Andrea Nichols, PhD
Affiliation: Washington University in St. Louis & St. Louis Community College Forest Park
Dr. Andrea J. Nichols is Lecturer of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Washington University in St. Louis and Professor of Sociology at St. Louis Community College Forest Park. She regularly teaches the course “Sex Trafficking” at Washington University in St. Louis. Her practitioner-centered research examines community-based responses, as well as social work and criminal justice practices with survivors of sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. She engages in qualitative and quantitative research, rooted in collaborative community action research methods. Her scholarship aims to provide a nuanced approach to understanding the fluid continuum of agency and victimization and the varied lived experiences of those involved in the commercial sex industry. She maintains an intersectional anti-oppressive lens, paying particular attention to the ways identity-based oppression (e.g., oppressions directed towards race/ethnicity, sexuality, gender, social class, disability) impacts experiences with sex trafficking victimization, as well as barriers to service access and utilization. Her research aims to improve anti-trafficking responses to support survivors in moving on with their lives in the way they choose by addressing barriers and highlighting survivor centered anti-oppressive approaches.
Research Interests:
Sex Trafficking/Commercial Sexual Exploitation
Intersectionality
Anti-Oppressive Practice
Sex Trafficking of Minors
Social Work Practice
Juvenile Justice System Approaches
Action Research
Family Involved Sex Trafficking
Human Trafficking of People with a Disability
Macro Structural Responses to Human Trafficking