About
Professor Carlene Firmin is a leading scholar at Durham University's Department of Sociology, renowned for developing the Contextual Safeguarding framework to address extra-familial harm affecting youth. Her work bridges social theory (Bourdieu, ecological models) with applied practice in child protection, social justice, and peer group dynamics.
- Co-founder of Contextual Safeguarding Academics Network (CSAN) and Local Area Interest Network (LAIN)
- Global Ashoka Fellow and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Recipient of MBE (2011) for research on gang-affected young women
- Advisory roles for Ofsted, Churchill Fellowship, and European Social Work Research Association
Research Focus: Contextual Safeguarding theory and applications to address structural drivers of harm in schools, public spaces, and peer networks. Key themes include:
- Sociological theory applied to child protection
- Trauma-informed and ethical social work practices
- Geospatial and network analysis in safeguarding
- Policy reform in UK, Europe, and Australia
Publication Trends: Recent articles emphasize systemic child protection reform, relocation ethics, and trauma-informed responses. Her work combines qualitative case reviews, embedded research, and transdisciplinary collaboration.
Honors:
- MBE (2011)
- Global Ashoka Fellow
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Supervision: Actively mentors postgraduate researchers (e.g., Joanne Walker-McGowan, Morise Ogunyimika) and convenes a Contextual Safeguarding reading group. Her applied research has informed national policy frameworks in the UK and international safeguarding networks.
Research fields
