Professor Christina Pantazis
M.A.(Soton)
Expertise
Current positions
Professor of Zemiology
School for Policy Studies
Contact
Press and media
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Biography
I joined the University of Bristol in 1993 following an undegraduate degree in history, politics and economics and postgraduate studies in criminal justice, both at the University of Southampton.
I have been a member of the School for Policy Studies since its formation (previously I was in the Department of Social Policy) and have been part of the Centre for the Study of Poverty and Social Justice. I currently serve as the School's Deputy Head of School. Beyond the School I am member of the Bristol Poverty Institute, the Faculty Research Group on Gender, and was one of founder members of the Bristol Research on Female Genitial Cutting. I support the activities of Bristol University Press as Academic Editor for Criminology.
Since the late 1990s, I have been part of a group of academics developing zemiology - a new disciplinay 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. Currently, I co-edit the Bristol University Press (BUP) Book Series Studies in Social Harm and co-ordinate the activities of the Working Group on Social Harm for the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control.
My career over the last 25 years has focused on researching two broad areas : poverty, social exclusion and inequality; and crime, harm and criminalisation, and their overlaps. My work has included research on the criminalisation of poverty (particularly gendered poverty), the development of counter-terrorism law and policy and its impacts on religious and ethnic minority communities. More recently my work has focused on state responses to female genital cutting and its impact on marginalised and vulnerable communities.
I have been a member of the School for Policy Studies since its formation (previously I was in the Department of Social Policy) and have been part of the Centre for the Study of Poverty and Social Justice. I currently serve as the School's Deputy Head of School. Beyond the School I am member of the Bristol Poverty Institute, the Faculty Research Group on Gender, and was one of founder members of the Bristol Research on Female Genitial Cutting. I support the activities of Bristol University Press as Academic Editor for Criminology.
Since the late 1990s, I have been part of a group of academics developing zemiology - a new disciplinay 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. Currently, I co-edit the Bristol University Press (BUP) Book Series Studies in Social Harm and co-ordinate the activities of the Working Group on Social Harm for the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control.
My career over the last 25 years has focused on researching two broad areas : poverty, social exclusion and inequality; and crime, harm and criminalisation, and their overlaps. My work has included research on the criminalisation of poverty (particularly gendered poverty), the development of counter-terrorism law and policy and its impacts on religious and ethnic minority communities. More recently my work has focused on state responses to female genital cutting and its impact on marginalised and vulnerable communities.
Research interests
Currently my research is examining UK anti-FGM law, policy and practice and how these impact on FGC-affected communities.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
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
Understanding State Responses to Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation
Principal Investigator
Description
Since the Istanbul Convention in 2011, European countries have stepped up their responses to female Genital Cutting/Mutilation. Although not ratified by the UK until 2020, the UK government sought…Managing organisational unit
School for Policy StudiesDates
06/01/2020 to 30/06/2020
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
24/07/2023Gendered and Racialised Epistemological Injustice in FGM-Safeguarding
Social and Legal Studies
UK policy response to female genital mutilation needs urgent rethink
BMJ
Care Poverty : the unmet needs of people living with Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation (FGC/M)
Care Poverty : the unmet needs of people living with Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation (FGC/M)
Care Poverty: the unmet needs of those living with female genital cutting/mutilation in Bristol
Care Poverty: the unmet needs of those living with female genital cutting/mutilation in Bristol
Care Poverty: The unmet needs of those living with Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation in the UK
Care Poverty: The unmet needs of those living with Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation in the UK
Teaching
Currently I co-convene Punishment in Society, a 2nd year mandatory unit on the BSc Criminology.