Rate My Professor Emily Setty

Dr. Emily Setty is an Associate Professor in Criminology at the University of Surrey, Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences. She earned her PhD in Criminology and Sociology from the University of Surrey and her MA in Criminology and Criminal Justice with Distinction from King's College London, along with her undergraduate degree from the University of Surrey. Her research centers on young people’s digital sexual cultures, online harms, and the landscape of Relationships and Sex Education (RSE). Setty investigates how adolescents navigate consent, risk, intimacy, and harmful practices in digital environments, including sexting, online pornography consumption, influencer culture, and digitally mediated relationships. She advocates for rights-based approaches that challenge risk narratives, shame, and denial of youth agency in sexual expression, emphasizing safe uncertainty in relational contexts and co-designed educational interventions.

In her career, Setty has advanced from Lecturer to Associate Professor, currently serving as Programme Director for Criminology and MSc Dissertation Lead. She leads the Reimagine RSE initiative, fostering collaborations with young people, educators, policymakers, and practitioners to develop evidence-based resources addressing sexual harms and digital ethics. Setty supervises PhD students on topics such as young people's views on online pornography, parental involvement in sex education, age of consent laws, and sexual health discussions in healthcare. She convenes modules including Crime Power and Justice, Crime and Technology, Quantitative and Qualitative Methods, Youth Culture, Crime and Offending, and Criminological Theories, with plans for Victims and Victimology. Key publications include her book Risk and Harm in Youth Sexting Culture: Young People’s Perspectives (Routledge, 2020); articles such as A Rights-Based Approach to Youth Sexting (2019), Sex and Consent in Contemporary Youth Sexual Culture (2020), Educating Teenage Boys About Consent (2022), Beyond ‘Yes’ and ‘No’: Reimagining Consent Education (2025), and Reimagining Relationships and Sex Education: A Safe Uncertainty Approach (2025); and contributions to projects like Everyone's Safer on school responses to harmful sexual behavior. Her work influences policy, practice, and public discourse on youth sexual wellbeing.