Natalia Ollus
“I strongly feel that we as researchers have a responsibility to listen to the experiences of victims of crime. Behind every number is a real person with real, and often traumatic experiences. We have a responsibility to speak of behalf of those who are less fortunate, or who do not have a voice."
Natalia holds a PhD in law and a Master’s in social anthropology. Her PhD thesis dealt with the exploitation of migrant workers and trafficking for the purpose of forced labour, defining the exploitation of migrant workers and trafficking for forced labour as a form of corporate crime. Her expertise covers research and policies on trafficking in human beings and violence against women, in particular. She has also worked with questions relating to good governance and the rule of law, female and juvenile prisoners, victimology and comparative crime statistics. Natalia’s methodological expertise covers qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods, in particular the development of comparative research setups and survey tools.
Natalia also has experience of working in different international organisations, both in the field and at headquarters. In addition to HEUNI, Natalia has worked at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in South Africa, at the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations in New York and as an anti-trafficking adviser at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna. In addition to her professional work, Natalia has carried out volunteer work at various organisations working with women victims of violence. Natalia is currently a board member of the Scandinavian Research Council for Criminology (www.nsfk.org), and a member of the Eurostat Task Force on the Development of a Survey on Gender-based Violence.
At HEUNI, Natalia is responsible for the development of new research openings and for the management of various research projects. She is interested in policies and practices in crime prevention and criminal justice, and in forging new partnerships and in developing increased cooperation with various institutions and organisations around the globe.
