Dr Leona Vaughn PhD

Personal Statement

Leona gained her PhD in June 2019 from University of Liverpool Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology. Her thesis is a sociological qualitative, multi-phase inquiry into how practitioners imagine and operationalise the safeguarding 'risk-work' for identifying and working with ‘childhood radicalisation’ (PREVENT).

She has extensive experience as a professional and academic researcher in the field of equalities and social justice in public and charity sectors in the UK and operating internationally.

Co-author of the UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR) 'Safeguarding in International Development Research Guidance' (2020) and Derby Fellow for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Theme of 'Slavery & Unfree Labour' (from January 2020).

Leona is developing exciting, innovative interdisciplinary approaches to avoiding harm in the design and delivery of research and knowledge production in this field, through creating anti-colonial methods and methodological approaches which centre minoritised communities.