Professor Daniel Monk
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Overview
Overview
Biography
Daniel joined the Law School as a Lecturer in January 2003 and was promoted to Professor of Law in 2017. From 1996–2002 he was a lecturer in law at Keele University. He qualified as a Solicitor in 1991 and was an articled clerk (trainee solicitor) at the West End entertainment law firm Clintons. He was an editor at Butterworths Publishers while studying part-time for his Masters degree.
He was one of the founder members of the Birkbeck Institute of Gender and Sexuality (BIGS) which was established in 2008 and he was the Director from 2012-2015. He is currently a member of the Steering Group of the Birkbeck Institute of the Moving Image (BIMI).
His research has explored a wide range of issues relating to families, children, education and sexuality. He has been awarded funding by the Nuffield Foundation, The Socio-Legal Studies Association, the Society of Legal Scholars, the British Academy and the International Institute for the Sociology of Law and has had Visiting Professorships at the University of Antwerp and Tel Aviv University. He has been awarded two Public Engagement awards in recognition of the impact of his research about both the treatment of siblings in the public care system (2019) and the regulation of Elective Home Education (2018).
He is currently writing about the relationship between law and friendship and also undertaking research about the regulation of school dress codes.
Highlights
New publication: Inheritance Matters: Kinship, Property, Law (co-edited with Suzanne Lenon, Hart/Bloomsbury, 2023)
Fifty Years of the Divorce Reform Act 1969 (co-edited with Joanna Miles and Rebecca Probert, Hart, 2022). Farewell Adultery: blog here!
Siblings in the Public Care System, funded by the Nuffield Foundation See also @SiblingsLaw
Qualifications
- LLB, University of Warwick, 1987
- LLM, London School of Economics, 1995
- Solicitor, Law Society of England and Wales, 1991
Administrative responsibilities
- Department of Law Careers and Employability Tutor
Visiting posts
- Visiting Professor, Antwerp University, 03-2014 to 06-2014
- Visiting Professor, Tel Aviv University, 09-2011 to 12-2011
- Visiting Fellow, University of Melbourne, 01-2000 to 04-2000
- Visiting Fellow, Goethe University Frankfurt, 11-2000 to 12-2000
Professional activities
Editor, Child and Family Law Quarterly (2002-current)
Advisory Editor, International Journal of Law in Context (2012-current)
Council Member, The Society of Legal Scholars (2016-current)
UK Correspondent, Tijdschrift voor Familie-en-Jeugdrecht
Treasurer, Socio-Legal Studies Association (2005-2010)
Professional memberships
Society of Legal Scholars
Socio-Legal Studies Association
Fellow, Higher Education Authority
UK Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists
Honours and awards
- Fellow, Academy of Social Sciences, March 2024
- Winner, Transforming Culture or Public Life, Birkbeck Public Engagement Awards, March 2019
- Highly Commended, Transforming Culture of Public Life, Birkbeck Public Engagement Awards, March 2018
- Best Article Prize: 'Theorising education law and childhood: constructing the ideal pupil' (2000) British Journal of Sociology of Education 21 (3): 355-370., Socio-Legal Studies Association, March 2001
ORCID
0000-0001-8704-891X -
Research
Research
Research overview
Daniel Monk's research has explored a wide range of issues relating to families, children, education and sexuality: from sex education, home schooling and school dress codes to siblings, inheritance and royal divorce. Adopting a socio-legal approach, it draws on a wide variety of methods: doctrinal, qualitative empirical research, archival, literary and historical.
His current research projects are:
Why Inheritance? Co-editing (with Suzanne Lenon) an interdisciplinary collection of essays to foreground the foundational significance of inheritance-published in 2023.
Dressing Up for School. A socio-legal examination of the regulation of school dress codes and what practices and conflicts can tell us about gender, class, race and religion in contemporary Britain.
Friendship and the Law. A critical and conceptual mapping of demands for he recognition of friends by the law.
KEY RESEARCH
Regulating Home Education. Described as a 'quiet revolution', starting in 2003, Daniel's research has provided a sustained examination of this growing phenomenon, the underlying controversies and the complex legal framework. At both a local and national level he has helped galvanise pressure for reform and assisted practitioners working in the field and the research was Highly Commended in the 2018 Public Engagement Awards. Key outputs:
(2016) "'Out of School Education' and Radicalisation: Home Education Revisited", Education Law Journal 1: 17-31
(2009) ‘Regulating Home Education: Negotiating Standards, Anomalies and Rights’, Child and Family Law Quarterly 21 (2): 155-184. This article was cited extensively in the House of Commons, Select Committee on Children, Schools and Families Final Report: The Review of Elective Home Education, 9 December 2009.
(2004) 'Problematising Home Education: Challenging "Parental Rights" and "Socialisation"' Legal Studies (2004) 24(4): 568-598
Siblings in Public Care. Siblings are routinely separated in the public care system and this results in them having little and sometimes no contact. This research - co-authored with Dr Jan Macvarish - examined this often overlooked issue through an extensive analysis of legal sources and interviews with key legal and social work practitioners. The project was supported by advice from and the participation of members of the Family Justice Young People's Board. Public engagement with the research has been extensive, including lectures at the Judicial College. Winner: 2019 Public Engagement Award (Transforming Culture or Public Life Category). For more information see the project website and @SiblingsLaw and BBC Radio 4. File on Four. 'Separated Siblings'
Wills and Inheritance. Starting from the premise that inheritance is a key site of family and kinship - as well as growing area of legal practice - Daniel's research has endeavoured to open up new perspectives by adopting distinct archival, empirical, biographical, literary and doctrinal methods. Key outputs:
(2023) Inheritance Matters: Kinship, Property, Law (co-edited with Suzanne Lenon) London: Bloomsbury
(2016) 'Inheritance Famil
Research Centres and Institutes
- Steering Group Member and former Chair, Birkbeck Institute for Gender and Sexuality Studies
- Steering Group Member, Birkbeck Institute of the Moving Image (BIMI)
Research clusters and groups
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Supervision and teaching
Supervision and teaching
Supervision
I welcome enquiries from prospective PhD students who are interested in undertaking studies in any of my areas of research interest.
Doctoral alumni since 2013-14
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JOANNA BLACKWELL
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CLAIRE HORN
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OLIVER GILMAN
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Publications
Publications
Article
- Monk, Daniel and Lamont, R. and Herring, J. and Gilmore, S. (2023) Reflections on future directions in family law. Child and Family Law Quarterly 35 (2), pp. 1-18. ISSN 1358-8184. (In Press)
- Monk, Daniel (2022) Farewell adultery!. Tijdschrift voor Familie-en-Jeugdrecht 44 (5), pp. 165-166. ISSN 0165-0084.
- Monk, Daniel (2020) Lady Hale, The Supreme Court and family law. Tijdschrift voor Familie-en-Jeugdrecht 42 (3), pp. 81-82. ISSN 0165-0084.
- Monk, Daniel (2020) Reading Forster's will. Language and Literary Studies of Warsaw 10, pp. 61-83. ISSN 2300–5726.
- Monk, Daniel and Macvarish, Jan (2019) Siblings, contact and the law: an overlooked relationship?. Family Law 50, pp. 180-187. ISSN 0014-7281.
- Monk, Daniel (2018) Muscular Liberalism and the best interests of the child. The Cambridge Law Journal 77 (2), pp. 261-265. ISSN 0008-1973.
- Monk, Daniel (2017) A tribute to Helen Reece. Child and Family Law Quarterly 29 (1), pp. 3-7. ISSN 1358-8184.
- Monk, Daniel (2016) Out of school education and radicalisation: home education revisited. Education Law Journal 2016 (1), pp. 17-31. ISSN 1469-0152.
- Monk, Daniel (2016) ‘Inheritance Families of Choice’? Lawyers’ reflections on gay and lesbian wills. Journal of Law and Society 43 (2), pp. 167-194. ISSN 0263-323X.
- Monk, Daniel (2015) ‘Queering Genealogy Through Wills’. Legal Information Management 15 (1), pp. 12-15. ISSN 1472-6696.
- Monk, Daniel (2014) The pleasures and perils of inheritance. Studies in Gender and Sexuality 15 (3), pp. 239-243. ISSN 1524-0657.
- Monk, Daniel (2014) Writing (gay and lesbian) wills. Oñati Socio-Legal Series 4 (2), pp. 306-322. ISSN 2079-5971.
- Monk, Daniel and Hacker, D. (2014) Wealth, families and death: socio-legal perspectives on wills and inheritance: introduction. Oñati Socio-Legal Series 4 (2), pp. 170-175. ISSN 2079-5971.
- Monk, Daniel (2013) EM Forster's will: an overlooked posthumous publication. Legal Studies 33 (4), pp. 572-597. ISSN 0261-3875.
- Monk, Daniel (2011) Sexuality and succession law: beyond formal equality. Feminist Legal Studies 19 (3), pp. 231-250. ISSN 0966-3622.
- Monk, Daniel (2011) Challenging homophobic bullying in schools: the politics of progress. International Journal of Law in Context 7 (2), pp. 181-207. ISSN 1744-5523.
- Monk, Daniel (2009) Reckless trials? the criminalization of the sexual transmission of HIV. Radical Philosophy (156), pp. 2-6. ISSN 0300-211X.
- Monk, Daniel (2009) Regulating home education: negotiating standards, anomalies and rights. Child & Family Law Quarterly 21 (2), pp. 155-184. ISSN 1358-8184.
- Monk, Daniel (2009) The birds and the bees on DVDs. Culture Wars
- Monk, Daniel (2005) (Re)constructing the Head Teacher: legal narratives and the politics of school exclusions. Journal of Law and Society 32 (3), pp. 399-423. ISSN 0263-323X.
- Monk, Daniel (2004) Problematising home education: challenging ‘parental rights’ and 'socialisation'. Legal Studies 24 (4), pp. 568-598. ISSN 0261-3875.
- Monk, Daniel (2004) Undermining authority? challenging school exclusions and the problems of 'reinstatement'. Child and Family Law Quarterly 16 (1), pp. 87-102. ISSN 1358-8184.
- Monk, Daniel (2003) Home education: a human right?. Evaluation and Research in Education 17 (2/3), pp. 157-166. ISSN 0950-0790.
- Monk, Daniel (2002) Children's rights in education: making sense of contradictions. Child and Family Law Quarterly 14 (1), pp. 45-56. ISSN 1358-8184.
- Monk, Daniel (2001) New guidance/old problems: recent developments in sex education. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law 23 (3), pp. 271-291. ISSN 0964-9069.
- Monk, Daniel (2000) Children, sex and education: recent local and global perspectives. Education Law Journal 1 (4), pp. 206-217. ISSN 1469-0152.
- Monk, Daniel (2000) Theorising education law and childhood: constructing the ideal pupil. British Journal of Sociology of Education 21 (3), pp. 355-370. ISSN 0142-5692.
- Monk, Daniel (1999) Childhood and sex: an English case-study of sex education. Suomen Antropologi/Journal of the Finnish Anthropological Society 24 (3), pp. 25-38. ISSN 0355-3930.
- Monk, Daniel (1998) Duties, resources and the provision of 'education otherwise'. Child and Family Law Quarterly 10 (4), pp. 425-434. ISSN 1358-8184.
- Monk, Daniel (1998) Sex education and HIV/AIDS: political conflict and legal resolution. Children and Society 12 (4), pp. 295-305. ISSN 0951-0605.
- Monk, Daniel (1998) Sex education and the problematization of teenage pregnancy: a genealogy of law and governance. Social and Legal Studies 7 (2), pp. 241-261. ISSN 0964-6639.
- Monk, Daniel (1997) School exclusions and the Education Act 1997. Education and the Law 9 (4), pp. 277-290. ISSN 0953-9964.
Book
- Lennon, S. and Monk, Daniel, eds. (2023) Inheritance matters: kinship, property, law. London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781509964819.
- Miles, J. and Monk, Daniel and Probert, R., eds. (2022) Fifty years of the Divorce Reform Act 1969. London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781509947881.
- Monk, Daniel and Macvarish, Jan (2018) Siblings, contact and the law: an overlooked relationship?. London, UK: Birkbeck, University of London. ISBN 9780907904380.
- Barker, N. and Monk, Daniel, eds. (2015) From civil partnership to same-sex marriage: interdisciplinary reflections. Routledge: Abingdon. ISBN 9781138855984.
- Hale, B. and Pearl, D. and Cooke, E. and Monk, Daniel (2008) The family, law and society. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199204243.
- Monk, Daniel and Ruebain, D. (2001) Education. Atkin's Encyclopaedia of Law. 17(2), London, UK: Butterworths.
- Bridgeman, J. and Monk, Daniel, eds. (2000) Feminist perspectives on child law. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9781138154292.
- Moran, Leslie J. and Monk, Daniel and Beresford, S., eds. (1998) Legal queeries: lesbian, gay and transgender legal studies. London, UK: Cassell. ISBN 9780304338641.
Book Review
- Monk, Daniel (2021) Global Perspectives on Home Education in the 21st Century.
- Monk, Daniel (2020) The Role of the Monarchy in Modern Democracy: European Monarchies Compared, edited by Robert Hazell and Bob Morris.
- Monk, Daniel (2020) Neville Harris, 'Education, Law and Diversity' (2nd Edition).
- Monk, Daniel (2018) 'Thatcher's Grandchildren? Politics and Childhood in the Twenty-First Century' Edited by Stephen Wagg and Jane Pilcher.
- Monk, Daniel (2016) Aleardro Zanghellini, 'The Sexual Constitution of Political Authority' (Routledge, 2015).
- Monk, Daniel (2014) Moral Crusades in an Age of Mistrust: The Jimmy Savile Scandal By Frank Furedi.
- Monk, Daniel (2013) Community, Home, and Identity, Michael Diamond and Terry L Turnipseed (eds).
- Monk, Daniel (2009) Fit to Teach?: Same-Sex Desire, Gender, and School Work in the Twentieth Century.
- Monk, Daniel (2008) Neville Harris, Education, Law and Diversity.
- Monk, Daniel (2006) Children, courts and custody: interdisciplinary models for divorcing families.
- Monk, Daniel (2006) Sentencing and punishment: the quest for justice.
- Monk, Daniel (2003) Kingdom of children: culture and controversy in the homeschooling movement.
- Monk, Daniel (2001) Andrew Bainham, Shelley Day Sclater and Martin Richards (eds.), What is a Parent? A Socio Legal Analysis.
- Monk, Daniel (1998) Children's Rights: A Comparative Perspective by Michael Freeman (ed.).
Book Section
- Monk, Daniel and Lennon, S. (2023) Introduction: Why inheritance. In: Lenon, S. and Monk, Daniel (eds.) Inheritance Matters: Kinship, Property, Law. Bloomsbury Hart. pp. 1-30. ISBN 9781509964826.
- Monk, Daniel (2022) New divorce law for England and Wales. In: Declerck, C. and Mosselmans, S. (eds.) Patrimonium 2022. London, UK: Die Keure. pp. 513-520. ISBN 9789048644889.
- Monk, Daniel (2022) Celebrating Hoggett & Pearl: The Family, Law and Society, 1983 - 2009. In: Hunter, R. and Rackley, E. (eds.) Justice for Everyone - The Jurisprudence and Legal Lives of Brenda Hale. Cambridge University Press. pp. 53-73. ISBN 9781108479363.
- Miles, J. and Monk, Daniel and Probert, R. (2022) 'Irretrievably broken'? introducing the life-story of the divorce reform act 1969. In: Miles, J. and Monk, Daniel and Probert, R. (eds.) Fifty Years of the Divorce Reform Act 1969. London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781509947881.
- Monk, Daniel (2022) Royal divorces and the remaking of marriage and monarchy. In: Miles, J. and Monk, Daniel and Probert, R. (eds.) Fifty Years of the Divorce Reform Act 1969. London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781509947881.
- Monk, Daniel (2019) Inheritance law matters. In: Clough, B. and Herring, J. (eds.) Ageing, Gender and Family Law. Routledge. pp. 190-202. ISBN 9781138744943.
- Monk, Daniel (2019) Gay marriage in England: after the party. In: From Sodomy Laws to Same-Sex Marriage: International Perspectives Since 1789. London, UK: Bloomsbury. pp. 213-227. ISBN 9781350023925.
- Monk, Daniel (2017) Dressing up for school: beyond rights and welfare. In: Dinter, S. and Schneider, R. (eds.) Transdicsiplinary Perspectives on Childhood in Contemporary Britain. Studies in Childhood, 1700 to the Present. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. pp. 210-229. ISBN 9781138232105.
- Monk, Daniel (2017) Law and the bedroom: living together as husband and wife?. In: Cook, M. and Gormon-Murray, A. (eds.) Queering the Interior. Home. London, UK: Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781474262200.
- Barker, N. and Monk, Daniel (2015) From civil partnership to same-sex marriage: a decade in British legal history. In: Barker, N. and Monk, Daniel (eds.) From Civil Partnership to Same Sex Marriage: Interdisciplinary Reflections. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9781138855984.
- Monk, Daniel (2015) Home education: a human right?. In: Rothermel, P. (ed.) International Perspectives on Home Education: do we still need schools?. 10.1057/9781137446855. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781137446855.
- Monk, Daniel (2015) Judging the act: civil partnership disputes in the courtroom and the media. In: Barker, N. and Monk, Daniel (eds.) From Civil Partnership to Same Sex Marriage: Interdisciplinary Reflections. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9781138855984.
- Monk, Daniel (2015) Sexuality and children post-equality. In: Leckey, R. (ed.) After Legal Equality: Family, Sex, Kinship. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9781138644762.
- Blair, A. and Monk, Daniel (2012) Sex education and the law in England and Wales: the importance of legal narratives. In: Davidson, R. and Sauerteig, L. (eds.) Shaping Sexual Knowledge: A Cultural History of Sex Education in Twentieth Century Europe. Routledge Studies in the Social History of Medicine. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. pp. 37-54. ISBN 9780415542180.
- Monk, Daniel (2011) Homophobic bullying: a queer tale of childhood politics. In: Lesnik-Oberstein, K. (ed.) Children in Culture, Revisited: Further Approaches to Childhood. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 55-72. ISBN 9780230275546.
- Monk, Daniel (2010) Re G (Children) (Residence: Same-Sex Partner). In: Hunter, R. and MacGlynn, C. and Rackley, E. (eds.) Feminist Judgments: From Theory to Practice. Oxford, UK: Hart Publishing. pp. 96-101. ISBN 9781849460538.
- Monk, Daniel (2009) Parental responsibility and education: taking a long view. In: Gilmore, Stephen and Herring, Jonathan and Rebecca, Probert (eds.) Responsible Parents and Parental Responsibility. Oxford, UK: Hart Publishing. pp. 143-164. ISBN 1841138800.
- Monk, Daniel (2008) Childhood and the law: in whose `best interests?'. In: Kehily, M.J. (ed.) An Introduction to Childhood Studies. Berkshire, UK: Open University Press. pp. 177-197. ISBN 9780335228706.
- Monk, Daniel (2007) Teenage pregnancies and sex education: constructing the girl/woman subject. In: Munro, V. and Stychin, C. (eds.) Sexuality and the Law: Feminist Engagements. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9781904385660.
- Monk, Daniel (2004) Law and childhood: in whose 'best interests'?. In: Kehilly, Mary Anne (ed.) An Introduction to Childhood Studies. Milton Keynes, UK: Open University Press. ISBN 9780335236800.
- Bridgeman, J. and Monk, Daniel (2000) Introduction: reflections on the relationship between feminism and child law. In: Bridgeman, J. and Monk, Daniel (eds.) Feminist Perspectives on Child Law. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9781859415252.
- Monk, Daniel (2000) Education law/educating gender. In: Bridgeman, J. and Monk, Daniel (eds.) Feminist Perspectives on Child Law. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9781859415252.
- Monk, Daniel (2000) Health and education: conflicting programmes for sex education. In: Heinze, E. (ed.) Of Innocence and autonomy: Children, sex and human rights. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9781840144840.
- Monk, Daniel (1998) Beyond Section 28: law, governance and sex education. In: Moran, Leslie J. and Monk, Daniel and Beresford, S. (eds.) Legal Queeries: Lesbian, Gay, and Transgender Legal Studies. London, UK: Cassell. ISBN 9780304338634.
- Monk, Daniel (1998) Failing children: responses to children with 'behavioural problems'. In: King, Michael (ed.) Moral Agendas for Children's Welfare. London, UK: Routledge. ISBN 9780415180139.
Editorial
- Buss, D. and Fletcher, R. and Monk, Daniel and Monroe, S. and Phillips, O. (2005) Introduction to 'sexual movements and gendered boundaries: legal negotiations of the global and the local'. Social and Legal Studies 14 (1), pp. 5-15. Sage. ISSN 0964-6639.
Other
- Monk, Daniel and Macvarish, Janet (2020) Brothers and sisters In Public Law proceedings - assessment, placement, permanence and contact: frontline briefing. Dartington: Research in Practice.
- Monk, Daniel (2019) Elective Home Education: commentary on the new guidance to local authorities from the Department of Education. London, UK: Birkbeck, University of London.
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Business and community
Business and community
Media
I am happy to receive enquiries from the media on the following topics:
- Home Education
- Sex and Relationship Education
- Wills and Inheritance
- Children's Rights
Outreach
Quoted in The Economist: Putting Asunder:No-fault divorce begins this week in England and Wales 9 April 2022
Self-Isolation/Self-Portraits, Solidarity and Care, The Sociological Review, August 2020
Presentation at St Ives Chambers Annual Child Care Conference Birmingham, October 2022
Queer Lawyers of Tomorrow, interview, November 2020
Farewell adultery: new divorce laws come into effect in April 2022. Birkbeck Perspectives, 25 February 2022
BBC Radio 4, File on Four, 'Separated Siblings' January 2020
Quoted in The Independent Long Read: 'My husband betrayed me, but under the new no-fault divorce law our split would be no-one's fault', Kasia Delgado, 16 February 2022
Strasbourg Observer Blog about Wunderlich v Germany (5 February, 2019)
The Marker/Haartez Online News, Israel UK Reflections on Brexit, interviewee, June 2016
Action on Home Education: Impact Challenges, Birkbeck Comments, 23 January 2017
BBC Radio London Vanessa Feltz Breakfast Show Discussing lesbians and gay equality in the honours system, April 2016 (at 2.38)
SBS TV (Australia) Who Do You Think You Are? Interviewed about an early 18th Century English will of the an ancestor of the actor Rachel Griffiths, October 2016
Video-performance art collaboration with Carey Young, Artist in Residence, 'Still Life' informed by 'Reading the Will: Performing Testaments', July 2014
Hepworths Chisel': Testaments and Artistic Legacies, Tate Gallery Seminar Discussant, July 2015
BBC 2 H£IR HUNT£RS interviewee about the law relating to intestacy, March 2013/July 2014
Pits and Perverts Revisited: 'Pride' the movie and Politics Now!, December 2014
Article about Homophobic Bullying discussed in The Conversation, September 2014
Are Gay Rights A Gay Issue?, Pink News, 13 December 2013
Those in Civil Partnerships Need to Be Aware What Happens to Wills, Pink News, 13 March 2013
Reflections on Gay Marriage, Birkbeck Comment, 8 February 2013
BBC Radio 4, Bringing Up Britain Panellist discussing children's behaviours and attitudes to risk, 29 April 2009
'Reckless Trials', Radical Philosophy, July/August 2009
BBC Radio 4, The Moral Maze, Panellist discussing teenage pregnancies, 25 February 2009
Performance Art, 'Queer Homage to Klein', Mickael Tranoy at Homesession, Barcelona, 2008
BBC Radio Live, Interviewee discussing HIV and Criminalisation, February 2005 (quoted in 'Sex Education and The Media' (2006) Feminist Media Studies 6(4): 539-556).
'Reading the Queer Will', BRAKC Seminar, June 2011