Dr Maayan Niezna

Personal Statement

Maayan joined the School of Law and Social Justice in January 2024. Before joining the School, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Modern Slavery and Human Rights at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, University of Oxford.
She holds PhD in Law from Kent Law School, MSc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics, and LL.B in Law and Philosophy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Maayan's socio-legal research focuses on trafficking for labour exploitation, the regulation of labour migration, and the rights of non-citizens. Her current project 'work as a site of agency and a site of exploitation' compares the understanding of labour exploitation across policy makers, law enforcement agents and people with lived experience of exploitation, and was awarded a British Academy/Leverhulme Small Grant.

Prior to her doctoral studies, she led the legal work on trafficking at the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants-Israel, worked on issues concerning the freedom of movement of Palestinian residents as a lawyer at Gisha-Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, and worked on issues related to trafficking at the Office of the National Anti-trafficking Coordinator, Israeli Ministry of Justice, and UNHCR. Her work on trafficking and slavery has been cited by NGOs, policymakers, and various courts including the Employment Court of New Zealand and Israel’s Supreme Court, and has been referred to in parliamentary committee meetings and national media.

Funded Fellowships