Dr Wendy O'Brien
Dr Wendy O’Brien works with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC, Vienna) on human rights-based criminal justice reform and equal access to justice. Wendy holds concurrent appointments as Adjunct Associate Professor with Deakin University, Australia, and as guest faculty at the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI, Turin) where she teaches in the LL.M on Transnational Crime and Justice.
Wendy's academic research focuses on children’s rights, gender justice, violence prevention, and human rights-led law reform. As part of her broader work on non-discrimination and gender justice, Wendy also conducts research in the field of LGBTQI+ and SOGIESC rights. Wendy’s current research focuses on children’s rights and criminal justice in the digital age, as part of her broader interest in the human rights implications of the increased use of technology in the administration of criminal justice and social policy.
Wendy’s research is published in leading international human rights and criminology journals. Her co-edited book, Violence Against Children in the Criminal Justice System, was published by Routledge in 2020.
Wendy previously worked as Senior Specialist with the Australian Crime Commission, leading on the delivery of research and policy advice on gender-based violence and the legal and therapeutic responses to child victims and children in conflict with the law. She has regularly been called on to provide expert testimony to national and state inquiries on child protection, and to serve on research advisory boards for projects on violence prevention and safe schools.
Wendy holds a PhD in Gender Studies, a Master of Public International Law (Human Rights), and a Master of Evaluation.
Wendy's academic research focuses on children’s rights, gender justice, violence prevention, and human rights-led law reform. As part of her broader work on non-discrimination and gender justice, Wendy also conducts research in the field of LGBTQI+ and SOGIESC rights. Wendy’s current research focuses on children’s rights and criminal justice in the digital age, as part of her broader interest in the human rights implications of the increased use of technology in the administration of criminal justice and social policy.
Wendy’s research is published in leading international human rights and criminology journals. Her co-edited book, Violence Against Children in the Criminal Justice System, was published by Routledge in 2020.
Wendy previously worked as Senior Specialist with the Australian Crime Commission, leading on the delivery of research and policy advice on gender-based violence and the legal and therapeutic responses to child victims and children in conflict with the law. She has regularly been called on to provide expert testimony to national and state inquiries on child protection, and to serve on research advisory boards for projects on violence prevention and safe schools.
Wendy holds a PhD in Gender Studies, a Master of Public International Law (Human Rights), and a Master of Evaluation.
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Books by Dr Wendy O'Brien
Comprising contributions from leading scholars and practitioners in children’s rights and youth justice, this book profiles evidence-based prevention strategies and case studies from around the world. It illustrates the diversity of contexts in which various forms of violence against children unfold and advances knowledge about both the nature and extent of violence against children in criminal justice settings, and the specific situational factors that contribute to, or inhibit, the successful implementation of violence prevention strategies. It demonstrates that specialised child justice systems, in which children’s rights are upheld, are crucial in preventing the violence inherent to conventional criminal justice regimes.
Written in a clear and accessible style, this book will be of interest to students and researchers engaged in studies of criminology and criminal justice, youth justice, victimology, crime prevention, and children’s rights.
Journal Articles by Dr Wendy O'Brien
Book Chapters by Dr Wendy O'Brien
Reports by Dr Wendy O'Brien
• Young people make up a significant proportion of individuals engaging in unwanted or harmful sexual
behaviours against children.
• Many young people who engage in harmful sexual behaviours have their own history of childhood trauma,
including exposure to domestic and family violence.
• These young people require holistic interventions that involve specialist services and multiple partner
agencies.
KEY FINDINGS
• There are variations and gaps in services for young people engaging in harmful sexual behaviours, and
information about service availability is not readily accessible.
• Specialist services operate in a complex environment that may make service provision challenging.
• Good practice in intervention is underpinned by conceptual, therapeutic and enabling principles.
• Factors in the broader service system may help or hinder good practice.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE
• A public repository of information about services available for young people with harmful sexual behaviours
should be established.
• Practitioners should apply the principles of good practice developed by the project to therapeutic work with
young people with harmful sexual behaviours.
• Funders should dedicate resources to collaborative research into tailoring therapeutic work to vulnerable
young people.
• Service systems design should support holistic interventions.
Authors: Quadara, Antonia; O'Brien, Wendy; Ball, Olivia; Douglas, Will; Vu, Linna.
This report was produced with funding from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited (ANROWS).
Authors: Quadara, Antonia; O'Brien, Wendy; Ball, Olivia; Douglas, Will; Vu, Linna.
This report was produced with funding from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited (ANROWS).
Comprising contributions from leading scholars and practitioners in children’s rights and youth justice, this book profiles evidence-based prevention strategies and case studies from around the world. It illustrates the diversity of contexts in which various forms of violence against children unfold and advances knowledge about both the nature and extent of violence against children in criminal justice settings, and the specific situational factors that contribute to, or inhibit, the successful implementation of violence prevention strategies. It demonstrates that specialised child justice systems, in which children’s rights are upheld, are crucial in preventing the violence inherent to conventional criminal justice regimes.
Written in a clear and accessible style, this book will be of interest to students and researchers engaged in studies of criminology and criminal justice, youth justice, victimology, crime prevention, and children’s rights.
• Young people make up a significant proportion of individuals engaging in unwanted or harmful sexual
behaviours against children.
• Many young people who engage in harmful sexual behaviours have their own history of childhood trauma,
including exposure to domestic and family violence.
• These young people require holistic interventions that involve specialist services and multiple partner
agencies.
KEY FINDINGS
• There are variations and gaps in services for young people engaging in harmful sexual behaviours, and
information about service availability is not readily accessible.
• Specialist services operate in a complex environment that may make service provision challenging.
• Good practice in intervention is underpinned by conceptual, therapeutic and enabling principles.
• Factors in the broader service system may help or hinder good practice.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE
• A public repository of information about services available for young people with harmful sexual behaviours
should be established.
• Practitioners should apply the principles of good practice developed by the project to therapeutic work with
young people with harmful sexual behaviours.
• Funders should dedicate resources to collaborative research into tailoring therapeutic work to vulnerable
young people.
• Service systems design should support holistic interventions.
Authors: Quadara, Antonia; O'Brien, Wendy; Ball, Olivia; Douglas, Will; Vu, Linna.
This report was produced with funding from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited (ANROWS).
Authors: Quadara, Antonia; O'Brien, Wendy; Ball, Olivia; Douglas, Will; Vu, Linna.
This report was produced with funding from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited (ANROWS).
identify the importance of pressing for change across a
range of areas, including policy and legislative reform;
public perceptions and cultural change; and achieving
diversity, inclusion and greater representation of women
in all areas of the formal economy. Strategies to achieve
this change include: increased research and economic
modeling; the presentation of a powerful business case
for change; forging partnerships between the community
sector and business; pressing for accountability and
key performance indicators to achieve diversity and
flexibility within the workplace; advocating to government
for increased funding for community led services;
empowering women to assume leadership roles, including
at all levels of government; and challenging racism,
discrimination and all forms of violence against women.
According to Dr Wendy O’Brien, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Deakin University, children in criminal justice detention are among the most vulnerable children in our community. ‘This cohort of children has high rates of cognitive disability, childhood trauma and victimization, and a very high proportion of children in criminal justice detention have been in the care and protection of the state,’ Dr O’Brien says. She argues that they require increased understanding, patience and sensitivity and that this response is the only one aligned with international legal obligations pursuant to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, according to Dr O’Brien, the youth detention system in its current state is failing these obligations in many cases.