Biography
Roxana is a Lecturer in Criminal Law, University of Oxford, an Associate Professor of Crime Policy, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and a DPhil Candidate in Law, University of Oxford. Before joining Oxford, Roxana completed an LLM in International Economic Law, SOAS, and an LLB in Law with European Legal Studies, UKC.
Research Interests
“I have wide-ranging multi-disciplinary interests, and I am open to exploring new ideas. My current interests include class, intersectionality, restorative justice, community justice, mental disability law, criminal law (particularly in relation to the insanity defence), and land law.
My doctoral research examines the role of community in restorative justice, at the intersection of gender, ethnicity, and class, supervised by Prof Carolyn Hoyle and Dr Alpa Parmar. As part of this project, I adopted an ethnographical method, and moved back home to live with my family on the Lincoln estate in Corby. In addition to observing and participating in community life, I worked closely with two restorative justice programmes: one, community-level, and the other state-level. I am in the final stages of writing up my research findings.
The main focus of my doctorate has been on class, and I have a keen interest in researching more into the intersection between class and mental disorder. I have set up a number of extracurricular mental health projects, detailed below, and I hope to conduct postdoctoral research in this area.
I was recently invited to join Prof Susan Bright on the ‘Oxford Tower Blocks’ project, which investigates legal and decision-making processes for environmental refurbishments in multi-unit and multi-tenure high-rise flats. I am delighted to be part of this innovative work.”
Publications
C. Hoyle & R. Willis, ‘The challenge of integrating restorative justice into the “deep-end” of criminal justice: A case study from Northamptonshire, UK’ (2016), in Blomberg, T. et al. (eds.) Advancing Criminology and Criminal Justice Policy, Routledge.
R. Willis, ‘Three Approaches to Community in Restorative Justice. Explored through a young person’s experiences with a Youth Offender Team in England’. (2016) Restorative Justice: An International Journal 4(2), 1-27.
R. Willis, ‘Tales of Widowhood from the Cameroonian Grassfields: A comparative analysis of widow dispossession in anglophone and francophone Cameroon’ (2016) (Submitted to the Journal of African Law for review – accepted / in progress).
R. Willis, ‘Class, Crime, and Virtual Ethnography: Delineating ethical boundaries of Facebook research’ (2016) (Submitted to the Journal of Research Ethics for review – accepted / in progress).
Papers Presented
Paper forthcoming at the Inaugural Mental Disability Law Conference, University of Nottingham: “A Spoonful of Punishment Helps the Medicine Go Down?” (1st July 2016)
Paper presented at the Thames Valley Police Conference, University of Oxford: ‘Police Diversion and Restorative Justice: A story from Northants’. (23rd September 2015).
Live interview conducted for the Inaugural Conference of the Community of Restorative Researchers, Leeds University. Roxana led the opening panel: Jon Collins CEO, Restorative Justice Council; Gary Stephenson, CEO, Restorative Solutions CIC; Andrew Hancock, Restorative Justice Coordinator, Darlington Neighbourhood Resolution (7th July 2015).
Paper presented at the 8th International Conference of the EFRJ in Belfast: ‘Exploring the benefits and pitfalls of community participation in restorative justice’. (June 2014).
Paper presented at the Trespassing in Fieldwork Symposium, St Hilda’s College, Oxford University, on a panel with Prof Phil Cohen & Prof Roger Goodman: ‘Delineating ethical boundaries of Facebook Research’. (June 2014).
Ethnographic case study presented at The Prosecution of Looked-After Children Conference, Northampton Police Head Quarters: ‘Drew’s Story’. (July 2014).
Paper presented at the 50th Anniversary of St Edmund’s Hall MCR: ‘Artistic adventures: The creative side of graduate life at Teddy Hall’ (29th May 2015).
Paper presented at St Edmund Hall’s Masterclass Showcase: ‘Healing Minds’ (5th March 2016).
Conferences Organised
A Night with Mental Health, St Edmund Hall (July 2014). Lectures by Prof. Richard Bentall, Prof. Daniel Freeman, and Dr. Lubomira Radoilska. An interactive drama performance took place as a way for participants to explore issues raised by the lectures.
- Podcasts of the lectures and further information available here: https://www.seh.ox.ac.uk/news/%E2%80%9C-night-mental-health%E2%80%9D-podcasts-now-available
Selected Project Management Experience
Founding Partner of ALL for Cameroon, a pro bono Law Chambers (2009 – ongoing)
A leading law chambers in Cameroon, sponsored by Allen and Overy, which handles a range of cases including United Nations human rights petitions, prisoner appeals, and youth offences.
- Website: https://all4cameroon.wordpress.com/
Creator and Coordinator of Healing Minds (July 2013 – September 2014)
An interactive drama project that partnered with researchers, psychiatrists, and policymakers in order to encourage public engagement with mental health concerns in India. An interactive play about post-natal depression was performed for 12 diverse communities in India, including university medical students, schoolchildren, slum residents, leprosy sufferers, police forces, and policymakers. This project led to a 5-year Wellcome Trust Award to continue the work across India.
- Awarded the Oxford University Dramatic Society’s “Creative Peace of the Year" 2015: http://www.ouds.org/whats-on/win-for-act-for-change-healing-minds-at-the-ousu-student-awards
- Commended in the Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford’s termly newsletter: https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/organisation/university-officers/vice-chancellor/termly-newsletter?wssl=1
- A film presentation of this work is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baCXm5nYbOY
- An evaluation of this work is available here: https://goo.gl/gjael1
- A poster presentation of the work is available here: https://goo.gl/725CZs
- A professional documentary film is in the process of production.
Creator and Coordinator of Act for Change in Cameroon (October 2012 – May 2013)
An international drama project focusing on prenatal care in Cameroon, involving 10 community performances, a radio broadcast, and an appearance on national television.
- Documentary film available here: https://youtu.be/Tw1zuhrYQMM
Producer of Mental Health Advocacy Multimedia Campaign (April 2010)
A series of films aimed at improving the perception of mental health in Cameroon.
- Films available here: https://www.youtube.com/user/allforcameroon
Publications
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4. Sorted by year, then title.
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Willis, 'Class, Crime, and Virtual Ethnography: Delineating ethical boundaries of Facebook research' (2016) Submitted to the Journal of Research Ethics (accepted / in progress) -
Willis, 'Tales of Widowhood from the Cameroonian Grassfields: A comparative analysis of widow dispossession in anglophone and francophone Cameroon' (2016) Submitted to the Journal of African Law (accepted / in progress) -
Hoyle and Willis, 'The challenge of integrating restorative justice into the “deep-end” of criminal justice: A case study from Northamptonshire, UK' in Blomberg, T. et al. (ed), Advancing Criminology and Criminal Justice Policy (Routledge 2016) -
Willis, 'Three Approaches to Community in Restorative Justice. Explored through a young person’s experiences with a Youth Offender Team in England' (2016) 4 Restorative Justice: An International Journal 1