Sunny Sinha

Sunny Sinha is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work and an Affiliate Faculty member in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, teaching graduate courses including Leadership in Health and Human Services (SW 5825), Sex Work and Human Trafficking (SW 5530/SW 5700), Program Development and Evaluation (SW 5855), and Advanced Advocacy Practice (SW 5845) since joining in 2023.

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D in Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
• M.A in Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India
• B.A in Political Science, L.D. Arts College, Ahmedabad, India

Dr. Sinha specializes in feminist methodologies for studying marginalized populations, conducting two decades of research (2005-2025) with brothel-based women, transgender sex workers, and informal sex industry participants through cultural biography—a non-stigmatizing approach centering lived experiences. Her transnational work bridges India and U.S. contexts with focus areas spanning sex work stigma, trafficking prevention, and HIV/AIDS interventions.

Her scientific awards include:

• 2009 Fahs-Beck Doctoral Research and Experimentation Award
• 2018 Michael H. Agar Lively Science Award for innovative qualitative health research

Dr. Sinha currently serves as Consulting Editor for AFFILIA: The Feminist Inquiry in Social Work and Editorial Board Member for Palgrave Advances in Sex Work Studies Series. She is the author of the March 2025 Palgrave MacMillan publication "Risks, Stigma, Agency: Life Histories of Women Involved in Sex Work in Kolkata, India".