Ella Cockbain
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 655706 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Ella Cockbain |
| NOMBRES | Ella |
| APELLIDO | Cockbain |
| FIRMA | COCKBAIN E |
| AFILIACIONES | University College London |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6293-0268 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 17 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 72 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 16 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 1 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2013 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 4 |
More than a name
Pseudonyms in qualitative research serve not only as protective tools but also as expressions of participant identity – and, if mishandled, may compromise confidentiality they aim to ensure. This paper draws on incidental observations from a qualitative study of sex work in Malta to reflect on the unexpected methodological complexities that pseudonymisation can generate throughout the research process. We show that participant-generated pseudonym…
Who seeks help in a crisis? Temporal analysis of anti-trafficking helpline contacts over the pandemic
The study demonstrates how the Covid-19 pandemic affected reporting to a major anti-trafficking helpline, revealing increased self-reports from victim/survivors but a decline in community-based reporting. These findings highlight the importance of helplines as a public health intervention during crises and underscore the need for enhanced support infrastructure during periods of social and economic disruption. Future research should investigate t…
Reframing Research Participation as Labour
This article reframes research participation as a form of task-based labour, drawing on qualitative fieldwork with sex workers in Malta. Through 17 in-depth interviews with adults with lived experience of sex work, we explore the ethical and methodological implications of compensating participants, focusing on the design and justification of a flat-rate financial incentive. In doing so, we position this discussion in dialogue with wider debates o…
The role of helplines in the anti-trafficking space
Although increasingly deployed worldwide, human trafficking hotlines are sorely under-researched. Situated within a complex systems framework, we conceptualise such helplines as both a product of and an influence on broader anti-trafficking ecosystems. Taking the UK as a case study, we undertook exploratory analysis of potential ‘modern slavery’ cases ( n =3,613) reported to a major independent anti-trafficking helpline. We examined who seeks hel…
Concentrations of harm
Human trafficking and ‘modern slavery’ cover a wide, varied and poorly delineated range of exploitative practices. Yet, conflating different issues risks obscuring important variation. The geographies of trafficking are surprisingly under-researched, particularly quantitatively. Informed by opportunity theories, we examined geospatial and demographic concentrations in trafficking and related exploitation formally identified in the United Kingdom …
Understanding the new geographies of organised crime
Organised crime – and the people, processes and structures involved – do not exist in a geographical vacuum. They have an inherent spatiality: shaped by and shaping the places they occupy in physical, virtual and hybrid spaces. Although the ‘social embeddedness’ of organised crime is relatively well-recognised, its spatiality – or ‘spatial embeddedness’ – has been neglected. This article contextualises and introduces our special issue on the new …
Anatomy of a route
Since the so-called ‘migrant crisis’ in 2015, there has been intense policy interest around irregular migration along the Central Mediterranean Route to Europe. Despite increased research focus on this route, the details and geographical intricacies of these migration journeys have scarcely been examined. In this study, we investigate the what, where and how of the journeys of 71 people who travelled from Libya across the Mediterranean Sea to Mal…
Exploring the ‘Blurred Boundary
Objectives: This study examines the convergence of smuggling and trafficking in persons along the Central Mediterranean Route (CMR) to Europe. We explore where and how these phenomena blur, impacting states’ obligations and policy decisions. Methods: We analyse 71 interviews with migrants who travelled on the CMR in 2018 and 2019, with a focus on 17 participants who experienced forced labour. Results: We find clear overlaps and crossovers between…
Behind the criminal economy
Examining the geographies of human trafficking
There is relatively little empirical research into the geographies of human trafficking, despite its inherent spatiality and the clear benefits of geographical perspectives. An emerging but vibrant body of qualitative work explores different aspects of trafficking's spatiality and spatio-temporality in depth and nuance, but equivalent quantitative analyses are notably lacking. What exists is largely limited to crude maps and broad-brushed assessm…
War, Displacement, and Human Trafficking and Exploitation
Millions of people have been displaced following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Despite increasing concerns about the associated risks of human trafficking and exploitation, evidence remains sparse. To address this gap, and explore relevant experiences and perspectives, we co-convened an international online roundtable together with the UK's Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. The roundtable addressed emergent issues, key conce…
From Conflict to Common Ground
Response to the ATR debate proposition ‘It is worth undermining the anti-trafficking cause in order to more directly challenge the systems producing everyday abuses within the global economy.’
Failing victims, fuelling hate
Muslim grooming gangs' have become a defining feature of media, political and public debate around child sexual exploitation in the UK. The dominant narrative that has emerged to explain a series of horrific cases is misleading, sensationalist and has in itself promoted a number of harms. This article examines how racist framings of 'Muslim grooming gangs' exist not only in extremist, far-right fringes but in mainstream, liberal discourses too. T…
Missing children
Investigating reports of missing children is a major source of demand for the police in the UK. Repeat disappearances are common, can indicate underlying vulnerabilities and have been linked with various forms of exploitation and abuse. Inspired by research on repeat victimisation, this paper examines the prevalence and temporal patterns of repeat missing episodes by children, as well as the characteristics of those involved. Using data on all mi…
Offender and Victim Networks in Human Trafficking
Millions of pounds are spent every year trying to tackle human trafficking, modern slavery and child sexual exploitation. These are apparently threats perpetrated by ‘criminal masterminds’, spreading at a dizzying rate and approaching epidemic proportions – or so the story goes. Amid all the bold rhetoric and sweeping claims, there is very little robust research to help understand these problems and inform evidence-based policy and practice. In t…
Applied Police Research
Editors' and Series Editor's forewords 1. Introduction, Ella Cockbain and Johannes Knutsson 2. Working in the field: Police research in theory and in practice, David Kennedy 3. Getting a foot in the closed door: Practical advice for starting out in research into crime and policing issues, Ella Cockbain 4. Tip-toeing through the credibility mine field: Gaining social acceptance in policing research, Rick Brown 5. Trust me, I'm a researcher, Gloria…
Grooming and the 'Asian sex gang predator
Following a mainstream British newspaper's claim to have uncovered a new crime threat of 'on-street grooming', extensive and emotive debate continues around the so-called 'Asian sex gang' problem in the UK. This article examines the construction of a new racial crime threat, assessing the validity of its foundations and exploring its possible causes and consequences. Grooming is shown to be a dubious category, not a distinct offence but an ill-de…
Failing victims, fuelling hate
Muslim grooming gangs' have become a defining feature of media, political and public debate around child sexual exploitation in the UK. The dominant narrative that has emerged to explain a series of horrific cases is misleading, sensationalist and has in itself promoted a number of harms. This article examines how racist framings of 'Muslim grooming gangs' exist not only in extremist, far-right fringes but in mainstream, liberal discourses too. T…
Grooming and the 'Asian sex gang predator
Following a mainstream British newspaper's claim to have uncovered a new crime threat of 'on-street grooming', extensive and emotive debate continues around the so-called 'Asian sex gang' problem in the UK. This article examines the construction of a new racial crime threat, assessing the validity of its foundations and exploring its possible causes and consequences. Grooming is shown to be a dubious category, not a distinct offence but an ill-de…
War, Displacement, and Human Trafficking and Exploitation
Millions of people have been displaced following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Despite increasing concerns about the associated risks of human trafficking and exploitation, evidence remains sparse. To address this gap, and explore relevant experiences and perspectives, we co-convened an international online roundtable together with the UK's Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. The roundtable addressed emergent issues, key conce…
Missing children
Investigating reports of missing children is a major source of demand for the police in the UK. Repeat disappearances are common, can indicate underlying vulnerabilities and have been linked with various forms of exploitation and abuse. Inspired by research on repeat victimisation, this paper examines the prevalence and temporal patterns of repeat missing episodes by children, as well as the characteristics of those involved. Using data on all mi…
From Conflict to Common Ground
Response to the ATR debate proposition ‘It is worth undermining the anti-trafficking cause in order to more directly challenge the systems producing everyday abuses within the global economy.’
Anatomy of a route
Since the so-called ‘migrant crisis’ in 2015, there has been intense policy interest around irregular migration along the Central Mediterranean Route to Europe. Despite increased research focus on this route, the details and geographical intricacies of these migration journeys have scarcely been examined. In this study, we investigate the what, where and how of the journeys of 71 people who travelled from Libya across the Mediterranean Sea to Mal…
Concentrations of harm
Human trafficking and ‘modern slavery’ cover a wide, varied and poorly delineated range of exploitative practices. Yet, conflating different issues risks obscuring important variation. The geographies of trafficking are surprisingly under-researched, particularly quantitatively. Informed by opportunity theories, we examined geospatial and demographic concentrations in trafficking and related exploitation formally identified in the United Kingdom …
Grooming and the 'Asian sex gang predator
Following a mainstream British newspaper's claim to have uncovered a new crime threat of 'on-street grooming', extensive and emotive debate continues around the so-called 'Asian sex gang' problem in the UK. This article examines the construction of a new racial crime threat, assessing the validity of its foundations and exploring its possible causes and consequences. Grooming is shown to be a dubious category, not a distinct offence but an ill-de…
Applied Police Research
Editors' and Series Editor's forewords 1. Introduction, Ella Cockbain and Johannes Knutsson 2. Working in the field: Police research in theory and in practice, David Kennedy 3. Getting a foot in the closed door: Practical advice for starting out in research into crime and policing issues, Ella Cockbain 4. Tip-toeing through the credibility mine field: Gaining social acceptance in policing research, Rick Brown 5. Trust me, I'm a researcher, Gloria…
Offender and Victim Networks in Human Trafficking
Millions of pounds are spent every year trying to tackle human trafficking, modern slavery and child sexual exploitation. These are apparently threats perpetrated by ‘criminal masterminds’, spreading at a dizzying rate and approaching epidemic proportions – or so the story goes. Amid all the bold rhetoric and sweeping claims, there is very little robust research to help understand these problems and inform evidence-based policy and practice. In t…
Missing children
Investigating reports of missing children is a major source of demand for the police in the UK. Repeat disappearances are common, can indicate underlying vulnerabilities and have been linked with various forms of exploitation and abuse. Inspired by research on repeat victimisation, this paper examines the prevalence and temporal patterns of repeat missing episodes by children, as well as the characteristics of those involved. Using data on all mi…
From Conflict to Common Ground
Response to the ATR debate proposition ‘It is worth undermining the anti-trafficking cause in order to more directly challenge the systems producing everyday abuses within the global economy.’
Failing victims, fuelling hate
Muslim grooming gangs' have become a defining feature of media, political and public debate around child sexual exploitation in the UK. The dominant narrative that has emerged to explain a series of horrific cases is misleading, sensationalist and has in itself promoted a number of harms. This article examines how racist framings of 'Muslim grooming gangs' exist not only in extremist, far-right fringes but in mainstream, liberal discourses too. T…
Behind the criminal economy
Examining the geographies of human trafficking
There is relatively little empirical research into the geographies of human trafficking, despite its inherent spatiality and the clear benefits of geographical perspectives. An emerging but vibrant body of qualitative work explores different aspects of trafficking's spatiality and spatio-temporality in depth and nuance, but equivalent quantitative analyses are notably lacking. What exists is largely limited to crude maps and broad-brushed assessm…
War, Displacement, and Human Trafficking and Exploitation
Millions of people have been displaced following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Despite increasing concerns about the associated risks of human trafficking and exploitation, evidence remains sparse. To address this gap, and explore relevant experiences and perspectives, we co-convened an international online roundtable together with the UK's Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. The roundtable addressed emergent issues, key conce…
The role of helplines in the anti-trafficking space
Although increasingly deployed worldwide, human trafficking hotlines are sorely under-researched. Situated within a complex systems framework, we conceptualise such helplines as both a product of and an influence on broader anti-trafficking ecosystems. Taking the UK as a case study, we undertook exploratory analysis of potential ‘modern slavery’ cases ( n =3,613) reported to a major independent anti-trafficking helpline. We examined who seeks hel…
Concentrations of harm
Human trafficking and ‘modern slavery’ cover a wide, varied and poorly delineated range of exploitative practices. Yet, conflating different issues risks obscuring important variation. The geographies of trafficking are surprisingly under-researched, particularly quantitatively. Informed by opportunity theories, we examined geospatial and demographic concentrations in trafficking and related exploitation formally identified in the United Kingdom …
Understanding the new geographies of organised crime
Organised crime – and the people, processes and structures involved – do not exist in a geographical vacuum. They have an inherent spatiality: shaped by and shaping the places they occupy in physical, virtual and hybrid spaces. Although the ‘social embeddedness’ of organised crime is relatively well-recognised, its spatiality – or ‘spatial embeddedness’ – has been neglected. This article contextualises and introduces our special issue on the new …
Anatomy of a route
Since the so-called ‘migrant crisis’ in 2015, there has been intense policy interest around irregular migration along the Central Mediterranean Route to Europe. Despite increased research focus on this route, the details and geographical intricacies of these migration journeys have scarcely been examined. In this study, we investigate the what, where and how of the journeys of 71 people who travelled from Libya across the Mediterranean Sea to Mal…
Exploring the ‘Blurred Boundary
Objectives: This study examines the convergence of smuggling and trafficking in persons along the Central Mediterranean Route (CMR) to Europe. We explore where and how these phenomena blur, impacting states’ obligations and policy decisions. Methods: We analyse 71 interviews with migrants who travelled on the CMR in 2018 and 2019, with a focus on 17 participants who experienced forced labour. Results: We find clear overlaps and crossovers between…
Who seeks help in a crisis? Temporal analysis of anti-trafficking helpline contacts over the pandemic
The study demonstrates how the Covid-19 pandemic affected reporting to a major anti-trafficking helpline, revealing increased self-reports from victim/survivors but a decline in community-based reporting. These findings highlight the importance of helplines as a public health intervention during crises and underscore the need for enhanced support infrastructure during periods of social and economic disruption. Future research should investigate t…
Reframing Research Participation as Labour
This article reframes research participation as a form of task-based labour, drawing on qualitative fieldwork with sex workers in Malta. Through 17 in-depth interviews with adults with lived experience of sex work, we explore the ethical and methodological implications of compensating participants, focusing on the design and justification of a flat-rate financial incentive. In doing so, we position this discussion in dialogue with wider debates o…
More than a name
Pseudonyms in qualitative research serve not only as protective tools but also as expressions of participant identity – and, if mishandled, may compromise confidentiality they aim to ensure. This paper draws on incidental observations from a qualitative study of sex work in Malta to reflect on the unexpected methodological complexities that pseudonymisation can generate throughout the research process. We show that participant-generated pseudonym…
Sex work and related issues (13 obras) · Criminology (12 obras) · Political science (11 obras) · Sociology (11 obras) · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk (8 obras) · Psychology (8 obras) · Law (7 obras) · Human trafficking (6 obras) · Law (6 obras) · Geography (5 obras)