Dr Yemisi L. Sloane

Yemisi holds a PhD in Sociology and Criminology from the University of Essex, an LLM in Human Rights Law from the University of London and an LLB in Law from the University of Benin. She is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. Prior to joining ARU, Yemisi’s worked as a Senior Research Officer at the University of Essex, Colchester and as a Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Westminster, London.

Yemisi’s research examines the structural conditions that produce gender-based violence and sustain impunity, with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan African communities and their diasporas in Britain. Her expertise spans multiple forms of violence against women and girls, including domestic and intimate partner violence, sexual violence and exploitation, female genital mutilation (FGM) and femicide. Her work is grounded in decolonial feminist criminology, feminist jurisprudence and socio-legal scholarship, drawing on ethnographic, qualitative and participatory research to analyse the intersections of violence, identity and resistance in the lived experiences of women. She collaborates with community organisations, local authorities and public sector partners to design and evaluate initiatives addressing violence prevention, victim support, social inequalities and gender justice. She has presented her work at international academic and policy forums across Europe, Africa and Asia, and is committed to ensuring that academic research informs policy, practice and wider debates on gender justice and women's rights.

• Gender-Based Violence and Interventions - All forms of gender-based violence against women and girls, including domestic and intimate partner violence, FGM, femicide, sexual violence and technology-facilitated abuse.
• Sexual Violence and Exploitation - Including human trafficking, sexual exploitation in conflict and post-conflict settings, and institutional impunity.
• Migration, Diaspora and Legal Vulnerability - The experiences of migrant and diasporic women navigating hostile legal environments, immigration dependency and plural legal systems.
• Decolonial Feminist Frameworks - Decolonial approaches to understanding violence, knowledge production and resistance in African and diasporic communities.
• Race, Crime and Policing - The intersections of race, criminalisation and policing practices, with particular attention to structural inequality and justice outcomes.
• Feminist Jurisprudence and Socio-Legal Research - The critique of how legal and criminal justice systems sustain gender inequality and reproduce patriarchal power through law, policy and practice, and how these systems operate in the lived experiences of women from minoritised communities.
• Knowledge Exchange and Third Sector Engagement - Applied research engagement with NGOs, civil society organisations and gender development practitioners, bridging academic scholarship with frontline practice in gender justice, safeguarding and institutional reform.

Yemi currently teaches on the following modules:

• Violence, Gender, and Victimisation (module leader)
• Exploitation, Trafficking and Sexual Violence
• Comparative and Global Criminal Justice (module leader)
• Violence in Context (module leader)

• PhD Sociology and Criminology, University of Essex
• LLM Human Rights Law, University of London
• Barrister at Law, Nigeria Law School
• LLB Law, University of Benin, Nigeria

• Associate Editor - Journal of Gender-Based Violence
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA)
• Member, British Society of Criminology
• Member, British Sociological Association
• Member, Socio-Legal Studies Association

Sloane, Y. (under contract) Sexual Violence in Post-Colonial Africa: The Intersections of Power, Identity and Resistance. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Sloane, Y.L. and Gill, A.K. (2025). ‘I Stayed, Because… I Needed to Have a Plan’: Nigerian Migrant Women’s Experiences of Gender‐Based Violence, Resilience and Resistance. The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice.

Sloane, Y. (2025). Navigating Law and Vulnerability: African Women, Legal Consciousness and Intimate Partner Violence in the UK. International Conference on Gender Research, 8(1), pp.389–397.

Selected projects

Dynamics of Sexual Violence and Resistance Project (DSVR): An interdisciplinary research and public engagement project examining sexual violence, power, identity and resistance in Nigerian communities through empirically grounded research and creative dissemination.

Ethical Research Engagement and Capacity Building Training for Third-Sector Organisations (Proof of Concept Project): A practice-focused project delivering training to support ethical engagement in research partnerships and build organisational confidence in collaborative research.

Feminist Worldmaking in Turbulent Times: Holding out Hope and Forging Connections. Plenary Speaker at the British Sociological Association Annual Conference. 2026, Manchester.

Rethinking Researcher Wellbeing in Sensitive Contexts. Paper presented at the Researcher Wellbeing Symposium, 2026, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford.

The Continuum of Violence: Intimate Partner Violence, Borders and Migration Status. Paper presented at the P.H.O.E.B.E Centre Gender Justice & Intersectional Practice Annual Conference, 2025. Ipswich.

The Obsession with Blackness: An Epistemological Inquiry into the Consciousness and Regulation of Racism in Britain. Paper presented at the Political Studies Association/RMI Symposium on Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Blackness and Black Politics, 2025, Goldsmiths, University of London.

Navigating Law and Vulnerability: African Women, Legal Consciousness and Domestic Violence in Britain. Paper presented at the 8th International Conference on Gender Research (ICGR), 2025, Portugal.

Decolonising Gender-Based Violence: Epistemic Injustice and Domestic Violence in the African Diasporic Community in Britain and the Need for Systemic Reform. Paper presented at the 60th Anniversary Conference, Department of Sociology and Criminology, University of Essex, 2024, Colchester.

United Nations 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in collaboration with the UNFCCC Secretariat and UN Women. Invited speaker at the Gender Equality Day side event, 2024, Baku.

Cultural Diplomacy in Practice: Advancing Intercultural Understanding. Invited speaker at the 6th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, 2024, Baku.

Prevention of Domestic Violence: Possibilities and Perspectives. Centre for Social Justice Research, University of Westminster. Paper presented at the 16 days of Activism against Domestic Violence Conference, 2023, London.

Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls: Supporting Different Prevention Strategies. State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Invited speaker at the 16 days of activism against Domestic Violence conference, 2023, Azerbaijan.

Interview with Nina Muslim at the 6th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in Baku for the Bernama Malaysia National News Agency (2024). Experts: Mutual Acceptance, Respect Crucial to Reduce Culture Clashes, Conflict. [online] Bernama.