Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Hazel is a human geographer who undertook her degree at the University of Sussex in the School of African and Asian Studies. She then moved to the University of Birmingham to undertake her MA and PhD in West African Studies. Her main areas of research are the socioeconomic aspects of development, in particular gender, health and rural development in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the last decade her research has been directed at the social and economic aspects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, in particular Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and The Gambia as well as amongst migrant groups in the UK.
More recently her research has focussed on the traditional harmful practice of FGM in Africa and amongst the African diaspora in the EU. She is an internationally recognised expert on FGM. She is a specialist on participatory action methods and community-based participatory research and has published a number of referred papers on this methodology.
She has published books and chapters on health and development issues and has over 40 referred articles to her name. In 1998 she was promoted to Reader in Development Geography and in 2006 she was conferred a Chair in Development Geography. She has been Associate Dean for Applied Research in the Faculty of Business, Environment and Society since 2010. She is President of the Geographical Association (2013-14).
Vision Statement:
In the early 1980s I spent fourteen months lodging with local families in The Gambia when I undertook the research for my PhD. In the process of researching food production and its marketing, it became very clear to me that whilst African women were the main producers of foodstuffs for their families and communities and the main traders in local markets, they suffered poor health and had low levels of education. In fact they were the neglected dimension of development at that time. It was the empathy I had with these hard-working women that inspired me to focus my research on the issues that directly affected women’s livelihoods and in particular their access to human development. Whilst the issue of the role of women in development and their access to the capital assets necessary for development are now high on the political agenda they still have lower levels of education than men and suffer the most serious consequences of the HIV/AIDS epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa. Whilst they suffer inequity in the development process I will continue to undertake research to give them a voice.
Research Interests
FGM; community based-research in African Diaspora EU.HIV/AIDS; Development Geography; Participatory Research Methods; Gender, Human development and Health issues in Africa; Marketing, Agricultural Systems and Rural Development in Africa
Vision Statement
In the early 1980s I spent fourteen months lodging with local families in The Gambia when I undertook the research for my PhD. In the process of researching food production and its marketing, it became very clear to me that whilst African women were the main producers of foodstuffs for their families and communities and the main traders in local markets, they suffered poor health and had low levels of education. In fact they were the neglected dimension of development at that time. It was the empathy I had with these hard-working women that inspired me to focus my research on the issues that directly affected women’s livelihoods and in particular their access to human development. Whilst the issue of the role of women in development and their access to the capital assets necessary for development are now high on the political agenda they still have lower levels of education than men and suffer the most serious consequences of the HIV/AIDS epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa. Whilst they suffer inequity in the development process I will continue to undertake research to give them a voice.
View Hazel's expert directory profile.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
-
Collecting impact evidence from the Enabling Ethiopian Universities Peace Education (EUPE) in Ethiopia
Taka, M. (Principal Investigator), Jakala, M. (Co-Investigator), Barrett, H. (Co-Investigator) & Sentama, E. (Co-Investigator)
6/01/25 → 18/12/25
Project: Internally funded project
-
Enabling University Peace Education in Regional Conflict/ Post-conflict Settings (EUPE) Project for the British Council Sudan and Ethiopia
Jakala, M. (Principal Investigator), Payne, L. (Co-Investigator), Annan, N. (Academic), Barrett, H. (Academic), Darweish, M. (Academic), Sentama, E. (Academic) & Taka, M. (Academic)
11/10/22 → 31/07/24
Project: Consultancy
-
Women and Peace-Building: A Case Study of the Guji-Gedio Conflict in Southern Ethiopia
Mohammed, A., Barrett, H. & Afesha, N., 27 Jan 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Violence Against Women. (In-Press), p. (In-Press) 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
-
Girls just wanna have fun! South Asian women in the UK diaspora: Gradations of choice, agency, consent and coercion
Sandhu, K. K. & Barrett, H., Jan 2024, In: Women's Studies International Forum. 102, 10 p., 102859.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)105 Downloads (Pure) -
Rethinking the Definition of Medicalized Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
Van Eekert, N., Barrett, H., Kimani, S., Hidayana, I. & Leye, E., Feb 2024, In: Archives of Sexual Behavior. 53, 2, p. 441-453 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review
5 Citations (Scopus) -
Seeking sustainable peace: grounded perspectives from Ethiopia
Barrett, H. & Jakala, M., 2024, (In preparation) Coventry Open Press.Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
-
Statehood exercises in Ethiopia and their jurisprudential significance: clarifying normative hurdles and addressing empirical challenges
Afesha, N. & Barrett, H. R., 9 Jan 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Regional & Federal Studies. (In-Press), p. (In-Press) 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2 Citations (Scopus)
Activities
-
International Conference Law , Culture and Human Rights in Asia and the Middle East
Liebling, H. (Speaker) & Barrett, H. (Speaker)
14 Feb 2020Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation
-
Prevention or Prosecution? The Behaviour Change Approach to Tackling FGM in the EU
Barrett, H. (Organiser)
11 Apr 2014Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in conference
-
EU Conference on Women in Africa
Barrett, H. (Organiser)
25 May 2011Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in conference
-
BSA Medsoc
Barrett, H. (Speaker)
9 Nov 2011Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in conference
-
Oil Politics in Africa
Barrett, H. (Chair)
16 Nov 2011Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in conference