![Anna Skeels BA (Hons), MA, PhD](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/4324?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Anna Skeels
(she/her)
BA (Hons), MA, PhD
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Teams and roles for Anna Skeels
Research Fellow
Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Overview
I am a Research Fellow in the SPARK Hub Team in Cardiff University's Social Science Research Park (SPARK).
My research interests include children and young people and exploitation, human trafficking and 'modern slavery', refugees and forced migration, children’s rights, participation and protection, conducting research with potentially vulnerable groups in low income and challenging settings, the use of participatory methodologies, 'everyday' research ethics and antiracist and decolonial critiques and approaches.
I have a strong commitment to research addressing the most pressing societal issues and challenges in Wales, the UK and beyond and to the relevance and value of lived experience of survivors of exploitation, human trafficking and 'modern slavery' and the tacit knowledge of practitioners in research.
I co-established and am the co-Chair of the Modern Slavery and Social Sustainability Research Group as well as a core Member of the Migration, Ethnicity, Race and Diversity (MEAD) Research Group, both at Cardiff University.
I also established and lead on the Third Sector Research Partnership (TSRP) which provides pro bono research and evidence support to small Third Sector organisations in Cardiff.
Publication
2026
- Skeels, A. and Hynes, P. 2026. Reimagining child protection for children affected by exploitation. [Online].www.transformingsociety.co.uk/: Bristol University Press Policy Press. Available at: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2026/01/13/reimagining-child-protection-for-children-affected-by-exploitation/.
2025
- Skeels, A. and Hynes, P. 2025. Human trafficking of children and young people: a framework for creating stable and positive futures. Bristol: Policy Press, Bristol University Press. (10.51952/9781447375036)
2024
- Skeels, A. and Bashir, F. 2024. Prevention of child trafficking and exploitation: A synthesis of Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre funded research on child trafficking and child exploitation (2020-24): Report 1: Methods and Approach. Project Report.[Online].Oxford: Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre. Available at: https://files.modernslaverypec.org/production/assets/downloads/Children-prevention-report-1.pdf?dm=1736268029.
- Skeels, A. and Bashir, F. 2024. Prevention of child trafficking and exploitation:A synthesis of Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre funded research on child trafficking and child exploitation (2020-24): Report 2: BETR Prevention Continuum. Project Report.[Online].Oxford: Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre. Available at: https://www.modernslaverypec.org/resources/prevention-of-child-trafficking-in-pec-funded-research.
- Skeels, A. and Bashir, F. 2024. Prevention of child trafficking and exploitation:A synthesis of Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre funded research on child trafficking and child exploitation (2020-24): Report 3: Cross-cutting themes and recommendations. Project Report.[Online].Oxford: Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre. Available at: https://files.modernslaverypec.org/production/assets/downloads/Children-prevention-report-3.pdf?dm=1736268030.
- Huxley, K. and Skeels, A. 2024. Exploitation of children in England and Wales: Barriers to understanding child-centred support service outcomes. Presented at: International Population Data Linkage Network Conference Chicago, USA 15 -18 September 2024. Vol. 9.Vol. 5. Swansea University. (10.23889/ijpds.v9i5.2793)
- Skeels, A. , Huxley, K. and Stott, H. 2024. Outcomes for children and young people affected by modern slavery: An analysis of Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship service support in England and Wales. Project Report.[Online].Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy Evidence Centre. Available at: https://www.modernslaverypec.org/resources/guardianship-service-outcomes.
- Skeels, A. and Bashir, F. 2024. Prevention of child trafficking and exploitation: A synthesis of Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre funded research on child trafficking and child exploitation (2020-24) Research summary. Project Report.[Online].Oxford: Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre. Available at: https://files.modernslaverypec.org/production/assets/downloads/Chidren-prevention-summary.pdf?dm=1736268029.
2022
- Bristow, D. et al. 2022. Poverty and social exclusion: A way forward. Project Report.[Online].Cardiff: Wales Centre for Public Policy. Available at: https://www.wcpp.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Poverty-and-social-exclusion-A-way-forward.pdf.
Books
- Skeels, A. and Hynes, P. 2025. Human trafficking of children and young people: a framework for creating stable and positive futures. Bristol: Policy Press, Bristol University Press. (10.51952/9781447375036)
Conferences
- Huxley, K. and Skeels, A. 2024. Exploitation of children in England and Wales: Barriers to understanding child-centred support service outcomes. Presented at: International Population Data Linkage Network Conference Chicago, USA 15 -18 September 2024. Vol. 9.Vol. 5. Swansea University. (10.23889/ijpds.v9i5.2793)
Monographs
- Skeels, A. and Bashir, F. 2024. Prevention of child trafficking and exploitation: A synthesis of Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre funded research on child trafficking and child exploitation (2020-24): Report 1: Methods and Approach. Project Report.[Online].Oxford: Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre. Available at: https://files.modernslaverypec.org/production/assets/downloads/Children-prevention-report-1.pdf?dm=1736268029.
- Skeels, A. and Bashir, F. 2024. Prevention of child trafficking and exploitation:A synthesis of Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre funded research on child trafficking and child exploitation (2020-24): Report 2: BETR Prevention Continuum. Project Report.[Online].Oxford: Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre. Available at: https://www.modernslaverypec.org/resources/prevention-of-child-trafficking-in-pec-funded-research.
- Skeels, A. and Bashir, F. 2024. Prevention of child trafficking and exploitation:A synthesis of Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre funded research on child trafficking and child exploitation (2020-24): Report 3: Cross-cutting themes and recommendations. Project Report.[Online].Oxford: Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre. Available at: https://files.modernslaverypec.org/production/assets/downloads/Children-prevention-report-3.pdf?dm=1736268030.
- Skeels, A. , Huxley, K. and Stott, H. 2024. Outcomes for children and young people affected by modern slavery: An analysis of Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship service support in England and Wales. Project Report.[Online].Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy Evidence Centre. Available at: https://www.modernslaverypec.org/resources/guardianship-service-outcomes.
- Skeels, A. and Bashir, F. 2024. Prevention of child trafficking and exploitation: A synthesis of Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre funded research on child trafficking and child exploitation (2020-24) Research summary. Project Report.[Online].Oxford: Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre. Available at: https://files.modernslaverypec.org/production/assets/downloads/Chidren-prevention-summary.pdf?dm=1736268029.
- Bristow, D. et al. 2022. Poverty and social exclusion: A way forward. Project Report.[Online].Cardiff: Wales Centre for Public Policy. Available at: https://www.wcpp.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Poverty-and-social-exclusion-A-way-forward.pdf.
Websites
- Skeels, A. and Hynes, P. 2026. Reimagining child protection for children affected by exploitation. [Online].www.transformingsociety.co.uk/: Bristol University Press Policy Press. Available at: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2026/01/13/reimagining-child-protection-for-children-affected-by-exploitation/.
Research
Blogs - Please see the below for some of my blogs on modern slavery, antiracism, human trafficking and other issues:
Transforming Society ~ Reimagining child protection for children affected by exploitation
Symposium fosters cross-sector collaboration on modern slavery issues - News - Cardiff University
SPARK Third Sector Research Partnership - WCVA
Blog - Complex Safeguarding Wales - Cardiff University
Evidence and An Anti-Racist Wales - Wales Centre for Public Policy
‘Levelling Up’: continuing the conversation - Wales Centre for Public Policy
Funding - I secured over £100,000 of AHRC funding for research on outcomes for children affected by Modern Slavery in the first couple of months in post in my role as Research Fellow. Through commissions from Modern Slavery PEC between 2024-6 I secured £30,000 for an evidence synthesis on the prevention of child trafficking based on PEC-funded research and £50,000 for a realist-informed review on the online recruitment of children into criminal exploitation in the UK, both from AHRC funds.
Awards - I received an Impact Acceleration Award for £30,000 in 2024. I was nominated for a Global Civic Award from Cardiff University in 2026 and was one of three going forward for the final award.
Fellowships - I was awarded the first-ever Research Fellowship from the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (Modern Slavery PEC) in 2023.
Biography
I am a Research Fellow in Cardiff University's Social Science Research Park (SPARK), a community of research centres and institutes co-located with private, public and Third Sector organisations and fostering collaboration on interdisciplinary research.
Prior to my current role at Cardiff University, I have worked extensively in the Third Sector in Wales on a range of issues including children’s rights and participation, child protection, community safety and youth offending including for Fairbridge Cymru, Safer Cardiff (now Safer Wales) and Save the Children Cymru.
More recently, I have worked in the humanitarian sphere, for example as a Consultant for UNHCR, conducting participatory protection workshops with children in refugee camps and urban settings in Jordan, Nepal and Kenya and as the lead for Save the Children on an academic-practitioner collaboration measuring the separation of children in emergencies in Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. I was deployed by Save the Children to emergency responses in Zimbabwe and Somalia (based in Kenya). Prior to joining SPARK, I was the Head of Elrha’s Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF), leading a team funding and supporting a global portfolio of innovative new solutions to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian response.
I have significant experience of establishing and leading new initiatives, collaborative working and managing project-focused teams, as well as of cross-sector and cross-partner collaboration and effective partnership working.
I hold a PhD from Swansea University’s Centre for Migration and Policy Research (CMPR), with doctoral research conducted with Congolese refugee children in a research camp in Uganda. I also have an MA in Cultural Geography from the University of British Columbia and a First Class BA in Human Geography from the University of Oxford.
Academic positions
Senior Research Fellow, Wales Centre for Public Policy, SPARK, Cardiff University
Supervisions
Child slavery
Refugee and asylum seeking children's protection, rights and participation
Humanitarian child protection and children's participation in emergencies
Participation in humanitarian response
Unaccompanied and separated children / family separation in crisis settings
Child poverty
Past projects
I am currently a second supervisor to Safaa Ahmed, undertaking her professional doctorate on Arab adult refugees access to education and employment in Wales.
News articles
Contact Details
Research themes
Specialisms
- Children's Rights
- Migration
- Participation
- Humanitarian disasters, conflict and peacebuilding
- child slavery
