Professor Teela Sanders was conferred to the Fellowship of the Academy in spring 2025. She is Professor of Criminology at the University of Leicester, where has been Pro Vice Chancellor and Head of the College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities since 2024.
Professor Teela SandersFAcSS
Teela is a leading international scholar in research on the intersections between gender, regulation, governance and crime, specifically in the sex industry. She has written seven books, edited 10, and has over 60 peer reviewed journal articles, based on research projects funded from major research councils. Teela was Principal Investigator on the ESRC funded, Beyond the Gaze project which focused on the working practices, regulation and safety of internet sex work, with outcomes involving practitioners and police good practice, safety resources for sex workers and police and practitioner training.
Teela has long standing research relationships in Nairobi with third sector and academic networks in relation to gender-based violence. She recently completed a large four-year ESRC-funded international project: ‘Understanding sexual violence in sex working populations: Law, legal consciousness and practice in four countries’ and has also received an AHRC grant on the prevention of modern slavery on adult service websites partnered with Unseen, the National Crime Agency and National Police Chief Council.
Teela is a long-standing member of the National Police Chief Council Sex Work and Policing Group which informs and shapes policy and practice in policing. Her work has influenced government policy and policing guidance and has been published in major newspapers and outlets. She has sat on the ESRC Strategic Advisory Network for the past four years and is currently involved in the strategic delivery plan developments. Teela is the Principal Investigator on the ESRC Impact Accelerator Account at the University of Leicester and is also the University Chair of the EDI Committee.
Why do the social sciences matter?
To me, the social sciences have always been a way to understand the world and find solutions to pressing issues, particularly in relation to inequalities and gender. I have always seen social sciences as the critical friend in the often unfair and unjust world we live in, providing a platform to shine a light on the impact of policies, ideologies and practice on everyday life and people. In these times, the social sciences are needed more than ever to do just that and bring evidence to the many tables where it is needed.
How can the social sciences help to shape a better future?
The social sciences are pivotal, but especially so when collaborating with other disciplines, trains of thought, methodologies, and perspectives etc. The global problems we face and their implications at local, regional and national level, cannot be solved by one discipline alone in this complex nexus of structures, organisations and relationships. Social science can be a place to develop research questions with other disciplines to ask how we can change, address and tackle the many varied challenges facing society.
Why did you choose a career in the social sciences?
It’s a cliché but I think the social sciences chose me! I was inspired by my teachers at comprehensive school and I particularly liked the freedom that sociology provided to act as a lens to review the structures and relationships that we live with and are often subjected to. It felt that through sociology I could study anything, and that it had something to say about everything.
In my early career I had the fortune of being in the same department as Zygmunt Bauman in his latter years – his lectures were so inspiring and confirmed to me I was in the right place. At the same time, volunteering for projects around the world through my social work skills also confirmed I wanted to work with people at grassroots level. A pivotal time for me was working in New York City in an HIV/AIDS charity in the 1990s. This experience gave me first hand experiences of the injustices of the world and the harms done to people, but also that there were different ways to address social issues.
What would you say to someone considering studying the social sciences?
The social sciences are really at the heart of most big world problems humanity faces. If you are interested in social justice, the fairness of our world and our futures, and looking after our planet then the social sciences are a pathway into working in these areas. It is via the social sciences that interdisciplinary work can be championed, working alongside STEM and arts and humanities to really join up thinking and think outside the box about complex problems. Together we are stronger.
What does being a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences mean to you?
It has been an ambition of mine for several years to be part of the Academy and join this group of experts to support the efforts and aims to promote the value of the social sciences. The Academy offers a wealth of resources, networking and learning opportunities and is a welcome space in these busy times to bring people together. I am looking forward to meeting new scholars and social science practitioners and being part of a national effort to put the social sciences front and centre of policy and education.