I am an interdisciplinary academic with subject matter expertise in diverse experiences of violence: including, gendered violence, human trafficking, modern slavery, forced marriage and family violence. I am one of Australia’s leading experts in understanding and responding to forced marriage – undertaking a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship (2016) to develop innovative and best practice solutions to respond to this issue – leading to a PhD in Criminology focused on examining experiences of young women impacted by forced marriage in Australia. I come to academia from a background as a social work practitioner where I spent over 10 years supporting and advocating for women, girls and families experiencing violence. I bring this experience to the way I engage in qualitative research enabling my goal as a researcher to produce empirical evidence which can be readily translated into policy and programmatic outcomes. I also bring this experience to the way in which I engage in teaching and learning design and student outcomes – privileging lived experience and community perspectives.I am a member of the Australian Association of Social Work and hold a PhD in Criminology, Masters in Human Rights Law and Policy and a Bachelor of Social Work (Hons. 1).You can get in touch with me at: laura@lauraemilyconsulting.com