Özlem Lakatos
Scientific Collaborator & PhD Candidate
Center for Children's Rights Studies, University of Geneva
Research areas: Girls' Rights, Relationship between Children's Rights and Women's Rights, Gender-based Violence, History of Children's Rights (1924-1989), UN Human Rights System
Education: Özlem is a social scientist with an interdisciplinary background oriented towards international affairs and human rights. She attended universities in France, Canada, Switzerland, and Belgium. She studied law and political science at the University of Amiens (Bachelor / Licence in 2013) and at the University of Moncton (Master / Maîtrise with honors in 2014), followed by European and Global studies at the University of Geneva and the University Libre de Bruxelles (Master of Arts in 2016). Since 2019, she is pursuing a PhD in Social Sciences at the Institute of Gender Studies of the University of Geneva.
Work experience: Özlem Lakatos is a Scientific Collaborator at the Center for Children's Rights Studies of the University of Geneva. Since September 2017, she has been working alongside Professor Philip D. Jaffé, a Member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Her primary activities encompass research, teaching, following up on master’s students’ academic work, and coordinating an annual 4-week seminar on Child Abuse and Violence.
Her ongoing PhD research (working title): “Universal Category, Specific Rights? From the Rights of the Child to the Rights of ‘Girls’ at the United Nations (1989-2019)” focuses on the rights of girls at the international level, situated at the intersection of women's rights and children's rights. By taking a gender and postcolonial approach, she is studying girls as both an object of historical investigation (I) and an object of analytical deconstruction (II). Her research methodologically relies on UN archival records, UN Conventions (and other official documents), and interviews.
Prior to joining the University of Geneva, Özlem worked as a Teaching Assistant in Political Science at the University of Moncton (Canada) and as a French Language Assistant for Erasmus Students at the University Libre de Bruxelles. She gained experience in various institutions such as the UN, the Council of Europe, the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), and the French Ministry of Defense (DGRIS / Sub-Saharan Africa Division).
Özlem also volunteered in several children’s rights-related projects with NGOs in Senegal, the United Kingdom, and Bulgaria. Additionally, she served as a Former Youth Counselor of the City of Amiens (2012-2014) and of the Region of Hauts-de-France (2011-2015), and she is part of the Global Shaper Alumni Network —an initiative of the World Economic Forum (WEF).