Dr Laura Graham

Assistant Professor

School: Northumbria School of Law

Laura's research primarily focuses on sex work and human rights, looking at both the legal and social impact of human rights on sex workers' lived experiences. Laura's ESRC 1+3 funded PhD (Nottingham University) critically explored how the Human Rights Act could impact reform of the law relating to sex work in England and Wales. Her current work considers the role of human rights law and discourse in sex workers' rights movements in the UK and Canada. Laura has presented on sex work and human rights at academic conferences in the UK and internationally, has published on this topic, and has edited a special issue of the International Journal of Gender, Sexuality and Law on Sex Work and the Law and a book entitled 'Navigating Contemporary Sex Work'.

Laura's research interests also include criminal law and justice, feminisms, feminist legal theory, and bodily autonomy.

Laura holds degrees from Durham University (LLB First Class Hons, 2007) and the University of Nottingham (MA with Distinction, 2009; PhD). Prior to joining Northumbria Law School in 2017, Laura was a lecturer at Durham Law School. She has also taught at Nottingham University and Newcastle University.

Laura is Academic Lead on the Board of Trustees of National Ugly Mugs, a national charity aimed at ending violence against sex workers. Laura is also the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Gender, Sexuality and Law and a Coordinating Editor for Feminist Legal Studies

Laura's teaching primarily focuses on Criminal Law, and Gender, Sexuality and Law. She supervises projects in these areas at undergraduate, Masters, and PhD level. Laura is convenor of the Law and Society Primary Research Group at Northumbria Law School. She is open to all discussions about future PhD project supervision.

Campus Address

Room 313
Faculty of Business and Law
City Campus East

Email Laura

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Sex Work, Human Rights, Criminal Law, Feminist Legal Theory, Bodily Autonomy

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Situation in the Republic of Mali in the Case of Prosecutor v Ahmad Al Faqi al Mahdi: Reparations Order, Graham, L., Jones, A. 1 Apr 2025, Feminist Judgments, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
Abortion, Graham, L. 4 Oct 2024, Gender, Sexuality and Law, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar
Conclusion: Future Directions in Sex Work Research, Graham, L., Zebracki, M. 15 Oct 2024, Navigating Contemporary Sex Work, Singapore, Palgrave Macmillan
Feminist Legal Theories, Graham, L. 4 Oct 2024, Gender, Sexuality and Law, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar
Introduction: Navigating Contemporary Sex Work; Navigating (In)Access to Justice and Rights, Cooper, E., Armstrong, L., Graham, L. 15 Oct 2024, Navigating Contemporary Sex Work, Singapore, Palgrave Macmillan
Navigating Contemporary Sex Work: Gender, Justice and Policy in the Twenty-First Century, Cooper, E., Graham, L., Armstrong, L., Zebracki, M., Maginn, P. 15 Oct 2024
Centring Feminist and Queer Experiences in the Law School: Legal Zines as a Humanising Pedagogy, Ashford, C., Graham, L., Rasiah, S. 30 Jun 2023, Biopolitics and Resistance in Legal Education, Birmingham, Routledge
Sex Work and the Law: Does the Law Matter, Graham, L., Laing, M., Holt, V. 6 Jul 2022, In: International Journal of Gender, Sexuality and Law
Understanding the Law’s Relationship with Sex Work: Introduction to ‘Sex Work and The Law: Does the Law Matter?’, Graham, L., Holt, V., Laing, M. 6 Jul 2022, In: International Journal of Gender, Sexuality and Law
Dialogue on the Impact of Coronavirus on Research and Publishing: Monday 22nd June 2020, Graham, L., Raj, S., Munro, V., Westmarland, N., Wheatle, S., Sanders, T., Russell, Y., Maine, A. 1 Aug 2020, In: International Journal of Gender, Sexuality and Law

Current and Recent Projects

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
SLSA PGR Conference, Graham, L. (Principal Investigator), Socio-Legal Studies Association, 01/07/23 - 30/06/24, £7,025.00

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Examination: External Examiner of 'Restorative Justice for Gender-Based Violence Crimes in Nigeria' 2024
Examination: Examiner for 'Analysing potential barriers to justice for victims/survivors of woman-to-woman sexual violence in the English criminal justice system' 2024
Examination: Chair for 'The Development of Corporate Sustainability in the EU and its impact on Multinational and Large Companies in Ireland' 2024
Invited talk: Building an Ethical Participatory Approach Research Project on Human Rights and Sex Work: Reflections on relationships, inclusion, and limitations of a project in development 2024
Invited talk: Sex work and the difficulties of a Human Rights Strategy 2024
Invited talk: Collaborative research on sex work and human rights with sex workers 2024
Invited talk: Human Rights and Civil Injunctions against Sex Workers’ 2024
Examination: External Examiner on 'Sex Worker Rights and Human Rights: A Double-Edged Sword - Rights, Resistance and Mobilisations' 2024
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Socio-Legal Studies Association PGR Annual Conference 2024
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Sexual Autonomy, Identity, and Protection in Adult Care Setting funded by the Modern Law Review 2023

PGR Supervision

Zach Leggett Governing Through Morality: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Post-Legislative Debates on Sex-Purchase Laws in Ireland and Northern Ireland Start Date: 01/10/2019
Rebecca French Transnational Corporations, Global Neo-Abolitionism and Sex Workers Rights: Can International Human Rights Law Better Protect Sex Workers from Financial Discrimination? Start Date: 01/10/2022
Isabelle Book Collective Resistance: Sex Worker-Led Activism for Abortion Access in Kenya and Uganda Start Date: 01/10/2025