Students and Trainees
Current students and alumni, from interns and undergraduate and graduate trainees to postdoctoral researchers, have made and continue to make important contributions to the development and advancement of RESPONDER’s work. Through research, data collection and analysis, knowledge synthesis, project implementation, and knowledge mobilization, they bring fresh perspectives, emerging expertise, and interdisciplinary insight to the project. Their contributions strengthen the evidence base, support innovation, and help extend the reach and impact of research on responder perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse across academic, policy, and practice settings.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Merita
Limani
Dr. Merita Limani is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Queen’s University, examining institutional governance and accountability for sexual exploitation and abuse within humanitarian and peacebuilding missions in Kosovo. Her work explores how institutional practices and power relations shape prevention, reporting, investigation, and survivor-centred responses. She brings extensive professional experience in gender equality, women’s rights, and institutional reform, including work with the Council of Europe and USAID. She holds a PhD in Sociology from Western University and a PhD in Political Science from Ss. Cyril and Methodius University. Her interdisciplinary training and contextual knowledge of post-conflict environments inform her approach to research at the intersection of institutions, inequality, and public policy. Her broader research interests include health and aging, social inequalities, gender-based violence, and public policy, with an emphasis on informing policies and practices that strengthen institutional accountability and survivor-centred support.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Queen's University
PhD Students
Tehya Blake
Tehya Blake (She/Elle) is a bilingual second-year PhD student in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University. Supervised by Dr. Stéfanie von Hlatky, her doctoral research focuses on Feminist Security Studies (FSS), International Relations, and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV). She is a graduate researcher with the Gender Lab at the Centre for International and Defence Policy (CIDP). Prior to beginning her PhD, Tehya worked as a Policy Analyst with the Department of National Defence in Ottawa. She holds an MA in Political Studies from Queen’s University (2024) and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Political Science from St. Francis Xavier University (2023).
PhD Student
Queen's University
Cora
Fletcher
Cora Fletcher is a PhD Student in the Department of Political Science at Dalhousie University. Her doctoral research explores the relationship between experiences of displacement and responder- perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse with a focus on prevention and accountability. Cora holds a master’s degree in political science where her research examined opportunities and constraints on women’s meaningful participation in UN peacekeeping operations. She has been a research assistant and collaborator on numerous interdisciplinary research projects related to feminist security studies, displacement, and sexual and gender-based violence in conflict. Her research interests include sexual and gender-based violence in conflict-affected and post-conflict contexts, critical feminist approaches to peace security, displacement, international peace operations, and peacebuilding.
PhD Student
Dalhousie University
Becky
Okech
Becky is pursuing her PhD in Socio-Legal Studies at York University, with doctoral research examining pathways from disclosure to justice for adolescent girls and boys, and women survivors of sexual exploitation and abuse. She brings more than 10 years of humanitarian experience working with refugees and conflict-affected populations across Africa, with expertise in child protection, gender-based violence (GBV), and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA). Prior to beginning her PhD, Becky completed a master’s degree in Gender and Development Studies at the University of Nairobi, where her research examined intimate partner violence among women of reproductive age in Migori, Kenya. Her research interests focus on the intersection of gender, child protection, law, access to justice, conflict-related sexual violence, safeguarding, and survivor-centred protection. Her professional interests include strengthening legal and protection systems for survivors of violence in humanitarian and conflict-affected settings.
PhD Student
York University
Catharina
Nowack
Catharina Sophie Nowack (she/her) is a PhD student at the University of Birmingham, supervised by Prof. Dr. Sabine Lee. Her doctoral project explores how policy definitions applicable to preventing and punishing sexual exploitation and abuse may be amended to better reflect female sexual and economic autonomy as conceptualised by human rights law and practiced by local communities in mission contexts. Previously, Catharina has held positions in humanitarian assistance and development cooperation. She is a German-qualified lawyer and holds an Advanced LL.M. in European and International Human Rights Law from Leiden University where her research focussed on the United Nations Zero Tolerance Policy Against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse’s compliance with the protections against sexual violence afforded to women and girls under European human rights law. Catharina is interested in decolonial and feminist approaches to human rights law and employing socio-legal methods to develop rights-based, survivor-centered safeguarding and empowerment strategies for women and girls affected by GBV in humanitarian settings.
PhD Student
Birmingham University
Amaanat
Gill
Amaanat Gill (she/her/hers) is a PhD student in Public health Sciences at Queen's University, supervised by Dr. Susan Bartels. Her doctoral work aims to take a public health lens in exploring the health and wellbeing outcomes of RP-SEA and access to medical, psychosocial, and other support services among survivors. Before beginning her PhD, Amaanat completed an MSc in Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba where her thesis explored adaptable HIV services for female sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also holds a BSc in Life Sciences and BA in Global Development Studies from Queen's University. Over the years she has contributed to global health research in maternal child health, family planning, gender-based violence, HIV, and planetary health. Amaant's methodological interests include mixed-methods, evidence synthesis, gender-based analysis, implementation science, and community-based participatory approaches. Her research interests include global health, gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health, health systems, and community-based research in humanitarian settings.
PhD Student
Queen's University
Masters Students
Kali Coles
Kali Coles is a graduate student and research assistant with interests in global health and health equity. She will begin a part-time Master of Science program with a specialization in Epidemiology in September 2026. Her research has examined sexual and reproductive health among women and girls affected by displacement in South Sudan and has contributed to qualitative research exploring the clustering of sexual and reproductive health challenges. Kali's interests focus on how structural inequalities shape health outcomes for populations in humanitarian and conflict contexts. She is particularly interested in feminist approaches to global health research and how these frameworks can inform more equitable health systems and policies. Kali is currently contributing to the RESPONDER project through a scoping review that will help inform the development of survey questions. She plans to be involved in data analysis as part of her future master’s thesis work.
Master Student
Queen's University
Student Affiliate
Catrina Chebae
Catrina is pursuing a Bachelor of Health Sciences at Queen’s University and eager to continue learning and growing in the field of global health. She currently supports the RESPONDER Partnership under the supervision of Susan Bartels and Sabine Lee, learning about research pertaining to sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian settings. Her interests lie at the intersection of women’s and maternal health, and she is motivated to build the skills and insight needed to advance equitable, evidence-based care for diverse populations in Canada and globally.
Undergraduate Student
Queen's University
Fae Krakowska
Fae is the Collaborative Research Intern for the RESPONDER project at the University of Birmingham, currently studying towards an MA in Creative Writing. She is a humanitarian and development practitioner with experience across the UK, Central America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East, working in international development, emergency response, and interagency coordination with both large humanitarian organisations and grassroots NGOs. Most recently, she co‑led the revision of the British Red Cross’s Standard Operating Procedures for International Emergency Response, strengthening HR processes including safeguarding, vetting, and reporting linked to international deployments. She holds a BA in English and Spanish and an MA in Conflict, Security and Development from the University of Exeter, and is interested in how humanitarian practice can better centre community engagement and accountability, ensuring that aid systems protect and respond to people’s needs without doing further harm.
MA Student
University of Birmingham
Lydia Ellis
Lydia is a Research Assistant on the RP-SEA project, where she contributes to the initial preparatory work for a scoping review. Her work includes screening articles against inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracting data, and synthesizing findings. Lydia completed her undergraduate thesis at the University of Birmingham under the supervision of Professor Sabine Lee. In 2025, she began her Master’s in History at the University of Birmingham. Her research interests focus on gender-based violence and humanitarian crises, with particular attention to how colonial legacies shape sexual violence and contribute to health disparities in post-contact Indigenous nations.
Research Assistant
University of Birmingham
Abitha Kodeeswaran
Abitha is a Bachelor of Health Sciences student at Queen’s University. Through the RESPONDER Project, she contributes to a scoping review investigating responder-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian settings. Her work involves screening academic and grey literature and conducting data extractions, supporting the broader evidence synthesis under the supervision of Dr. Bartels and Dr. Lee. Her interests lie in global health and its intersectional nature, with a particular curiousity for how social and structural forces shape health outcomes across diverse places and populations. She is especially drawn to research that connects evidence with real-world impact, particularly in global and humanitarian contexts shaped by conflict and inequity.
Undergraduate Student and Research Assistant
Queen's University
Anita Bedi
Anita is a Bachelor of Health Sciences student at Queen’s University. She currently contributes to the RESPONDER Project, supporting a scoping review through study screening, data extraction, and evidence synthesis on responder-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian settings, under the supervision of Dr. Bartels. Her research interests include global health, health equity, and health care systems, with a focus on how structural inequalities and power imbalances shape vulnerability in crisis-affected contexts. She is particularly interested in survivor-centred research and in translating evidence into more equitable policies and practices. Anita is fully bilingual in English and French.
Undergraduate Student and Research Assistant
Queen's University