Directory of Research and Expertise

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Research Summary and Profile

Research interests:

Civil Rights, Human rights, International Law, International Relations

Regions:

Caribbean, North America, South America, United Kingdom

Summary of research interests and expertise:

Victorie Knox is a Lecturer in Refugee Studies at the Refugee Law initiative and teaches on MA Refugee Protection and Forced Migration, University of London. Her specialist area of research is how gang violence, organised crime and corruption contribute to displacement and the broader human rights situation in Central America and Mexico.

She worked as a senior research consultant for several years and recently conducted research for the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, investigating internal displacement and forced migration caused by widespread violence in El Salvador and Honduras. She has considerable experience in communications and campaigns and has held senior roles in advocacy organisations including Amnesty International and International Alert.Victorie has previously worked on equality and discrimination and on reproductive rights and access to abortion, with a particular focus on Latin America, and was a co-director of the Central America Woman's Network.

Victorie was awarded PhD in Human Rights by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, from where she previously graduated with MA in Understanding and Securing Human Rights. Her doctoral research explored the links between organised crime and migration in Mesoamerica, in the context of the emerging protection crisis in the region. Her thesis analysed how violent criminal groups drive migrations, are a threat during during migratory transit and control people smuggling operations. She also holds degrees from Queen Mary University of London and University of Brighton, and her other research interests include international human rights law, equality and discrimination, and reproductive rights.

 

Languages:

	Spoken	Written
French	Intermediate	Intermediate
Spanish	Fluent	Fluent
German	Intermediate	Intermediate

Publication Details

Related publications/articles:

Date	Details
27-Feb-2025	Internal displacement caused by violence perpetrated by organised criminal gangs and networks: Drivers and dynamics Articles
05-Oct-2019	Gang violence, GBV and hate crime in Central America: State response versus State responsibility Articles Significant displacement is caused in Central America by gang violence, gender-based violence and hate crimes against LGBT+ people but State responses have failed to address their root causes.
05-Mar-2019	Web of violence: crime, corruption and displacement in Honduras (2019) Articles
25-Sep-2018	An Atomised crisis Reframing displacement caused by crime and violence in El Salvador Articles Research reveals that criminal violence in El Salvador is highly targeted and individualised, and this defines displacement dynamics and protection needs. In the absence of coordinated state support, people rely on their own networks and often don’t report their situation for fear of reprisal. This means they have few safe options inside the country, which leads to repeated displacement, severe restrictions on freedom of movement and significant crossborder flight. The research also finds that, in attempting to combat extremely high levels of violence in El Salvador, repressive state security measures have triggered new displacement, as gangs target police and their families, and security forces target young people in gang-affected areas. The study draws on extensive desk research covering the academic literature and latest empirical reports, and qualitative data collected in 51 interviews with 80 experts in El Salvador and Mexico City during March and April 2018.
05-Oct-2017	Factors influencing decision making by people fleeing Central America Journal articles Interviews with people who have fled violence in Central America reveal the influences behind their decision making prior to and during flight.
01-Sep-2015	El Salvador in focus: The criminalisation of abortion
28-Sep-2012	Sonia Tábora and the risks of being poor and pregnant in El Salvador Articles
01-Sep-2012	Abortion in the Americas: Non-Discrimination and Equality as Tools for Advocacy and Litigation Journal articles This article explores to what extent International Human Rights Law (IHRL) can make a formal or substantive contribution to access to abortion, analyses aspects of dis-crimination caused by the criminalisation of abortion, and examines the benefits of using the rights to equality and non-discrimination in advocacy and litigation to secure access to safe abortion as a critical component of reproductive healthcare.

Consultancy reports:

Date	Details
2019	Web of Violence: Crime, corruption and displacement in Honduras Report and analysis for the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre on internal displacement caused by violence, organised crime and corruption in Honduras.
2018	An Atomised Crisis: Reframing internal displacement caused by crime and violence in El Salvador, Report and analysis for the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre on internal displacement caused by violence, gangs and organised crime in El Salvador

Research Projects & Supervisions

Research projects:

Details
Forced displacement linked to corruptionand impunity in megaprojects: new aspects of development-induced displacement in Honduras and Mexico Funded with a BA/Leverhulme Small Grant

Available for doctoral supervision: Yes

Consultancy & Media

Available for consultancy:

Yes

Media experience:

Yes

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