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MrsFlorence Hafoka

Associate Research Fellow

Faculty of Arts and Education/Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation/Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation

  • Associate Research Fellow
    Faculty of Arts and Education/Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation/Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation
  • Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125

BIO

Florence Hafoka-Kafoika is an Associate Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation at Deakin University. She is a member of the Justice, Young People and Communities Network, where her work focuses on improving social, cultural, and justice outcomes for Pasifika and African-Australian young people who are justice-involved or at risk.

Drawing on her background in criminology and sociology, Florence explores how migration, cultural identity, and intergenerational dynamics shape the experiences of Pasifika communities in Australia. Her reserach focus on risk and protective factors, including the role of family, cultural obligations, faith, and identity in supporting pathways away from offending. She is particularly interested in the motivations and conditions that foster desistance, the role of cultural reconnection in enabling change, and weaving applied criminology with Pasifika ways of being and knowing to shape justice responses that improve outcomes for Pasifika communities. 

Florence integrates academic expertise, cultural knowledge, and frontline experience to inform her research and evaluation practice. 

Florence is the recipient of the 2024 Postgraduate Scholarship of Excellence. 

 

 

DEAKIN UNIVERSITY CURRENT APPOINTMENT

  • Associate Research Fellow
    Deakin University, Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation

DEGREES

  • Masters of Criminology, Research Minor thesis PhD pathway
    Deakin University, Burwood, Australia8 Jul 2024 - 6 Jan 2026
  • Bachelor of Criminology with a major in Sociology, with Distinction, Criminology/ sociology major
    Deakin University, Geelong, Australia19 Sep 2019 - 15 Jun 2024

CERTIFICATIONS

  • Graduate Certificate Pacific Studies
    Australian National University29 Oct 2026 - present
    The Graduate Certificate of Pacific Studies is a pathway to broad research-led learning on Oceania. The program explores the region’s diversity and complexity through a transdisciplinary approach that highlights Indigenous Pacific voices, knowledges and methodologies. Drawing on the University's world-leading expertise in the field of Pacific Studies, students will receive an introductory grounding in historical dynamics and contemporary currents in Oceania, spanning culture, arts, linguistics, politics, security, development and research methods. The Graduate Certificate of Pacific Studies is available as a standalone award for those who have a specific area of interest int he Pacific, whilst also serving as an entry pathway into the Master of Pacific Studies for those looking to extend and deepen their engagement with, and understanding of, the region.
  • Pacific Research Colloquium Fellowship
    Australian National UniversityNov 2025 - Dec 2025
    Completed at the National University of Samoa in collaboration with Australian National University. This fellowship and recognised unit Critical Approaches to Pacific and Inclusive Research Methodologies was completed in Samoa. This unit spanned positionality, Indigenous methodologies and strategies to centre Pacific voices in both research and practice.

AREA/FACULTY

  • Faculty of Arts and Education

DEPARTMENT/SCHOOL/INSTITUTE/DISCIPLINE

  • Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation

SPECIALIST RESEARCH GROUP

  • Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation