnerable persons

Provided information to support Polish victims of labour exploitation in the Netherlands

Worked with male and female victims of human trafficking at safehouses across Manchester

Provided emotional support and advice to prisoners and the families of prisoners on the drug treatment wings at Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) in Manchester

Provided support and practical advice on a helpline for partners of prisoners

Speaking engagements (selection)

‘Data, human trafficking and the Ukraine war’ at the Child Helpline International training workshop for Hungarian NGOs, Budapest

‘Women in Space Policy’ at the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, London

‘Improving policy on human trafficking’ at the NATO Digital Dialogue on Human Security conference, Online

‘Recruitment of migrant workers and labour law – do we risk facilitating forced labour and trafficking for labour exploitation without knowing it?’ at the Competence building, assistance provision and prevention of trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation conference organised by Council of Baltic Sea States, Online

‘Who are the victims and how are they recruited online? New Perspectives’ at the Trafficking in the Digital Era Conference organised by Council of Baltic Sea States, Online

‘Technology & Innovation in conflicts’ at the Humanitarian Networks & Partnerships Week, Geneva 

’The role of technologies in the sex industry and in relation to human trafficking’ at the Desire Project Validation workshop, Tilburg

Chaired the ‘7th Annual International Symposium on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling’, Brussels

‘Non-prosecution or non-application of penalties to the victim of human trafficking’, 14th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology, Prague

‘Agility in crisis management information systems requires an iterative and flexible approach to assessing ethical, legal and social issues.’ 14th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, Albi