Research on Sexual Harassment (RoSH) Initiative

Expertise: Dr. Rambaree's research is in social work, social policy, and sustainable development, highly relevant to this project. He has extensive experience in gender education and qualitative research and has published in several international scientific journals on sexual harassment and gender issues based on research undertaken in Mauritius.

Key Qualifications:

• PhD in Social Work and Social Policy, University of Manchester, UK (2007)
• Published extensively on sexual harassment and gender issues in Mauritius
• Worked as short-term consultant for UNFPA (1994-1997) and various national and international organizations
• Vice-President of the International Consortium for Social Development
• Member of the International Association of Schools of Social Work Research Committee

Role in Project: Overall project leadership, qualitative research design and analysis, social media analysis, focus group discussions, stakeholder consultations, and conference organization.

Contact: [email protected]

Expertise: Dr. Munhurrun's research focuses on gender issues, community well-being and quality of life, and sustainable development. She employs a range of methodologies, focusing on both qualitative and quantitative methods. She has conducted capacity-building workshops and consulted for the Mauritian government.

Key Qualifications:

• PhD in Tourism and Hospitality Marketing and Management, University of Technology, Mauritius (2013)
• Principal Investigator on multiple research grants related to gender issues and sustainable tourism
• Published extensively in international refereed journals on tourism, quality of life, and gender
• Experience with Erasmus+ mobility programmes and international academic exchanges

Role in Project: Co-leadership of project, conference organization, dissemination of results with stakeholders, and ensuring research translation into policy and practice.

Contact: [email protected]

Expertise: Dr. Brizmohun has worked on gender issues in Mauritius and the Indian Ocean region over the last eight years. She has served as project coordinator for development projects on improving working conditions for women and preventing gender-based violence in the workplace in the South-West Indian Ocean.

Key Qualifications:

• PhD in Applied Economics, Auburn University, USA (2018) - Fulbright Award
• Worked on projects related to sexual harassment with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare in Mauritius
• Consultant for UNDP/UNDESA and Ministry of Blue Economy on gender policy
• Experience in gender wage gap research and gender-based violence prevention

Role in Project: Desk review, focus group discussions, stakeholder consultations, and policy analysis.

Contact: [email protected]

Expertise: Based in Mauritius, Dr Nikolova was the Principal Investigator of a USD 55,000 Social Innovation grant to study sexual and gender-based violence in the UAE. She has published on topics relevant to the proposal in high-ranking journals and has authored 10+ evidence-driven policy reports on gender issues for different international organizations

Key Qualifications:

• PhD in Public Policy/Economics, Princeton University (2011)
• Principal Investigator for the EBRD-World Bank Life in Transition Survey (2011-2017)
• Organized international workshop on gender-based violence in Abu Dhabi (May 2024)
• Consultant for World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, IMF, and UN agencies on gender and economics
• Extensive experience with survey design, implementation, and ethical approval for sensitive topics

Role in Project: Survey design and quantitative analysis, ethical approval process leadership, and capacity building for postdoctoral fellows.

Contact: [email protected]

Expertise: Dr. Backlund Rambaree's research focuses on corporate social responsibility, social work, and ecosocial perspectives on sustainability. Her work bridges social work, social policy, and sociology, with particular emphasis on environmental justice, responsible business practices, and their implications for community wellbeing. Her work experience involves previous positions in consulting and academia in Mauritius. Having spent more than 7 years in Mauritius she has a good understanding of the Creole language and the Mauritian context.

Key Qualifications:

• PhD in Sociology, Stockholm University, Sweden (2018) - Dissertation on Corporate Social Responsibility
• Published several academic articles in international peer-reviewed journals on topics involving CSR, environmental justice, and ecosocial work
• Contributed to report for the European Commission on the gender dimension in social protection
• Contributed to situation analysis of women in research and training for the African Economic Research Consortium
• Experienced senior lecturer with previous work experience as full-time Lecturer at University of Mauritius and full-time consultant at KPMG Advisory Services, Mauritius

Role in Project: Post-Doctoral Fellow focusing on qualitative analysis, including conducting focus groups and stakeholder consultations.

Contact: [email protected]

Expertise: Dr. Noorjahan Banon Teeluckdharry is a multidisciplinary researcher with expertise in service quality, higher education, hospitality and survey design. Her work focuses on developing context-specific instruments to capture lived experiences, satisfaction, wellbeing and workplace dynamics, and translating findings into evidence-based recommendations.

Key Qualifications:

• PhD in Management, with a focus on Service Quality and Higher Education, University of Mauritius (2024)
• Strong grounding in both quantitative and qualitative research
• Author of a book chapter on developing and validating measurement scales for survey research
• Extensive experience in survey design, sampling strategies and field preparation
• Advanced skills in data analysis using SPSS, AMOS and SmartPLS
• Contributed to large-scale studies on service quality, satisfaction, wellbeing and organisational performance
• Experienced lecturer in research methodology, quality management, operations management, numeracy for managers and strategic business leadership

Role in Project: Post-Doctoral Fellow, responsible for survey design, sampling framework and field preparation. Leading field implementation and conducting quantitative data analysis to produce robust, policy-relevant evidence on sexual harassment in the tourism industry.

Contact: [email protected]

Team Strengths

The team offers complementary skills essential for completing this complex, innovative, and interdisciplinary project. Team members have backgrounds in social work, agricultural economics, tourism, economics, politics, and survey analysis. This diversity ensures comprehensive coverage of all aspects of the research, from theoretical framing through feminist and intersectional lenses, to rigorous quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, to effective policy translation and stakeholder engagement.

The deep local knowledge combined with international research experience and networks positions the team uniquely to conduct this important research and ensure its findings contribute to meaningful change in Mauritius and beyond.