Dr Wendy 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.