Intersectional Social Justice Research Group

In the past few years, the Critical Criminology and Social Justice Research Group at NTU has grown substantially, both in terms of membership and research activity. While this growth has fostered a vibrant academic community, much of the group’s work and outputs have increasingly centred on intersectional analyses of inequality, with particular attention to the overlapping dimensions of gender, race, marginalisation, and social justice. As a result, the group’s current direction no longer fully reflects the diverse interests and specialisms of all its members. This proposal recommends refocusing and reframing the group’s identity to better align with its evolving research priorities through the creation of the Intersectional Social Justice Research Group. This new group will provide a more focused and coherent space for interdisciplinary and interschool collaboration, centred on intersectionality as a framework for understanding and addressing complex social inequalities.

Importantly, this transition will be accompanied by the development of another research group — Future and Alternative Crime — which will support members whose work falls outside the scope of the refocused group, ensuring continued inclusivity and collaboration across the wider research community.

The ISJ Research Group aims to bring together NTU academics, researchers, and postgraduate researchers to engage in critical, interdisciplinary, and interschool collaboration on issues related to social justice through an intersectional lens. By placing intersectionality at the heart of its research ethos, the group seeks to challenge dominant narratives, amplify marginalised voices, and promote inclusive, transformative scholarship. Social justice is not treated as a static concept but as a dynamic and contested terrain that requires constant interrogation and redefinition. The group will also integrate a range of theoretical and practical frameworks — including human rights, decolonial thought, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — to provide a comprehensive and globally relevant approach to understanding and addressing inequality. In doing so, it will contribute to NTU’s strategic ambition to foster collaboration, innovation, and impact across disciplines, schools, and communities.

Issues of social justice and inequality are pervasive across societies, yet the experiences of marginalised and socially excluded groups have historically been overlooked or underrepresented in mainstream academic discourse. The Intersectional Social Justice Research Group will employ an intersectional framework as its central analytical and methodological approach. This framework is essential because it recognises the complex, interconnected nature of social identities and the ways in which multiple systems of oppression — such as racism, sexism, ableism, classism, and homophobia — interact to produce layered and nuanced experiences of injustice. To enrich this approach, the group will also draw on complementary frameworks including social justice theories, human rights, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Together, these frameworks provide a comprehensive and globally relevant lens through which to understand and address the structural, cultural, and institutional dimensions of inequality. This integrated approach allows the group to explore justice not only as a legal or policy issue, but as a lived, relational, and transformative concept. This ensures that the group’s work remains responsive to real-world challenges and contributes meaningfully to NTU’s commitment to equity, sustainability, and global impact. Intergenerational justice and youth-led movements for social change

• Parvathy Kizhakke Covilakam, Researcher, Criminology, SSS
• Sefika Ozer, Doctoral Researcher in Criminology, SSS
• Suresh Ranasinghe Jemis Ranasinghalage, Doctoral Researcher, SSS
• Anneliese Rutter, Doctoral Researcher, Sociology, SSS
• Chanmi Lee, Doctoral Researcher, Sociology, SSS
• Yafa Ajweh, Doctoral Researcher, Sociology, SSS
• Amy Miller, Doctoral Researcher, NBS
• Anna Firth, Doctoral Researcher, NBS

• Leonie Seymour-Milsom, Doctoral Researcher, Criminology, SSS
• Fatima Rezai, PGR Student, Sociology, SSS
• George Rudkin, Doctoral Researcher, Psychology, SSS
• Jamie Emily Tillsey, Doctoral Researcher, Psychology, SSS
• Alanna Jeanne Brownell, Doctoral Researcher, Psychology, SSS
• Martha Jephcott, Doctoral Researcher, Sociology, SSS
• Elinor Whittle, Doctoral Researcher, Social Work, SSS