Vanita Sundaram

I joined the University of York in 2006 after holding a five-year research post at the Danish National Institute of Public Health. I was primarily involved in research on gender-specific health effects of violence and sexual abuse. This was also the main focus of my doctoral research, which I conducted alongside a research assistantship.

Since joining the Department of Education, my research has focused on key issues within education and social justice more broadly, including the social inclusion of children and young people with special education needs, gender inequalities in education, anti-violence education, teenagers’ experiences of violence in and out of school, and the content and role of sex education. I am a Professor of Education and a member of the Centre for Research in Education and Social Justice and am keen to supervise research students working in any of the areas outlined above, as well as other issues related to education and social inequality. I am currently researching gender-based violence among teenagers (and the preventative role of education); sex and relationships education (SRE) and the inclusion of gender and sexuality in SRE curricula; youth perspectives on sex and relationships education (particular focus on the influence of pornography, sex-as-danger discourses and sexual 'health' approaches); and lad cultures in higher education.

My undergraduate degree (Sociology) and my MA (Women’s Studies) were both completed at the University of Kent at Canterbury. I completed my PhD in Public Health at the University of Copenhagen.