Dr Anna Kotova

• PhD in Criminology, University of Oxford, 2016.
• MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Oxford, 2012, Distinction.
• BA in Jurisprudence, University of Oxford, 2011, First Class.

Anna read for a BA in Jurisprudence, MSc in Criminology and PhD in Criminology at the University of Oxford (Oriel College and Green Templeton College). There, she taught Criminal Law and ran Study Skills classes on academic writing and a range of other academic skills. After completing her PhD, she worked as an Associate Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Exeter (2016-2017), where she taught Sociology of Imprisonment, Victimology and Addiction.

Her doctoral work explored the sociological impact of long sentences on female partners of male prisoners in the UK, examining the themes of time, passage of time, gender, and family practices. She has completed research focusing on how a therapeutic prison is experienced by men who are serving sentences for sex offences with their own histories of sexual abuse perpetrated against them, as well as a study on using video-call technology to maintain family ties across prison walls and the use of prison email. She also produces theoretical work on stigma experienced by families of people in prison and how it located within the broader socio-political context (neoliberalism, poverty, gender, race).

She is a regular presenter at a number of conferences (British Society of Criminology, European Society of Criminology), and contributes to media coverage of criminal justice issues.

She is a member of following networks:

• 2025-present: Member of CLINKS Families Network
• 2021-present: Member of Is it a Crime to Be Poor? Researcher Alliance
• 2020–present: Member of Centre for Crime, Justice and Policing, University of Birmingham
• 2015–present: Member of Global Families Network (academic network housed within Oxford’s Centre for Criminology, for academics across the world working on research on crime and the family)

Punishment in a Global Context (Undergraduate Year 2)

Anna is interested in supervising doctoral students with an interest in prisons, prison life, families of offenders, and social justice/stigma.

She has supervised theses on deliberative democracy in the criminal justice; investigations into domestic violence; Arab carers, and other topics.

PhD title

‘He’s got a life sentence, but I have a life sentence to cope with as well’: The Experiences of Partners of Long-term Prisoners.

• 2021-2023: Ministry of Justice Policy Fellowship, Evidence and Partnerships Hub, funded by ESRC.
• 019 - 2021: Doing Family Using Video-Call Technology in Prisons. Funded by Sir Halley Stewart Trust.
• 2019: ESRC Impact Acceleration Mentorship Award: under mentor ship of Dr Dominique Moran, organised pre-bid event to discuss an AHRC grant application with senior policymakers, prison staff, academics and lived expertise expert.
• 2018 – 2019: British Academy Rising Star Engagement Award (BARSEA) for engagement and policy impact work: funded symposiums with stakeholders, policymakers and Early Career Researchers (ECRs).
• 2018 – 2019: Exploring how Men who have Committed Sexual Offences and Have a History of Sexual Victimisation Experience Life in a Therapeutic Community. Funded by National Association for Treatment of Sexual Abusers. £1,440 – PI2012 – 2016: ‘He’s got a life sentence, but I have a life sentence to cope with as well’: The Experiences of Partners of Long-term Prisoners. Funded by Sir Halley Stewart Trust (DPhil project), external project funding with supervisor Professor Rachel Condry.