Rate My Professor Gillian Abel

Promoted to full Professor in 2019, Abel served as Head of the Department of Population Health and now holds the title of Emeritus Professor. Her expertise lies in community-based participatory and qualitative research, applying sociological frameworks such as stigma, social exclusion, risk theories, and feminist perspectives to analyze structural factors affecting sex workers, vulnerable youth, and Pacific communities. Notable publications include her editorship of "Taking the Crime out of Sex Work: New Zealand Sex Workers Fight for Decriminalisation" (2010, Policy Press), and contributions to "Voicing Consent: Sex Workers, Sexual Violation and Legal Consciousness in Cross-National Contexts" (2025), covering topics like sex workers' criminal justice experiences, research methodologies, legal consciousness, formal reporting barriers, and responses to violations. With over 25 years at Otago, her work has shaped discussions on sex work policy, harm minimization, and human rights. She delivered her Inaugural Professorial Lecture, "A research journey in sex work," in 2020.