Ilaria Michelis is a PhD student in Sociology and a Gates Scholar at the University of Cambridge, Newnham College. Her research explores how, and to what effect, the concept of intersectionality and its analytical implications are integrated in the practice of feminist organisations that support survivors of violence against women and girls (VAWG). For her doctoral project, Ilaria has been collaborating with two organisations working with migrant, refugee and ‘domestic’ survivors of gender-based violence and human trafficking in Serbia and Italy.
Before starting her PhD, Ilaria worked in the field of VAWG prevention and response, women’s rights and gender equality in humanitarian and development settings, primarily in Central and East Africa and the Middle East, for over ten years. As both a practitioner and a researcher, she has a strong interest in the relationship between theory and practice and maximising research impact.
Ilaria holds an MPhil in Sociology of Marginality and Exclusion from the University of Cambridge and an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
