Dr Madhumita Pandey PhD, MSc, BA(Hons), FHEA, PGCTHE

Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Gender Justice Hub Lead

Summary

Madhumita researches the area of sexual offending, sex offenders and violence against women, particularly focusing on rape, in the Global South. She utilizes a feminist framework to work with both victims and perpetrators of gender-based violence to not only highlight women’s vulnerability but also men’s responsibility. Her research embodies Criminological and Sociological perspectives and she welcomes multidisciplinary collaborations.

Madhumita has worked on a number of different gender-based violence projects focusing on sex trafficking, domestic violence and sexual violence. She's worked with various stakeholders including the Police, Social Workers, NGOs, Community Leaders and Medical Professionals. More recently, she has expanded the scope of her research to include menstrual health and hygiene and gender and climate justice.

PhD Criminology – Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
MSc Clinical Psychology – Bangor University, Wales, United Kingdom
BA(Hons) Psychology – Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India
Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education (PGCertHE) – Sheffield Institute of Education, Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom
Higher Education Academy UK – Fellow (FHEA)
Professional Certificate in Strategic Gender and Development Planning – International Centre for Parliamentary Studies, London, United Kingdom

About

Madhumita is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Internationalisation Lead in the Department of Law and Criminology who joined Sheffield Hallam in 2018. She is also the Course Leader for the Applied Human Rights/LLM Programme. Prior to this, she was working as an Associate Lecturer in Criminology at Anglia Ruskin University. Her doctoral research explored gender socialization and perceptions of culpability in the narratives of convicted violent offenders from South-Asia’s largest prison. This groundbreaking research was one of the first studies of its kind in India to examine perspectives of convicted rapists and garnered much attention internationally. Along with her PhD, Madhumita also graduated with the prestigious Ruskin Medal for ‘outstanding research with the most impact’. She is currently engaged in teaching, research, supervision and scholarly publications in the College of Social Sciences and Arts (SSA).

Teaching

Sheffield Institute of Law and Justice

Madhumita is teaching on undergraduate modules within the Department of Law and Criminology.

Human Rights and Social Justice
Criminology and Sociology

Courses taught:

BA (Hons) Criminology
BA (Hons) Criminology & Sociology
BA (Hons) Criminology & Psychology
MA/LLB Applied Human Rights

Modules taught:

Contemporary Criminological Practice
Investigating Crime, Deviance and Marginalisation
Sex, Gender and Violence
Comparative Criminal Justice
Undergraduate and Post-graduate Research Dissertation

Research

Social and Economic Research Institute

The Sidhast Foundation and Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice (2023-2024): Menstrual Health and Hygiene as a Human Right in the North-Indian state of Uttarakhand

Role: Principal Investigator and Workshop Lead

This two-year project began in August 2023 to explore the issue of menstrual health as a human right in the North-Indian state of Uttarakhand. A workshop was organised by the partner NGO in collaboration with the Chief Medical Officer's (CMO) office, the local Panchayat and with Pink Leaf - a sanitary company started by two young men. Participants were local village women and girls as well as two Government Self Help Groups (SHGs). After the workshop, a focus group was conducted to discuss the challenges with menstrual health and stigma around menstruation. In June 2024, a similar workshop was organised at the local school and two villages. The partner NGO pledged the donation of free sanitary pads for the school and further awareness workshops are being planned targeting more villages. Research Report and Book Chapter are forthcoming.

National Organisation for Treatment of Offenders (NOTA) Project (2021): Service User desistance narratives post-treatment

Role: Co-Investigator

This one-year funded research project is a collaboration between a former service user, a graduate of the Northumbria Sex Offender Treatment Programme (SOTP), a current Horizon programme facilitator and academics from Sheffield Hallam University. The aim of this collaborative project, is to highlight the voice of service users who have committed sexual offences and have completed the SOTP. The broader context is to emphasize how interviews of ex-service users of the programme, who have experienced the 'pains of desistance', can lead to rich insights into how men who have committed sexual offences transition back into society and whether this can be sustained long-term.

Sheffield Hallam University and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Sciences (2021)

Role: Event Lead

Funding is received to deliver the event “Through the Gates: Continued Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Men who commit Sexual Offences” at the Festival of Social Sciences for two consecutive years. The aim of this event is to bring together the voices of experts and service users in order to create a dialogue around the need for continued and sustainable rehabilitation to prevent future harm and victimization. This year, we will also welcome a short theatre performance by ex-prisoners led by Dr Rowan Mackenzie who is the Co-Chair of Shakespeare Beyond Borders Alliance and the Artistic Director of Shakespeare UnBard.

Social and Economic Research Institute (SERI), Sheffield Hallam University (2021-22)

Role: Early Career Research and Innovation Fellow

This award of the ECR&I fellowship came in the form of research time allocation of 0.4FTE for the academic year 2021-22. Under the fellowship scheme, four main research and scholarship deliverables were identified, which included completion of an edited volume as a part of Springer's new book series – Advances in Prevention and Treatment in Violence and Aggression; submission of journal articles from previous research; development of new manuscripts from the current research project and expansion of the successful GCRF India project through more external funding.

Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) India Project (2018-19): Justice for Her

Role: Co-Investigator

This two-year funded project was based in India and was led by the Principal Investigator Dr Sunita Toor. It involved collecting narratives from survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) along with focus groups with stakeholders such as Police, NGOs, Social Workers, Representatives of the Women and Child Commission etc. who are working on the ground to shape future policy and advocate for change in combatting GBV in the tribal communities of India concentrated in the state of Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. An extension of the project also involved documenting the narratives of survivors of GBV at India’s first One Stop Centre (OSC) Gauravi along with interviewing the members of staff in order to create a best practice model.

Essex Police Project (2017): Child Sexual Exploitation

Role: Research Assistant

This one-year project funded project was a collaboration between Policing Institute for the Eastern Region (PIER) of Anglia Ruskin University and Essex Police to combat the problem of child sexual exploitation. Her role involved assisting the Principal Investigator Dr Samantha Lundrigan and undertaking a Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) to understand CSE offender characteristics and offending patterns.

Publications

Journal articles

Pandey, M. (2023). Interviews with men convicted of rape: reflections and lessons of a female researcher in a male Delhi prison. Gender a Výzkum, 24 (1). http://doi.org/10.13060/gav.2023.009

Pandey, M. (2021). Exploring the Impact of Coronavirus Pandemic on World Prisons: An Overview of Global Responses and Future Implications. Asian Review of Social Sciences, 10 (1), 6-15. https://ojs.trp.org.in/index.php/arss/article/view/2676

Pandey, M. (2018). Arranging marriage: conjugal agency in the South Asian diaspora [Book review]. Contemporary South Asia, 26 (2), 247-248. http://doi.org/10.1080/09584935.2018.1473122

Pandey, M. (2016). Sex Slavery in India: Unpacking the Stories of Trafficking Victims. Sociology Study, 6 (10), 629-638. http://doi.org/10.17265/2159-5526/2016.10.002

Conference papers

Pandey, M. (2020). Gauravi: a case study of India’s first one stop centre for survivors of gender-based violence. In International Conference on Victim Assistance, Virtual, 30 October 2020 - 2020 (pp. 7). Centre for Victimology and Psychological Studies

Pandey, M., Lundrigan, S., & Moore, C. (2019). "Inmate” versus “Offender”: exploring post-conviction narratives of rapists from Delhi prison [abstract only]. In Criminology in the New Era: Confronting Injustice and Inequalities, San Francisco, USA, 13 November 2019 - 16 November 2019 (pp. 233). American Society of Criminology: https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/asc/asc19/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Paper&selected_paper_id=1548004&PHPSESSID=h90md1sjtmrgkllbnhc033nekl

Pandey, M. (2017). Understanding gender socialization: interviews with convicted prisoners from New Delhi. In British Society of Criminology Conference, Sheffield, United Kingdom, 4 July 2017 - 7 July 2017 (pp. 23). British Society of Criminology: https://www.britsoccrim.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/bsc2017-full-programme.pdf

Pandey, M. (2016). Sex slavery in India: exploring narratives of trafficked women through the victimological paradigm. In World Congress of Criminology, Haryana, India, 2016 - 2016 (pp. 10). International Society of Criminology

Pandey, M., Lundrigan, S., & Moore, C. (2016). Excuses, Justifications and Blame in the Offence Narratives of Convicted Rapists in India [abstract only]. In Annual Conference of American Society of Criminology, New Orleans, USA, 16 November 2016 - 19 November 2016. American Society of Criminology: https://convention2.allacademic.com/one/asc/asc16/index.php?cmd=Online+Program+View+Paper&selected_paper_id=1142917&PHPSESSID=7cd7smlokbulp39er6isn12iql

Pandey, M. (2016). Understanding Masculinity Ideology in Convicted Rapists. In International Symposium on Education, Psychology and Society, Kyoto, Japan, 29 March 2016 - 2016. Higher Education Forum: https://aceait.org/public/upload/file/20230516/1684199554205124.pdf

Book chapters

Oliver, C., Fowler, A., Pandey, M., & Brown, P. (2023). Community Hubs: An Innovative and Desistance-Focused Approach to Probation for People Convicted of Sexual Offences. In Advances in Preventing and Treating Violence and Aggression. (pp. 195-207). Springer International Publishing: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42867-8_12

Pandey, M. (2023). Conclusion: Combatting Gender-Based Violence: Reflections on a Way Forward. In Advances in Preventing and Treating Violence and Aggression. (pp. 227-232). Springer International Publishing: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42867-8_14

Pandey, M. (2023). Introduction: Combatting Gender-Based Violence: A Multi-Approach Call to Action. In Pandey, M. (Ed.) International Perspectives on Gender-Based Violence. (pp. 1-11). Cham: Springer: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42867-8_1

Lester, A., & Pandey, M. (2023). Exploring the Normalisation of Rape as Gender-based Violence in Lesotho. In Pandey, M. (Ed.) International Perspectives on Combating Gender-Based Violence. (pp. 67-85). Cham: Springer: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42867-8_5

Kilby, L., & Staniforth, L. (2023). Islamophobia, gender and violence in discourse: Media representations of 'jihadi brides'. In Pandey, M. (Ed.) International Perspectives on Gender-Based Violence. (pp. 157-178). Springer: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42867-8_10

Pandey, M. (2023). Exploring Rape as a Gender-Based Crime. In Ali, P., & Rogers, M.M. (Eds.) Gender-Based Violence: A Comprehensive Guide. (pp. 181-194). Springer Nature Switzerland: Springer: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05640-6_14

Books

Pandey, M. (2023). International Perspectives on Gender-Based Violence. Springer.

Reports

Pandey, M. (2021). Submissions to the UN SRVAW Thematic Report on Rape as a grave and systematic Human Rights Violation and Gender-based Violence Against Women. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/SR/RapeReport/Others/163-india.pdf

Pandey, M. (2021). Executive Report: An Examination of the One Stop Centre – Gauravi in Bhopal. Sheffield Hallam University. https://www.shu.ac.uk/helena-kennedy-centre-international-justice/research-and-projects/all-projects/research-report-bhopal

Pandey, M., Grace, J., Magill, S., Tatton, S., Chaggar, A., & Lester, A. (2021). Home Office Call for Evidence on Violence Against Women and Girls - Recommendations from the Helena Kennedy Centre. Helena Kennedy Centre ffor International Justice. https://www.shu.ac.uk/helena-kennedy-centre-international-justice/research-and-projects/all-projects/vawg-home-office-submission

Pandey, M., & Cius De-Hoog, F. (2019). Recommendations to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/SR/Celebrating25Years/SheffieldHallamUniversity.pdf

Internet Publications

Pandey, M., & Pande, P. (2022). Transforming the climate crisis into opportunity: A step towards gender equality. https://www.openglobalrights.org/Transforming-climate-crisis-into-opportunity-gender-equality/

Pandey, M. (2021). Set up to shelter abused women, one stop centres are not fully functional. https://www.theweek.in/health/cover/2021/05/26/set-up-to-shelter-abused-women-one-stop-centres-are-not-fully-functional.html

Pandey, M. (2019). Whom do we blame? [Magazine Story]. https://www.theweek.in/theweek/cover/2019/12/13/whom-do-we-blame.html

Other activities

Other Activities:

International Journal of Qualitative Methods Editorial Review Board
Asian Review of Social Sciences Editorial Review Board

Postgraduate supervision

Madhumita supervises research students across different levels in the Department of Law and Criminology. She is currently supervising the doctoral research of Charlotte Oliver on “Probation and Sex Offending: A study of the staff and service user relationship in the UK”.

A selected list of past students and their range of research topics is presented below:

Anna Lester (MA in Human Rights) “The Societal Normalization of Rape: What are the cultural, societal and legal factors that have led to rape in Lesotho and South Africa?”

Katie Clarke (MA in Human Rights) “The Rough Sex Defense: The way women are treated by the UK Criminal Justice System”

Shradha Shaji (MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice Practice) “Exploring the Experiences of Domestic Abuse in LGBTQ community of India” as part of Work-Related Project.

Idowu Samson Ibitoye (MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice Practice) “Women's empowerment and mitigation of Domestic Abuse in Nigeria”

Media

Madhumita’s article for The Conversation garnered over 197,000 reads and was republished by Yahoo UK news, The Wire, International Business Times, Business Standard, World News, The Quartz and CNN News 18. This can be found at https://theconversation.com/i-interviewed-convicted-rapists-in-new-delhi-and-then-found-one-of-their-young-victims-66942

Madhumita was invited by France24 international news channel to discuss her research on their show called 51percent, which is a programme about women who are reshaping the world.

Watch her interview at https://www.france24.com/en/20171103-51percent-france-paid-parental-leave-petition-india-rape-australia-women-farmers

Madhumita has been frequently invited to talk about her research on the radio with the BBC World Service, BBC Asia Network, KCBS San Francisco and WNYC Radio- New York.

Madhumita’s work has been widely published by international media. Her various interviews and research coverage can be found below–

The Independent - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-rapist-blames-five-year-old-victim-sexual-violence-study-madhumita-pandey-research-interviews-a7881826.html

The Times - https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/years-of-misogyny-and-religious-hatred-fuel-sexual-violence-india-modi-asifa-bano-95m6jmxph

The Independent - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-rapist-blames-five-year-old-victim-sexual-violence-study-madhumita-pandey-research-interviews-a7881826.html

The Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/09/11/a-woman-interviewed-100-convicted-rapists-in-india-this-is-what-she-learned/?utm_term=.219af25c3227

The New York Times: https://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2017/09/13/woman-who-interviewed-more-than-100-rapists-in-india-says-she-identified-a-common-link/

National Public Radio – Official Blog - https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/12/16/570827107/in-interviews-with-122-rapists-student-pursues-not-so-simple-question-why

The New York Post - https://nypost.com/2017/09/13/woman-interviews-100-rapists-finds-almost-no-remorse/

The Chicago Tribune- https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-india-rape-20170912-story.html

Herald Sun - https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/what-this-woman-found-after-interviewing-100-rapists/news-story/b7b8f5288ebc9b30b183235a0feea092

Australian News (NEWS.com.AU) - https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/what-this-woman-found-after-interviewing-100-rapists/news-story/b7b8f5288ebc9b30b183235a0feea092

Toronto Star - https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/09/12/a-woman-interviewed-100-convicted-rapists-in-india-this-is-what-she-learned.html