DrWendy O'Brien

Dr Wendy O'Brien works with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC, Vienna) on human rights-based criminal justice reform and equal access
to justice. Wendy holds a concurrent appointment as Adjunct Associate
Professor with Deakin University, Australia. She is also guest faculty at the
United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI,
Turin) where she teaches in the LL.M on Transnational Crime and Justice.

Wendy's academic research focuses on children's rights, gender justice, and
human rights-led law reform. She also conducts research on the human rights
implications of the increased use of technology in the administration of
criminal justice and social policy. Her current research focuses on children's
rights and criminal justice in the digital age. As part of her broader work on
non-discrimination and gender justice, Wendy also conducts research in the
field of LGBTQI+ and SOGIESC rights.

Wendy's research is published in leading international human rights and
criminology journals. Her co-edited book, Violence Against Children in the
Criminal Justice System, was published by Routledge in 2020.

Wendy previously worked as Senior Specialist with the Australian Crime
Commission, in the delivery of research and policy advice on gender-based
violence and the legal and therapeutic responses to child victims and children
in conflict with the law. She has regularly been called on to provide expert
testimony to national and state inquiries on child protection, and to serve on
research advisory boards for projects on violence prevention and safe schools.