Professor Christina Pantazis
M.A.(Soton)
Expertise
Current positions
Professor of Zemiology
School for Policy Studies
Contact
Press and media
Many of our academics speak to the media as experts in their field of research. If you are a journalist, please contact the University’s Media and PR Team:
Biography
I have been employed at the University of Bristol since 1993, working at the intersections of social policy, criminology and public policy.
My research interests have focused on two broad areas : poverty, social exclusion and inequality; and crime, harm and criminalisation. I have worked on three of the four national poverty surveys (the 1990 Breadline Britain Survey and the 1999 and 2010 UK Poverty & Social Exclusion Surveys). I have been part of a group of academics developing zemiology - a new disciplinary area within the social sciences focused on social harm. In 2004, with my co-editors (Paddy Hillyard, Steve Tombs and David Gordon) we published Beyond Criminology: Taking Harm Seriously (Pluto Press) which laid down the foundations of this new approach. My particular interest is understanding the harms of criminalisation in relation to emerging issues/problems. In recent years, this interest has led me to focus on state responses to a) female genital cutting and its impact on marginalised and vulnerable communities b) climate and environmental protest.
I support the activities of the Bristol University Press as Academic Editor for Criminology, co-editor of the book series Studies in Social Harm, and serve as Consulting Editor for the journal Justice, Power & Resistance. Since 2025 I have been an elected member of the UK Social Policy Association Executive Committee. With Nasrul Ismail, I convene the SPA Social Harm Policy Group.
My research interests have focused on two broad areas : poverty, social exclusion and inequality; and crime, harm and criminalisation. I have worked on three of the four national poverty surveys (the 1990 Breadline Britain Survey and the 1999 and 2010 UK Poverty & Social Exclusion Surveys). I have been part of a group of academics developing zemiology - a new disciplinary area within the social sciences focused on social harm. In 2004, with my co-editors (Paddy Hillyard, Steve Tombs and David Gordon) we published Beyond Criminology: Taking Harm Seriously (Pluto Press) which laid down the foundations of this new approach. My particular interest is understanding the harms of criminalisation in relation to emerging issues/problems. In recent years, this interest has led me to focus on state responses to a) female genital cutting and its impact on marginalised and vulnerable communities b) climate and environmental protest.
I support the activities of the Bristol University Press as Academic Editor for Criminology, co-editor of the book series Studies in Social Harm, and serve as Consulting Editor for the journal Justice, Power & Resistance. Since 2025 I have been an elected member of the UK Social Policy Association Executive Committee. With Nasrul Ismail, I convene the SPA Social Harm Policy Group.
Research interests
I have long-standing interests in poverty, inequality and social exclusion, and crime, harm and criminalisation. My current research is focused on criminalisation processes and impacts with respect to FGC/M and climate and environmental protest.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Sex and Relationships after FGC/M: Co-producing culturally appropriate services and information
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation (FGC/M) can cause significant psychological and physiological barriers to sexual pleasure for both women and men. Our previous research found that people from FGC/M-affected communities in the…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
01/09/2024 to 31/07/2025
Criminalisation of Climate Protest
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Principal Investigator
Description
Exploring the criminalisation and repression of climate and environmental protest around the world, using quantitative and qualitative databases.Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
08/01/2024 to 13/12/2024
Idea Exchange with a view to co-designing sensitive, non-confrontational methodologies for gaining insight into ongoing sexual trauma for those living with FC/FGM
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
Women who have had FC/FGM often experience life-long consequences in relation to health, wellbeing and sexual functioning. However, current policy in the UK tends to ignore these needs in favour…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
24/05/2023
Understanding what support and advice services are available to people affected by Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation (FGC/M) in Bristol
Principal Investigator
Description
Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation (FGC/M) is frequently associated with prolonged physical, mental and sexual health needs. This research study was undertaken in collaboration with Caafi Health, a grass-roots health organisation, to…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
09/05/2022 to 05/10/2022
Scoping study for a survey of FGC/M-prevalence in the UK
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Description
This project involves the first stage in the development of a survey to enable more reliable estimates of FGC/M prevalence among young people in the UK. It directly responds to…Managing organisational unit
School of Sociology, Politics and International StudiesDates
02/05/2022 to 31/07/2022
Thesis supervisions
Female Trajectories of Labour Market Exclusion and the Life Course in Korea
Supervisors
Lone Mothers Living in Poverty in Chile
Supervisors
European Immigration Policies as a Problem
Supervisors
Punishing safety crime in England and Wales: using penalties that work
Supervisors
Permanent exclusion of young men from secondary school and its influence on their offending and social exclusion in Belize City, Belize
Supervisors
Publications
Recent publications
14/09/2025Harms of the current global anti-FGM campaign
Journal of Medical Ethics
Pre-crime, hyper-vigilance, and the over-surveillance of migrant-heritage families in FGM-safeguarding in England and Wales
Critical and Radical Social Work
The global criminalisation and repression of climate and environmental protest – a repertoire of repression
Environmental Politics
The unmet needs of those living with Female Genital Cutting/Circumcision in Bristol
The unmet needs of those living with Female Genital Cutting/Circumcision in Bristol
Criminalisation and Repression of Climate and Environmental Protest
Criminalisation and Repression of Climate and Environmental Protest
Teaching
Currently I co-convene Punishment in Society, a 2nd year mandatory unit on the BSc Criminology.
Related people
Professor David Gordon
Professorial Research Fellow in Social Justice
School for Policy Studies
Professor Esther Dermott
Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor
Senior Team
Professor Saffron Karlsen
Professor of Sociology
School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies
Dr Natasha Carver
Senior Lecturer
School for Policy Studies
Dr Roxana Pessoa Cavalcanti
Senior Lecturer
School for Policy Studies