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ProfessorRita Shackel

Professor of Law and Ethics

Sydney Law School

Orcid identifier0000-0003-1669-3019 (opens in a new tab)⁠
  • Professor of Law and Ethics
    Sydney Law School

Research projects & supervision summary

Rita is currently undertaking research on:

  • The dynamics and disclosure of sexual and related violence
  • Prosecutorial decision-making in child sexual assault cases
  • The use of witness intermediaries for child and vulnerable witnesses
  • Admissibility of expert evidence in sexual assault cases
  • Evolving perceptions of childhood and the Child's Right to Play
  • Ethical issues in research involving victims of crime
  • Building transformative partnerships in research and advocacy
  • Law student mental health and wellbeing

Her current projects include:

  • ACT Human Rights Commission (2023-24)

Project: Evaluation of the ACT Witness Intermediary Program

Investigators: Rita Shackel(CI), Judy Cashmore & Rukiya Stein

  • Corrective Services New South Wales (2022-23)

Project: Evaluation of the Victim Impact and Risk Management Support Seminars

Sole Investigator: Rita Shackel

RESEARCH PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES

  • PROJECT
    Justice system experience of adult domestic and family violence victim-survivors
    1 Jun 2025 - 30 Sep 2025
    Project leaders:
    Review of NSW coercive control and domestic family violence laws
  • RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISION
    Age and Circumstances of Onset to Child Sexual Abuse Material Viewing and Characteristics of Consumers: Findings From an Anonymous Survey of Internet Users
  • RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISION
    Characteristics, management and associations of sexual assault presentations to a sexual assault service; experience and understanding of the medical forensic sexual assault examination from the point of view of patients and the general population.
  • RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISION
    Facilitating evidence of repeated domestic and family violence: victim-survivor experience of non-disclosure informal disclosure and formal disclosure.
  • RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISION
    Judicial application of the 'realistic possibility of restoration' test in care and protection proceedings in the Children's Court of New South Wales
  • RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISION
    Recognition or Misrecognition The Role of Authorised Clinicians in Facilitating Child Participation in New South Wales Care and Protection Matters
  • RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISION
    Regulating AI-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in China
  • RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISION
    Restorative justice in terrorism cases-- perspectives from New Delhi
  • RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISION
    Trauma sensitive healthcare is essential for women with subliminal sequelae following sexual trauma involving tonic immobility
  • RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISION
    Violent Extremism, Online Gaming Subcultures and Young People