Helen Louise Turton

Dr. Helen Louise Turton is a Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Sheffield's Department of Politics and International Relations, housed within the School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations. She joined the university in 2015 after earning her PhD in International Relations from the University of Exeter (2013) and prior roles as a University Teacher at both institutions.

Her research focuses on the intersection of sociology of knowledge and security studies, particularly examining how victim/survivors of conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence in Colombia conceptualize justice. This work aligns with her current British Academy-funded grant (2021–2024) aiming to amplify survivor voices in justice policy design. Earlier projects include developing ethically driven methodologies for studying sexual violence in armed conflict and challenging Eurocentric knowledge hierarchies in IR through her 2016 monograph International Relations and American Dominance: The Diverse Discipline.

• Research Themes:
• Justice mechanisms for CRSV survivors
• Peacebuilding in post-conflict Colombia
• Participatory/arts-based research methodologies
• Non-Western perspectives in IR

Turton has secured multiple grants totaling over £500,000, including a Newton Fund collaboration with Colciencias (2018–2021) that produced participatory video projects. Her teaching includes a unique UK module on sexual violence in armed conflict, directly integrating her fieldwork insights from Colombia and Peru.

As an editorial board member for All Azimuth, she contributes to academic discourse while maintaining supervision expertise in CRSV, gender-based violence, peacebuilding, and IR theory. Her work emphasizes community-driven research approaches that simultaneously build local capacity in conflict-affected regions.