Dr Rachael Attwood

I was awarded a DPhil from UCL in 2013, having previously studied at both UCL and the University of Oxford. My doctoral thesis, which was supervised by Professor Catherine Hall, is on the politics of activism against trafficking for sex work in turn-of-the-century Britain and, particularly, the racialised representation of trafficking as 'white slavery'. I have taught at both UCL and the University of Sussex, where I was also a Research Fellow at the Centre for German-Jewish Studies. 

My first body of research focuses on the history of sex trafficking in Britain and its empire, as well as global Jewish trafficking and anti-trafficking networks. It also encompasses best practice pedagogies in the history of sex trafficking.

I am passionate about sharing my research outside of academia, particularly with child protection and anti-trafficking NGOs, and I have acted as an advisor on a number of academic and educational projects on the history of women's mobility and trafficking.

Since 2023, I have broadened my interests to EDI-centered curriculum design in the Humanities at both school- and university-level and have developed a Key Stage 2 toolkit called 'Our Stories', which supports teachers in diversifying and decolonising standard History curricula. I am also a champion of neurodivergent-friendly teaching frameworks in Higher Education.

I am currently working on a research project in the Medical Humanities surrounding hypermobility, and its conceptualisation and treatment under the NHS. 

I joined the University of Westminster as a Lecturer in History in September 2015. I teach on a variety of topics relating to British and imperial history in the 19th and 20th centuries, with a special interest in gender history and the history of sexuality.

My research specialisms include sex trafficking and immigration policy from the late nineteenth century, modern British society and culture, gender history, the history of sexuality, Jewish history, and progressive pedagogies in History. I am happy to supervise students or participate in projects in any of these areas.

My first body of research focuses on the history of sex trafficking in Britain from 1880 through to 1945. I am interested in how ideas of slavery, nation, and empire impacted the representation of trafficking in metropolitan Britain, and what this tells us about British society and politics, particularly surrounding racism, sexual exploitation, and migrants' rights. Alongside this, I focus on pedagogies in the history of sex trafficking and migratory sex work more broadly. 

I am also engaged in research-led EDI-centered curriculum design at both school- and university level, and have developed a series of learning resources for Key Stage 2 teachers called 'Our Story', which supports the implementation of EDI-friendly material to current History curricula.

My current research is in the field of the Medical Humanities and focuses on hypermobility syndromes and their conceptualisation and management in the National Health Service. 

For details of all my research outputs, visit my WestminsterResearch profile.