Vanisha Jassal

Dr. Vanisha Jassal is a Senior Lecturer and Director of Studies for the MA in Advanced Child Protection at the Centre for Child Protection, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has been with the Centre since 2012. She leads an inter-professional online MA program and develops standalone modules, including a widely accessed MOOC on communicating with vulnerable children.

Her educational background includes an MSc in Innovation (University of Aston), a PG Diploma in Psychodynamics (Birkbeck College London), and a PGCHE (University of Kent). She is currently pursuing a part-time PhD on child sexual abuse in British South Asian communities.

Vanisha's research centers on child protection, with a focus on cultural dynamics such as shame and honour, barriers to disclosure, and the experiences of female survivors of intra-familial child sexual abuse in South Asian communities. She employs qualitative methods including sandboxing and guided conversations. Her work explores inequalities in child welfare and services for ethnic minority families, and she is a member of the MERB Research Cluster on migration, ethnicity, race, and belonging.

Her recent publications analyze cultural silence around abuse, inter-professional education, and direct work with children. Themes across her research include cultural sensitivity, survivor narratives, and systemic barriers in safeguarding. She actively contributes to public understanding through media articles and expert commentary.

• Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy

Vanisha supervises a PhD on shame and honour in child sexual abuse and is involved in institutional equity as Co-chair of the University of Kent's BAME Staff Network. She has no reported grants, but her research is practice-oriented and community-engaged. She leads curriculum development and fosters international student participation through online learning platforms.