Ravinder Barn is Professor of Social Policy, and former Head of Department of Law & Criminology (2023-2025). Together with Professor Anna Gupta, she is also Co-Director of the Gender, Families and Children Research Cluster. Ravinder is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences. She is a sub-panel member on UoA20, for REF2029. Ravinder was previously a sub-panel member on the same unit of assessment, for REF2021.

Ravinder has a strong track record in policy-relevant research in relation to racial/ethnic, social and gender inequalities. She is the author/editor of eight books and over 100 journal papers or book chapters. She writes on gender, ethnicity, child and youth welfare, and criminal justice. Her research on child welfare and migrant groups; and gender-based violence is highly regarded nationally and internationally. Ravinder is a mixed-methods researcher. Her academic base is inter-disciplinary and spans social policy, sociology, social work, and criminology.

As Principal Investigator, she has successfully led on a number of externally funded research studies. Ravinder's empirical research has been funded by many organisations including the Economic and Social Research Council, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Social Tech Trust, Former Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), Canadian High Commission, Department of Health, Family Rights Group, and the European Union. In undertaking policy related research, Ravinder has worked in partnership with numerous statutory and non-statutory organisations including many local authorities across England, National Children's Bureau, First Key, Youth Justice Board, Council of Europe and the European Union. Ravinder's research is empirically and theoretically grounded and key findings are disseminated to a wide variety of potential beneficiaries ranging from academic researchers, central and local government, international organizations including the Council of Europe and the European Union, and third sector organizations. 

Ravinder is currently engaged in the following ongoing empirical research studies:-

1. Transracial adoption in the UK, UKRI FLF funded study with the University of Kent.

2. Early Childhood Education and Care in Palestine - A European Funded study with Al-Quds Open University in the West Bank, Al-Aqsa University (Gaza), and the universities of Palermo, Crete, and Bragança.

3. Gender and Policing in Punjab, India 

4. Child Well-Being and Child Rights in South Africa, with the University of Cape Town.

5. Environmental Harms and Child Well-Being in India with Punjabi University, Patiala, India.

Professor Barn welcomes ideas for collaborative research from academic colleagues at Royal Holloway and beyond. She is keen to receive PhD applications in areas related to her research interests.

Ravinder's X profile is @ProfRaviBarn

Ravinder's work can also be followed on Academia.edu; SSRN, and LinkedIn.

Some former PhD students include:

Chaitali Das (Professor of Transnational and International Social Work, Frankfurt University, Germany)

Vicki Harman (Professor in Sociology, University of Surrey, UK)

Zamri Hassan (Senior Lecturer, University of Malaysia, Sarawak, Malaysia)

Rick Hood (Professor of Social Work, Kingston University, UK)

Utsa Mukherjee (Senior Lecturer in Education, Brunel University, London)

Jenny Tonsing (Associate Professor of Social Work, Appalachian State University, USA)