Meet the team

Olga Jurasz is a Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Protecting Women Online. Her research expertise is law and policy responses to violence against women and feminist approaches to governance of online spaces. Professor Jurasz is a leading voice in the field of law & violence against women. She published her research widely, including two books: Online Misogyny as a Hate Crime: A Challenge for Legal Regulation (Routledge 2019) and Violence Against Women, Hate and Law: Perspectives from Contemporary Scotland (2022). Professor Jurasz's expertise has been used by governments, international organisations and third sector organisations to influence changes in law and policy in areas of (online) violence against women, criminal law, online communications and State obligations concerning violence against women.

Ksenia Bakina is a Research Fellow in Law. Her research focuses on image based sexual abuse and online violence against women. Ksenia examines the relationship between online abuse and wider issues of pornography, power, and consent. Her work addresses the impact that law has on the removal of private sexual images from online platforms. Ksenia is also a co-editor of the Encyclopaedia of Data Protection and Privacy (Sweet & Maxwell). Prior to joining the Centre for Protecting Women Online, she worked at Privacy International where she focused on litigation and legal advocacy challenging social media monitoring, surveillance, and other invasive uses of technology by governments and private companies.

Rose Capdevila is a Professor of Psychology and stream co-lead (Human Behaviour) for the Centre. Her research focuses on gender and digital spaces. She was an international collaborator for the European funded SeGReVUni project on gender related violence in universities. She is currently also coinvestigator on the Gender Equitable Interactions Online (GEiO) - a four nation European funded project. Rose co-edits the book series 'Feminist Companions to Psychology' and is co-editor of the award-winning 'Handbook of International Feminisms: Perspectives on Psychology, Women, Culture, and Rights' (2011) and Palgrave Handbook of Power, Gender, and Psychology (2023). She has been co-editor of the journal 'Feminism & Psychology' and past chair of the 'Psychology of Women & Equalities Section of the British Psychological Society'.

Lisa Lazard is a Professor of Psychology and stream co-lead (Human Behaviour) for the Centre. Her research focuses on gender and how gendered identifications become located within relations of power. I have studied these issues in relation two broad areas – sexual harassment and digital cultures. She is currently also Project Lead on the Gender Equitable Interactions Online (GEiO) - a four nation European funded project. She is the author of 'Sexual Harassment, Psychology and Feminism' (2020). She has been editor of 'Psychology of Women and Equalities Review' (POWER) and past chair of the 'Psychology of Women & Equalities Section of the British Psychological Society'. 

Nelli Stavropoulou is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate for the Centre (Human Behaviour stream). Nelli is a participatory arts-based researcher and a creative facilitator, whose work explores and re-visits the intersections between self-representation, storytelling, and creative expression across social, digital, and creative spaces. Previous work includes participatory arts-based research with children and young people from a migrant and refugee background in education, as well as biographical creative research with individuals seeking asylum in the UK. Her creative work and research practice are underpinned by participatory action research principles with a focus on co-creation and visual methods.

Arosha Bandara is a Professor of Software Engineering at The Open University whose research and teaching focuses on software engineering for adaptive systems. He has a particular interest in techniques for building adaptive security and privacy mechanisms for ubiquitous, Internet of Things systems. He has led research on adaptive systems as a PI and Co-I on multiple projects funded by the EPSRC, ERC, and Qatar National Research Foundation, working in application domains including healthcare and policing. He is a member of the steering group for the OU’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning and is currently Associate Dean and Director of STEM Research. 

Min Zhang is a lecturer in Responsible Software Engineering. She is passionate about exploring how digital technology could help individuals and society flourish. Min has worked on the Citizen Forensics project, coercive control behaviour detection, public trust in forensic science, and personal safety. Her expertise includes using human-centric approaches (qualitative and quantitative methods) to understand the problem space and user requirements and feed these to the design, development, and evaluation of socially responsible technology. Before she joined OU, she worked as a Research Associate at Lancaster University. Her cross-disciplinary collaboration experience enhances her teamwork skills with people from different backgrounds and professionals such as psychology, policing, education, computing, management, and social workers.

Miriam Fernandez is a Professor of Responsible Artificial Intelligence at The Open University. Her research agenda revolves around advancing Responsible AI, ensuring that technological innovation aligns with ethical principles and societal values. Her work spans diverse domains, from algorithmic transparency and fairness to the societal implications of AI deployment. By integrating cutting-edge AI techniques with a human-centred approach, she fosters solutions that prioritise social responsibility, transparency, and inclusivity. With a portfolio of more than 100 scientific articles and having won numerous external grants supporting her research, Professor Fernandez has significantly influenced the discourse in the field of Responsible AI. She is also Equality and Diversity Champion for the OU. 

Ángel Pavon-Perez is a Research Associate in Responsible AI at the Centre for Protecting Women Online and is currently completing his PhD at the Open University in collaboration with VISA Europe. He has a background in studying radicalised online communities, particularly within the manosphere. His research also focuses on identifying and addressing bias in AI systems within financial services, with an emphasis on how these systems may unintentionally disadvantage minoritised groups. Committed to using technology for social good, Ángel is dedicated to using responsible AI to protect minoritised communities.

Keely Duddin is a Lecturer in Policing Practice and Organisation, a Policing stream lead and a Chartered Psychologist. Holding a PhD in Health Psychology, she specialises in research that can be implemented into practice, with a focus on well-being, mental health, women's and working parents' rights, and suicide prevention. Formerly the Head of Research for a UK police force and a Special Constable in a domestic violence unit, she continues to collaborate with police forces to enhance practices and foster research and knowledge exchange with police organisations and external partners. Her work bridges academia and practical application, focusing on protecting women and underrepresented groups and improving police practices to better support and protect the public. 

Joanna Bhatti is the Senior Centre Development Manager responsible for research and partnerships development. She’s also supporting Centre’s business development, income generation, strategic development and sustainability. She’s the contact person for all Centre related queries.

Helen Blacow is the Research and Impact Manager supporting research, knowledge exchange and impact activities in the Centre. She’s overseeing the development of an engagement plan and supporting comms activities promoting the Centre’s work and dissemination of outputs.

Michelle Stevens is the Centre Coordinator responsible for organisational and administrative activities associated with the Centre. She supports events, meetings, information collation and reporting. She’s the PA to the Centre’s Director.