Meet the Team

Olga Jurasz is a Professor of Law and Director of the Centre for Protecting Women Online. Her research expertise is law and policy responses to violence against women and feminist approaches to governance of online spaces. Professor Jurasz is a leading voice in the field of law & violence against women. She published her research widely, including two books: Online Misogyny as a Hate Crime: A Challenge for Legal Regulation (Routledge 2019) and Violence Against Women, Hate and Law: Perspectives from Contemporary Scotland (2022). Professor Jurasz's expertise has been used by governments, international organisations and third sector organisations to influence changes in law and policy in areas of (online) violence against women, criminal law, online communications and State obligations concerning violence against women.

Arwa Bukhtiar is a PhD researcher at the Centre for Protecting Women Online (Law and Policy stream). Her academic journey began with an LLB and LLM, culminating in her current doctoral research titled: Justice in the Digital Age: A Comparative Analysis of Gender-Responsive Legal Approaches to Combat Technology-Facilitated Violence Against Women and Girls in the EU, UK, and Australia.
Arwa's research focuses on the intersection of AI-driven harms and gender-based violence, exploring how artificial intelligence technologies exacerbate online abuse through mechanisms like deepfakes, automated harassment, and algorithmic bias.

Rose Capdevila is a Professor of Psychology and stream co-lead (Human Behaviour) for the Centre. Her research focuses on gender and digital spaces. She was an international collaborator for the European funded SeGReVUni project on gender related violence in universities. She is currently also coinvestigator on the Gender Equitable Interactions Online (GEiO) - a four nation European funded project. Rose co-edits the book series 'Feminist Companions to Psychology' and is co-editor of the award-winning 'Handbook of International Feminisms: Perspectives on Psychology, Women, Culture, and Rights' (2011) and Palgrave Handbook of Power, Gender, and Psychology (2023). She has been co-editor of the journal 'Feminism & Psychology' and past chair of the 'Psychology of Women & Equalities Section of the British Psychological Society'.

Kathryn Gilfoyle is a Post Doctoral Research Associate (Mat cover) for the Centre (Human Behaviour stream). Her PhD research background focuses on non-consensual sexual image sharing, exploring feminist psychological constructs such as women’s self-objectification, women’s sexual agency/empowerment, and engaging men’s attention. Kathryn is examining people’s perceptions of these constructs and their relationship with victim blaming attitudes towards women across multiple contexts of this online sexual violence. Previously, Kathryn has worked as a Research Consultant for the Centre, collaborating on a Deepfake project, expanding her research experience to encompass other forms of image-based sexual abuse. Her interests are particularly in bridging the gap between academia and industry, using research to inform policy, education and the non-for-profit sector.

Yihan Huang is a PhD research student at the Centre for Protecting Women Online (Human Behaviour Stream). She has a background in studying international female students' perceptions of women-oriented topics and their participatory behaviours online in Australia. Her current PhD project focuses on sexual racism towards women on dating apps, titled: Digital Sexual Violence Towards Women on Dating Apps: Exploring the Intersection of Gender, Power Structure, and Technology. Yihan's research interests include gendered digital inequality, racialized gender dynamics, online identity formation, and the societal implications of algorithmic bias.

Lisa Lazard is a Professor of Psychology and stream co-lead (Human Behaviour) for the Centre. Her research focuses on gender and how gendered identifications become located within relations of power. I have studied these issues in relation two broad areas – sexual harassment and digital cultures. She is currently also Project Lead on the Gender Equitable Interactions Online (GEiO) - a four nation European funded project. She is the author of 'Sexual Harassment, Psychology and Feminism' (2020). She has been editor of 'Psychology of Women and Equalities Review' (POWER) and past chair of the 'Psychology of Women & Equalities Section of the British Psychological Society'.

Nelli Stavropoulou is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate for the Centre (Human Behaviour stream). Nelli is a participatory arts-based researcher and a creative facilitator, whose work explores and re-visits the intersections between self-representation, storytelling, and creative expression across social, digital, and creative spaces. Previous work includes participatory arts-based research with children and young people from a migrant and refugee background in education, as well as biographical creative research with individuals seeking asylum in the UK. Her creative work and research practice are underpinned by participatory action research principles with a focus on co-creation and visual methods.

Arosha Bandara is a Professor of Software Engineering at The Open University whose research and teaching focuses on software engineering for adaptive systems. He has a particular interest in techniques for building adaptive security and privacy mechanisms for ubiquitous, Internet of Things systems. He has led research on adaptive systems as a PI and Co-I on multiple projects funded by the EPSRC, ERC, and Qatar National Research Foundation, working in application domains including healthcare and policing. He is a member of the steering group for the OU’s Centre for Policing Research and Learning and is currently Associate Dean and Director of STEM Research.

Min Zhang is a lecturer in Responsible Software Engineering. She is passionate about exploring how digital technology could help individuals and society flourish. Min has worked on the Citizen Forensics project, coercive control behaviour detection, public trust in forensic science, and personal safety. Her expertise includes using human-centric approaches (qualitative and quantitative methods) to understand the problem space and user requirements and feed these to the design, development, and evaluation of socially responsible technology. Before she joined OU, she worked as a Research Associate at Lancaster University. Her cross-disciplinary collaboration experience enhances her teamwork skills with people from different backgrounds and professionals such as psychology, policing, education, computing, management, and social workers.

Miriam Fernandez is a Professor of Responsible Artificial Intelligence at The Open University. Her research agenda revolves around advancing Responsible AI, ensuring that technological innovation aligns with ethical principles and societal values. Her work spans diverse domains, from algorithmic transparency and fairness to the societal implications of AI deployment. By integrating cutting-edge AI techniques with a human-centred approach, she fosters solutions that prioritise social responsibility, transparency, and inclusivity. With a portfolio of more than 100 scientific articles and having won numerous external grants supporting her research, Professor Fernandez has significantly influenced the discourse in the field of Responsible AI. She is also Equality and Diversity Champion for the OU.

Alba Morales is a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Protecting Women Online. Her research activities are linked to advancing socio-technical approaches to fairness in Higher Education (HE), with a specific focus on addressing bias and discrimination in AI-driven learning analytics systems. Alba's previous experience includes working in public and private sectors as an Information Security Specialist for several years, specialised in auditing Industrial Control Systems. She is joining the Centre working within the Responsible AI stream for designing AI-driven solutions that promote accountability & fairness, minimise anti-social behaviours & enhance online safety. Alba brings a wealth of knowledge in AI development and privacy. She will meticulously handle the technical, social, and policy aspects of addressing bias and fairness.

Ángel Pavon-Perez is a Research Associate in Responsible AI at the Centre for Protecting Women Online and completed his PhD at the Open University in collaboration with VISA Europe in January 2025. He has a background in studying radicalised online communities, particularly within the manosphere. His research also focuses on identifying and addressing bias in AI systems within financial services, with an emphasis on how these systems may unintentionally disadvantage minoritised groups. Committed to using technology for social good, Ángel is dedicated to using responsible AI to protect minoritised communities.

Keely Duddin is a Lecturer in Policing Practice and Organisation, a Policing stream lead and a Chartered Psychologist. Holding a PhD in Health Psychology, she specialises in research that can be implemented into practice, with a focus on well-being, mental health, women's and working parents' rights, and suicide prevention. Formerly the Head of Research for a UK police force and a Special Constable in a domestic violence unit, she continues to collaborate with police forces to enhance practices and foster research and knowledge exchange with police organisations and external partners. Her work bridges academia and practical application, focusing on protecting women and underrepresented groups and improving police practices to better support and protect the public.

Joanna Bhatti is the Senior Centre Development Manager responsible for research and partnerships development. She’s also supporting Centre’s business development, income generation, strategic development and sustainability. She’s the contact person for all Centre related queries.

Helen Blacow is the Research and Impact Manager supporting research, knowledge exchange and impact activities in the Centre. She’s overseeing the development of an engagement plan and supporting comms activities promoting the Centre’s work and dissemination of outputs.

Michelle Stevens is the Centre Coordinator responsible for organisational and administrative activities associated with the Centre. She supports events, meetings, information collation and reporting. She’s the PA to the Centre’s Director.