Dr Erin Sanders-McDonagh

Dr Erin Sanders-McDonagh is returning to researching and teaching in 2026 after taking four years away from most teaching, publishing, and research projects. Erin is a feminist public scholar with a commitment to radical and engaged pedagogic practices. Her research explores inequality in different forms, and she has a strong commitment to moving research findings beyond academia into the public arena. Erin is also a member of the Labour Party and an active trade unionist.

Educational Background

Dr Erin Sanders-McDonagh holds the following degrees:

• PhD in Sociology, Awarded by the University of Nottingham
• MA in Social Science Research Methods, Awarded by the University of Nottingham
• MSc in Gender, Sexuality and Culture, Awarded by Birkbeck, University of London
• MA in 20th Century Literature, Awarded by Goldsmiths, University of London
• Double BA in Politics and Literature from the College of William and Mary
• She also holds a PGCHE, Awarded by Middlesex University and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Dr Sanders-McDonagh is a feminist scholar and has worked with a range of marginalised groups in recent research projects, including sex workers, young people at risk of sexual exploitation, women who have experienced sexual or domestic violence, and young offenders.

She has worked with a wide range of third sector organisations, as well as the public sector and the police. Most recently has previously worked with the Kent Police and Medway Council on violence reduction initiatives and sat on the Leadership Group for violent crime reduction task force in Medway.

Erin uses a wide range of methods in her work, including evaluation methods, qualitative and mixed methods, ethnographic work and multisensory approaches, including smell mapping, walking interviews, and creative approaches to working with children as victims of violence.

Recent Funding

• 2019-2020 Kent Police and Medway Council: Evaluation of Violence Reduction Taskforce
• 2019-2020 Eastern Arc Pilot Funding: Exploring participatory approaches to researching homeless and vulnerable young people at Centre Point
• 2016-2019 New Horizon’s Youth Centre: Evaluation of the Creating Positive Futures Young Offenders Project [Erin Sanders-McDonagh (PI)] Phase II
• 2015-2016 New Horizon’s Youth Centre: Evaluation of the Creating Positive Futures Young Offenders Project [Erin Sanders-McDonagh (PI)] Phase I
• 2014-2015 Safer London Foundation: Evaluation of the Empower Programme [Erin Sanders-McDonagh (PI) – with Simon Harding, Anthony Goodman, Lucy Neville]
• 2014-2015 ESRC-DFID: ESRC-DFID Joint Poverty Scheme Gender Evidence Synthesis Analysis [Sarah Bradshaw (co-I) and Erin Sanders-McDonagh (co-I)]
• 2013-2015 British Academy/Leverhulme Small Grant: [with Jon Mulholland (Co-I), Nicola Montanga (Co-I), Erin Sanders-McDonagh(Co-I) ‘Women in Nationalist Movements in the UK’
• 2012-2015 Tender Arts and Education: National Partnership Programme [Miranda Horvath (Co-I), Erin Sanders-McDonagh (Co-I), and Shola Apena-Rogers] 
• 2014 West Midlands Police Force Area: Evidence Synthesis - A Review of Domestic Homicide Reviews in the West Midlands [Lucy Neville (PI) and Erin Sanders-McDonagh(Co-I)]

Dr Sanders-McDonagh teaches on a wide range of UG and PG Criminology courses in the School.

Please contact Dr Sanders-McDonagh if you are interested in researching gender and sexuality-related topics; domestic or sexual violence; homelessness and substance misuse; sex work; gentrification/regeneration. I’m particularly interested in working with students open to using innovative methods.

Current/Completed PhD Students:

• 2023- present: Katelyn Owens, ‘Regeneration and its impacts: A Case Study of Kings Cross’
• 2018 – 2025: Esther Kiburi, ‘Electroacoustic Music Portfolio: In-Situ Auditory Experiences of Nairobi Bus Soundscapes and Sexual Harassment’
• 2017 – 2023: Robin Rose Breetveld, ‘How bisexual individuals experience feelings of belonging within designated social spaces for sexual minorities’

• 2017-2021: Rachel Stuart, ‘How webcamming is experienced by female performers as a form of sexual commerce’

Dr Sanders-McDonagh is involved in activities promoting gender equality. She is active in the Gender and Feminist Geography Research Group and the Space, Sexualities and Queer Research Group (both affiliated with the Royal Geographical Society).

Dr Sanders-McDonagh is on the editorial board of Sociological Research Online and regularly reviews for a number of journals including Environment and Planning C, Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, European Journal of Women’s Studies, Feminist Theory, Gender, Place and Culture, Sexualities, International Feminist Journal of Politics, Journal of Gender Studies, Sociological Research Online, the Sociological Review and Woman's Studies International Forum. 

She is a Fellow of the following associations

• American Association of Geographers
• International Political Science Association 
• Society for Research in Higher Education 
• British Sociological Association 
• Royal Geographic Society 
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy