Rebecca Askew

Dr. Rebecca Askew is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Criminology at Manchester Metropolitan University, associated with the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the Department of Sociology and Criminology. She leads the Drugs, Policy and Social Change research group, focusing on drug use, drug markets, and policy reform through interdisciplinary lenses of criminology, sociology, and health research.

• Interests: Drug Policy, Critical Discourse Studies, Narrative Interviewing
• Grants: Leverhulme International Fellowship (2022-2023), ESRC New Investigator Grant (2018-2021), British Academy Small Grant (2015-2017)

Her research explores the meaning and motivation behind drug consumption, emphasizing stakeholder participation in policy debates. She uses narrative interviews and critical discourse analysis to amplify voices of people with lived experience, challenging stigma and exclusion in drug policy reform. Current projects include a 2025 ISSDP conference in Manchester.

Recent publications address social harm approaches, human values in drug policy, and lived experience inclusion. She serves as Trustee for ISSDP, on editorial boards of the International Journal of Drug Policy, and as Visiting Fellow at the Drug Policy Modelling Program in Sydney.

• Scientific Awards
  • Leverhulme International Fellowship
  • ESRC New Investigator Grant
  • British Academy Small Grant

Rebecca supervises PhD students on topics including drug user identity, neoliberalism in enhancement use, and kinship care with substance use. She co-produces knowledge with students and advocates for participatory teaching methods.