Gift Sotonye-Frank

Dr. Gift Sotonye-Frank is a Lecturer at Queen's University Belfast's School of Law and part of the Centre for Children's Rights. She has held this position since January 2023 and serves as the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Champion for the School, leading an EDI committee to advance equity goals. She previously worked at the University of Derby School of Law in research and innovation roles.

Education:

• PhD in Law (2022), Queen's University Belfast
• MPhil (University of Leicester)
• LLM in Gender, Sexuality, and Human Rights (Keele University)

Research Focus: Children's rights in practice, particularly comprehensive sexuality education and eliminating discrimination against adolescent pregnant school girls. Key areas include gender stereotyping, CEDAW compliance, and intersectional human rights frameworks.

Teaching: Teaches Foundation Law, Contract Law, Equity & Trust Law, Family Law, and International Human Rights Law at both undergraduate and LLM levels. Supervises PhD and postgraduate students.

Awards:

• 3MT Thesis Competition Winner (2017)
• Chevening Scholarship (2008)
• Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Initiative Fund (2023)
• Finalist in 2025 QUB School of Law Teaching Awards (Student Support & Interdisciplinary Lecturing)

Engagement: Serves on the Northern Ireland Migrant and Minority Ethnic Think Tank's advisory board, co-founded the African Scholars Research Network, and contributed to media discussions on race in higher education and mental health campaigns.