PhD fellowship in Criminology and/or Sociology of Law, Digitizing Sexual Violence
PhD @University of Oslo posted 1 day agoJob Description
Job description
One PhD fellowship is available at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law to undertake research as part of the project Digitizing Sexual Violence: The role of technology in creating and regulating sexual harms. The project is funded by the Norwegian Research Council. The candidate will be able to work on cutting-edge research topics and get access to an international and interdisciplinary network of high expertise with possibilities of research stays abroad. The candidate will be part of an interdisciplinary project group where close collaboration across academic disciplines and scientific methods is expected.
Digitizing Sexual Violence takes as a starting point that new technologies, such as smart phones and social media platforms, have become vital to social connections; moreover, they have reshaped sexual violence in two distinct ways. First, technology is being increasingly incorporated into traditional forms of sexual violence, such as when perpetrators take pictures of their victims while assaulting them. Second, technology has contributed to the creation of new forms of sexual harm, such as image-based abuse and deepfake technology. The implications of these developments are twofold. First, the use of technologies as part of harmful sexual conduct offers new possibilities to investigate and prosecute sex crimes in general due to an increased amount of technological evidence. Second, the role of technology in both traditional sexual violence and new forms of sexual harm have instigated a need for legal regulations of these practices. The objective of Digitizing Sexual Violence is to conceptualize an emerging scientific field at the intersection of law and technology: the technologization of the legal processing of sexual violence and the criminalization of technology-facilitated sexual harms.
The study will focus on three changes organized in separate work packages. Changes in 1) legislation and case law regarding technology-facilitated sexual harms; 2) the investigation and prosecution of sexual violence; 3) peopleʼs knowledge, attitudes and conceptualizations of the use of law in relation to technology-facilitated sexual harms. The advertised position is part of work package 3. Applicants do not need to have prior in-depth knowledge of sexual violence but should have relevant methodological and theoretical expertise from the social sciences and an interest in the topic. Applicants should develop an independent research project within the framework outlined in this work package.
Applicants can read more about the project here. Interested applicants can contact project leader Solveig Laugerud or researcher Lars Roar Frøyland for more information about the project.
More about the position
The PhD fellowship appointment runs for three years without compulsory duties, or four years with 25% compulsory duties. Compulsory duties will consist of teaching. Four years employment is contingent on that the person appointed can contribute to the current teaching needs at the faculty.
PhD fellowships are recruitment positions intended to lead to a PhD degree at The Faculty of Law. Applicants must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Law. Read more about the Doctoral Degree here.
Qualification requirements
- The position requires a Norwegian five-year master’s degree in criminology, sociology of law or equivalent education.
- Good knowledge of social scientific qualitative methods is a prerequisite.
- Data collection will take place in Norway and the candidate must have good written and oral skills in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language.
- The candidate must have a good command of English.
- Normally, the applicant should have grades that place him or her in the top tier. This requirement also applies to the master’s thesis.
Personal skills
The person hired must:
- be able to work independently and in a structured manner
- have good collaboration skills and the ability to contribute to the development of this scientific field
- be able to take initiative and actively participate in the development of a good interdisciplinary work environment
Assesment of applicants
The applicant must submit a project proposal for the subproject they will carry out as part of Digitizing Sexual Violence. The project proposal should be 4-5 pages in length and contain an account of the key issues to be studied, research question(s), the theories and methods that will be used, research ethics and a timeline. The list of references can be in addition to the 4-5 pages. An account must also be given of how the work is planned to be carried out. The proposed project should combine theoretical and empirical ambitions with feasibility.
The evaluation of candidates is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements associated with the role, including personal qualifications evaluated through individual interviews and reference interviews. In the assessment of applicants, significant emphasis will be placed on the scientific quality and relevance of the project description for Digitizing Sexual Violence. Additionally, importance will be placed on previous written work and the applicant’s academic and personal qualifications to carry out the project.
The final project description will be developed in consultation with the project leader and supervisor following the appointment.
Short-listed candidates will be invited to interview for the position, either in person or via a digital platform.
The candidates are evaluated by an assessment committee. The committee ranks the applicants based on the criteria indicated above and interviews with short-listed candidates. A separate interview committee may be set down. The final decision is taken by the Faculty’s appointment board.
We offer
- Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development.
- Committed colleagues in a good working environment.
- Good welfare schemes.
- Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours. A workplace with good development and career opportunities.
- Membership in Statens Pensjonskasse
- Salary in position as Doctoral Research Fellow, position code 1017 in salary range NOK 550 800 – 595 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund.
How to apply
- Letter of application (in Norwegian or a Scandinavian language)
- Project proposal (4-5 pages). The project description must include a demonstration of knowledge about the topic and presentation of relevant theories, as well as a description of the research design and plan for carrying out the research, including a publication plan (in Norwegian, a Scandinavian language or English).
- Curriculum Vitae (giving an overview of education, previous positions, academic accomplishments, teaching experience and list of publications).
- Copies of diplomas with all grades included in the degree, certificates and a complete list of publications. For applicants with education from abroad, a copy of the original diploma as well as an English or Scandinavian translation are required. Foreign diplomas must have attached official documentation about the grading system, which shows which grades on the diploma are at a high academic level.
- Up to 3 scientific works, e.g. master’s thesis, articles or other texts (published or under publication). If these are co-authored, a declaration of authorship and of the contribution of the applicant should be submitted.
- A list of up to three references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail address and phone number)
- A PhD thesis at The Faculty of Law may consist of a single work (monograph) or several shorter works (article-based thesis). The candidate must describe how the thesis will be published (e.g., monograph/article-based) in the application or project description.
Application with attachments must be submitted via our electronic recruitment system, please click “Apply for this job”.
Formal regulations
Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Doctoral research fellowships at the University of Oslo.
According to the Norwegian Freedom of Information Act (offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.
The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results.
Inclusion and diversity are goals in the Faculty’s strategy. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives. We will make adjustments for employees who require this.
If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.
Contact information
Questions regarding the position and project: project leader Solveig Laugerud, e-mail: solveig.laugerud@jus.uio.no and phone no. 91 55 13 53 and researcher Lars Roar Frøyland, e-mail: lrfroy@oslomet.no and phone no. 913 100 76.
Questions regarding the recruitment system and process: HR advisor Victoria Alice Knutsen Hatløy, e-mail: v.a.k.hatloy@jus.uio.no
