Head of Department
DipTech(Cape Technicon) MPH PhD(Otago) PGCertHighE
Email gillian.abel@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 364 3619
Department of Population Health
University of Otago, Christchurch
PO Box 4345
Christchurch 8140
Background
Gillian Abel’s early background was in haematology before taking a career change to public health. She joined the Department of Public Health and General Practice at the University of Otago, Christchurch in 1997 and holds a PhD in public health from this University.
Gillian is expert in mixed methods research using community-based participatory approaches. Her research focuses on vulnerable populations such as sex workers, vulnerable youth and Pacific people. Sex work research is a field in which she has extensive expertise. Her research in this field is firmly located in public health but she applies a sociological lens by analysing data in the context of structural opportunities and constraints faced by sex workers, drawing on concepts of stigma; theories of social exclusion; theories of risk; and feminist theories.
She led a large Health Research Council funded national research project looking at the impact of the Prostitution Reform Act (2003) on the health and safety of sex workers and this study has been influential in informing policy both in New Zealand and internationally. She is currently a collaborator on a large Canadian team project looking at vulnerabilities in the Canadian sex industry.
Gillian teaches two papers in the post-graduate Diploma in Public Health and also teaches into the undergraduate medical programme. She has supervised many students on a variety of public health and health sciences topics.
She is particularly keen to supervise Masters and PhD students with an interest in
- Vulnerable or stigmatised population groups
- Community-based research approaches
- Qualitative and mixed methods research approaches
Teaching
- PUBH 724 Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (Convenor)
- PUBH 723 Survey Methods
- PUBH 744 Healthy Public Policy
- Qualitative Research Methods (ALM 4th year medical students)
Research Interests
- Sex work research
- Youth health
- Community-based participatory research
- Qualitative research
Public Lectures
- The Christchurch Street-Based Sex Work Collaborative Project: A community development approach.
Lecture to Sex and Consequences New Zealand Update, Oxford Terrace Baptists Church Lounge, 12 June 2019. - No longer a disposable population?: Decriminalization and social justice for sex workers in New Zealand.
Lecture to Probus group, Russley Golf Club, 19 November 2018. - Street-based sex work in Christchurch.
Presentation at Community meeting on street-based sex work, Salvation Army, Christchurch, 24 July 2018 - From harm minimisation to social justice: a public health perspective on decriminalisation of sex work in New Zealand.
Lecture to University of the Third Age, 11 July 2017, Christchurch. - The NZPC and me: A long and productive collaboration.
Keynote Speaker at Insights" Sex work in New Zealand and Beyond Symposium, 12 February 2016, Wellington - Decriminalisation of sex work: Has the Prostitution Reform Act resulted in healthier and safer sex workers?
Winter Lecture Series: Illuminating New Knowledge, University of Otago, Auckland Centre, 28 July, 2011. - Decriminalisation of sex work: Has the Prostitution Reform Act resulted in healthier and safer sex workers?
Winter Lecture Series: Illuminating New Knowledge, University of Otago, James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor, Wellington, 27 July, 2011. - The Impact of the Prostitution Reform Act on the Health and Safety of Sex Workers,
Going All the Way Seminar, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, 25 June 2008. - The Prostitution Reform Act _ New Zealand’s experience,
University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, 31 October 2007
Projects
- Contexts affecting adolescent sexual initiation [completed]
- The impact of the PRA on the health and safety practices of sex workers
- Exiting the sex industry: an indepth exploration of strategies used by ex-sex workers
- Team Grant on contexts of vulnerabilities, resiliencies and care among people in the sex industry.
- The ‘lived experience’ of HIV: aging, place and social support
- Exploring Migrant Sex Workers’ experience of working in New Zealand
- Street-based sex workers in the community: exploring community tensions, and experiences of violence and coercion
- Work practices and safety of internet-based sex work in New Zealand
Student Supervision
Student: Claire Weinhold
Degree: PhD
Topic: Decriminalisation and the management of brothels in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Co-Supervisor: Lee Thompson
Student: Christina McKerchar
Degree: PhD
Topic: Food Availability for Māori Children – a rights-based approach
Co-supervisors: Louise Signal and Cameron Lacey
Student: Lev Zhuravsky
Degree: PhD
Topic: Creating Resilience in Health Care Organizations. Role of Shared Leadership in Realigning a Gap between Work as Imagined and Work as Done
Co-Supervisor: Lee Thompson
Student: Hayley Lewis-Pullan
Degree: MHealSc
Topic: Halted recovery: Understanding the internal experience of people who feel stuck in opioid recovery.
Co-Supervisor: Simon Adamson
2020
Student: Rachael Dixon
Degree: PhD
Topic: Exploring the long-term outcomes of senior secondary school Health Education in New Zealand
Co Supervisor: L Burrows
Student: Toyin Kolawole
Degree: PhD
Topic: African Migrants and HIV
Co Supervisor: Lee Thompson
Student: Susan Bidwell
Degree: PhD
Topic: An exploration of people’s use of dietary supplements and herbal medicines
Co-Supervisor: Lee Thompson
2019
Student: Chidimma Aham-Chiabuotu
Degree: PhD
Topic: Exploring Alternative Resources for Raising Awareness, Prevention and Reporting of Sexual violence against Internally Displaced Women of Reproductive Age in North Eastern Nigeria
Co-Supervisor: Lee Thompson
2018
Student: Kathryn Goodyear
Degree: MPH
Topic: Talking about menopause: Exploring the lived experience of menopause for nurses
2016
Student: Juliane Brand
Degree: MPH
Topic: A Qualitative Study to Explore the Quality of Life of People Under the Age of 65 in Aged Residential Care
Student: Alex Sullivan
Degree: MPH
Topic: Both sides of the story: understanding the risks of drinking water self-supplies as perceived by New Zealanders living rurally
Co-Supervisor: Cheryl Brunton
Student: Anna Carey
Degree: MPH
Topic: What are the barriers to Aged Residential Care Facilities achieving full attainment in Certification and Surveillance audits?
2015
Student: Rosee Neville
Degree: MPH
Topic: Who You Know and How You Are Known: Children's Perception of Neighbourhood.
Co-supervisor: Lee Thompson
Student: Warren Nairn
Degree: MPH
Topic: The Impact of Homeless Men's Use of City Spaces on their Wellbeing
Co-supervisor: Dr Lee Thompson
2014
Student: Emily Brick
Degree: MPH
Topic: Young Female’s Experiences and Perspectives of Using Social Media for Sexual Health Promotion
Co-supervisor: Jen Woollett
2013
Student: Lev Zhuravsky
Degree: MHealSc
Topic: Crisis Leadership in an Acute Clinical Setting: Christchurch Hospital ICU February 2011
2012
Student: Wai Yee Angela Cho
Degree: MHealSc
TopicCommunity solidarity: Press coverage of the Christchurch earthquake
2011
Student: Nadia Bartholomew
Degree: MPH
Topic: An exploratory study of Muslim women’s attitudes towards and experiences of cervical screening.
Student: Kiri Hider
Degree: MPH
Topic: Midwives' perception of lean thinking in a tertiary birthing unit.
Student: Rebecca Dell
Degree: MPH
Topic: Parents’ attitudes to the HPV vaccination for their daughters.
Co-supervisor: Cheryl Brunton
Student: Melissa Ludeke
Degree: MPH
Topic: I believe once I'm happy with myself I won't need to smoke: Women's views on smoking, tobacco control and cessation.
Co-supervisor:Dr Lee Thompson
Student: Jo Powell,
Degree: MHealSc
Topic: “It’s a different feeling of satisfaction dealing with old people”; perceptions of paid caregivers working in aged residential care.
Co-supervisor: Dr Lee Thompson
2010
Student: Cheryl Ford
Degree: MPH
Topic: Practitioners' perspectives of the barriers to health promotion evaluation.
Co-supervisor: Dr Lee Thompson
Student: Gillian Pearce,
Degree: MHealSc
Topic: Open disclosure of adverse events at Christchurch Hospital; a doctor's perspective.
Co-supervisor: Pauline Barnett
2009
Student: Laura Aileone
Degree: MPH
Topic: Topic: Recruitment & retention of midwives within the Canterbury District Health Board.
Co-supervisor: Suzanne Pitama
Student: Lil Convery
Degree: MPH
Topic: Understanding success in the Green Prescription Programme: A qualitative investigation into patient perspectives about physical activity.
Co-supervisor: Dee Mangin
Student: Lauren Cundall
Degree: MPH
Topic: Finding the offline self in a world online: A phenomenological analysis of massive multiplayer online role playing gaming as a vehicle for adolescent identity.
Co-supervisor: Ria Schroder (National Addiction Centre)
Student: Judith Henninger
Degree: MPH
Topic: Knowledge, attitudes & intentions of General Practitioners and Practice Nurses in Christchurch about HPV & HPV vaccines.
Co-supervisor: Les Toop
2007
Student: Katie Brown
Degree: MPH
Topic: Exploring young women's understandings of the their first experience of sexual intercourse.
Co-supervisor: Lisa Fitzgerald
Student: Kirsty Donaldson
Degree: MPH
Topic: The contexts of young people’s decision-making in early & late sexual initiation.
Co-supervisor: Lisa Fitzgerald
Student: Nikki Rayne
Degree: MPH
Topic:Childhood Obesity: Do primary schools have a role in prevention?
Co-supervisor: Ann Richardson
Student: Tim D Weir
Degree: MPH
Topic: The implementation of occupational health and safety in the New Zealand brothel sector since decriminalisation: Perspectives of brothel operators, regulatory officers and the New Zealand Prostitutes’ Collective.
Co-supervisor: Lisa Fitzgerald
2017-2018
Student: Jane Reeves
Topic: Meeting cultural competency learning needs of general practice reception staff.
Supervisors: Gillian Abel, Lynley Cook
Sponsor: Pegasus Health
2015–2016
Student: Anna Brinsdon
Topic: 'I am HIV but I am not a patient': Managing marginalised identities in health interactions.
Supervisors: Gillian Able, Jen Desrosiers
2012-2013
Student: Annabel Ludeke
Topic: Health literacy in general practice: describing practice nurses' understanding of health literacy.
Supervisors: Gillian Abel, Lynley Cook, Philip Schluter, Ramai Lord, Maria Pasene
Sponsor: Pegasus Health (Charitable) Ltd
2011-2012
Student: Kara Seers
Topic: The use of interpreter services in general practice in Canterbury.
Supervisors: Philip Schluter, Gillian Abel, Lynley Cook
2006-2007
Student: Nicholas Pascoe
Topic: A critical media analysis of print media reporting on the implementation of the Prostitution Reform Act, 2003-2006.
Supervisors: Lisa Fitzgerald, Gillian Abel, Cheryl Brunton [Dept Public Health & General Practice]
Sponsor: Health Research Council of NZ
2005-2006
Student: Tim Weir
Topic: Post-reform reflections on prostitution legislation: analysis of Phase I context-setting focus groups.
Co-Supervisors: Gillian Abel, Lisa Fitzgerald
Sponsor: Public Health Theme
Publications
McKerchar, C., Lacey, C., Abel, G., & Signal, L. (2021). Ensuring the right to food for indigenous children: A case study of stakeholder perspectives on policy options to ensure the rights of tamariki Māori to healthy food. International Journal for Equity in Health, 20, 67. doi: 10.1186/s12939-021-01407-4
Abel, G., & Ludeke, M. (2021). Brothels as sites of third-party exploitation? Decriminalisation and sex workers’ employment rights. Social Sciences, 10, 3. doi: 10.3390/socsci10010003
Dixon, R., Abel, G., & Burrows, L. (2021). Putting assemblage to work to explore pedagogical practices in health education in Aotearoa New Zealand. Health Education, 121(2), 174-188. doi: 10.1108/HE-05-2020-0034
Armstrong, L., & Abel, G. (Eds.). (2020). Sex work and the New Zealand model: Decriminalisation and social change. Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press, 244p. doi: 10.2307/j.ctv1453kvn
Armstrong, L., Abel, G., & Roguski, M. (2020). Fear of trafficking or implicit prejudice? Migrant sex workers and the impacts of Section 19. In L. Armstrong & G. Abel (Eds.), Sex work and the New Zealand model: Decriminalisation and social change. (pp. 113-134). Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press. doi: 10.2307/j.ctv1453kvn.11
Edited Book - Research
Armstrong, L., & Abel, G. (Eds.). (2020). Sex work and the New Zealand model: Decriminalisation and social change. Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press, 244p. doi: 10.2307/j.ctv1453kvn
Abel, G., Fitzgerald, L., Healy, C., & with Taylor, A. (Eds.). (2010). Taking the crime out of sex work: New Zealand sex workers' fight for decriminalisation. Bristol, UK: Policy Press, 271p.
Chapter in Book - Research
Armstrong, L., Abel, G., & Roguski, M. (2020). Fear of trafficking or implicit prejudice? Migrant sex workers and the impacts of Section 19. In L. Armstrong & G. Abel (Eds.), Sex work and the New Zealand model: Decriminalisation and social change. (pp. 113-134). Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press. doi: 10.2307/j.ctv1453kvn.11
Armstrong, L., & Abel, G. (2020). Introduction. In L. Armstrong & G. Abel (Eds.), Sex work and the New Zealand model: Decriminalisation and social change. (pp. 1-16). Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press. doi: 10.2307/j.ctv1453kvn.6
Abel, G. (2020). Contested space: Street-based sex workers and community engagement. In L. Armstrong & G. Abel (Eds.), Sex work and the New Zealand model: Decriminalisation and social change. (pp. 199-221). Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press. doi: 10.2307/j.ctv1453kvn.15
Abel, G. (2018). Decriminalisation and social justice: A public health perspective on sex work. In S. A. FitzGerald & K. McGarry (Eds.), Realising justice for sex workers: An agenda for change. (pp. 123-140). London, UK: Rowman & Littlefield International.
Abel, G. (2017). In search of a fair and free society: The regulation of sex work in New Zealand. In E. Ward & G. Wylie (Eds.), Feminism, prostitution and the state: The politics of neo-abolitionism. (pp. 140-154). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Abel, G., & Fitzgerald, L. (2010). Conclusion. In G. Abel, L. Fitzgerald, C. Healy & A. Taylor (Eds.), Taking the crime out of sex work: New Zealand sex workers' fight for decriminalisation. (pp. 259-264). Bristol, UK: Policy Press.
Abel, G., Fitzgerald, L., & Brunton, C. (2010). Christchurch School of Medicine study: Methodology and methods. In G. Abel, L. Fitzgerald, C. Healy & A. Taylor (Eds.), Taking the crime out of sex work: New Zealand sex workers' fight for decriminalisation. (pp. 159-172). Bristol, UK: Policy Press.
Abel, G., & Fitzgerald, L. (2010). Decriminalisation and stigma. In G. Abel, L. Fitzgerald, C. Healy & A. Taylor (Eds.), Taking the crime out of sex work: New Zealand sex workers' fight for decriminalisation. (pp. 239-258). Bristol, UK: Policy Press.
Abel, G., & Fitzgerald, L. (2010). Risk and risk management in sex work post-Prostitution Reform Act: A public health perspective. In G. Abel, L. Fitzgerald, C. Healy & A. Taylor (Eds.), Taking the crime out of sex work: New Zealand sex workers' fight for decriminalisation. (pp. 217-238). Bristol, UK: Policy Press.
Abel, G., Healy, C., Bennachie, C., & Reed, A. (2010). The Prostitution Reform Act. In G. Abel, L. Fitzgerald, C. Healy & A. Taylor (Eds.), Taking the crime out of sex work: New Zealand sex workers' fight for decriminalisation. (pp. 75-84). Bristol, UK: Policy Press.
Fitzgerald, L., & Abel, G. (2010). The media and the Prostitution Reform Act. In G. Abel, L. Fitzgerald, C. Healy & A. Taylor (Eds.), Taking the crime out of sex work: New Zealand sex workers' fight for decriminalisation. (pp. 197-216). Bristol, UK: Policy Press.
Abel, G., & Fitzgerald, L. (2010). Introduction. In G. Abel, L. Fitzgerald, C. Healy & A. Taylor (Eds.), Taking the crime out of sex work: New Zealand sex workers' fight for decriminalisation. (pp. 1-24). Bristol, UK: Policy Press.
Journal - Research Article
McKerchar, C., Lacey, C., Abel, G., & Signal, L. (2021). Ensuring the right to food for indigenous children: A case study of stakeholder perspectives on policy options to ensure the rights of tamariki Māori to healthy food. International Journal for Equity in Health, 20, 67. doi: 10.1186/s12939-021-01407-4
Dixon, R., Abel, G., & Burrows, L. (2021). Putting assemblage to work to explore pedagogical practices in health education in Aotearoa New Zealand. Health Education, 121(2), 174-188. doi: 10.1108/HE-05-2020-0034
Abel, G., & Ludeke, M. (2021). Brothels as sites of third-party exploitation? Decriminalisation and sex workers’ employment rights. Social Sciences, 10, 3. doi: 10.3390/socsci10010003
Benoit, C., Maurice, R., Abel, G., Smith, A., Jansson, M., Healey, P., & Magnuson, D. (2020). 'I dodged the stigma bullet': Canadian sex workers' situated responses to occupational stigma. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 22(1), 81-95. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2019.1576226
McKerchar, C., King, P., Lacey, C., Abel, G., & Signal, L. (2020). Rights-based approaches to improving food availability for tamariki Māori: A narrative literature review and theory-based synthesis. MAI Journal, 9(3), 237-248. doi: 10.20507/MAIJournal.2020.9.3.6
McKerchar, C., Smith, M., Gage, R., Williman, J., Abel, G., Lacey, C., Ni Mhurchu, C., & Signal, L. (2020). Kids in a candy store: An objective analysis of children's interactions with food in convenience stores. Nutrients, 12(7), 2143. doi: 10.3390/nu12072143
McKerchar, C., Smith, M., Stanley, J., Barr, M., Chambers, T., Abel, G., Lacey, C., Gage, R., … Signal, L. (2020). Food store environment examination: FoodSee: A new method to study the food store environment using wearable cameras. Global Health Promotion, 27(3), 73-81. doi: 10.1177/1757975919859575
Aham-Chiabuotu, C. B., Abel, G., & Thompson, L. (2019). 'Men don't have patience': Sexuality, pleasure and danger in displacement settings in Northcentral Nigeria. Global Public Health. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/17441692.2019.1690539
Abel, G., & Thompson, L. (2018). "I don't want to look like an AIDS victim": A New Zealand case study of facial lipoatrophy. Health & Social Care in the Community, 26(1), 41-47. doi: 10.1111/hsc.12459
Brinsdon, A., Abel, G., & Desrosiers, J. (2017). "I'm taking control": How people living with HIV/AIDS manage stigma in health interactions. AIDS Care, 29(2), 185-188. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2016.1204420
Abel, G., & Wahab, S. (2017). “Build a friendship with them”: The discourse of “at-risk” as a barrier to relationship building between young people who trade sex and social workers. Child & Family Social Work, 22(4), 1391-1398. doi: 10.1111/cfs.12357
Desrosiers, J., Wilkinson, T., Abel, G., & Pitama, S. (2016). Curricular initiatives that enhance student knowledge and perceptions of sexual and gender minority groups: A critical interpretive synthesis. Canadian Medical Education Journal, 7(2), e121-e138.
Thompson, L., & Abel, G. (2016). The work of negotiating HIV as a chronic condition: A qualitative analysis. AIDS Care, 28(12), 1571-1576. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2016.1191615
Wahab, S., & Abel, G. (2016). The Prostitution Reform Act (2003) and social work in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Affilia, 31(4), 418-433. doi: 10.1177/0886109916647764
Meriluoto, L., Webb, R., Masselot, A., Morrish, S., & Abel, G. (2015). Safety in the New Zealand sex industry. New Zealand Economic Papers, 49(3), 296-317. doi: 10.1080/00779954.2015.1041548
Abel, G. (2014). Sex workers’ utilisation of health services in a decriminalised environment. New Zealand Medical Journal, 127(1390). Retrieved from http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal
Abel, G. M. (2014). A decade of decriminalization: Sex work 'down under' but not underground. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 14(5), 580-592. doi: 10.1177/1748895814523024
Seers, K., Cook, L., Abel, G., Schluter, P. J., & Bridgford, P. (2013). Is it time to talk? Interpreter services use in general practice within Canterbury. Journal of Primary Health Care, 5(2), 129-137.
Ludeke, M., Puni, R., Cook, L., Pasene, M., Abel, G., & Sopoaga, F. (2012). Access to general practice for Pacific peoples: A place for cultural competency. Journal of Primary Health Care, 4(2), 123-130.
Thompson, L., Reeder, T., & Abel, G. (2012). 'I can't get my husband to go and have a colonoscopy': Gender and screening for colorectal cancer. Health, 16(3), 235-249. doi: 10.1177/1363459311403948
Abel, G. M., & Fitzgerald, L. J. (2012). ‘The street's got its advantages’: Movement between sectors of the sex industry in a decriminalised environment. Health, Risk & Society, 14(1), 7-23. doi: 10.1080/13698575.2011.640664
Abel, G. M., & Thompson, L. E. (2011). General practitioners, specialists and surveillance guidelines: Interpreting the socio-clinical context of decision-making. Health, Risk & Society, 13(6), 547-559. doi: 10.1080/13698575.2011.615826
Abel, G. M., & Thompson, L. (2011). What do specialists and GPs think about the introduction of colorectal cancer screening? A qualitative study. New Zealand Medical Journal, 124(1338). Retrieved from http://journal.nzma.org.nz/journal/124-1338/4756/content.pdf
Abel, G. M. (2011). Different stage, different performance: The protective strategy of role play on emotional health in sex work. Social Science & Medicine, 72(7), 1177-1184. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.01.021
Abel, G. M., Fitzgerald, L. J., & Brunton, C. (2009). The impact of decriminalisation on the number of sex workers in New Zealand. Journal of Social Policy, 38(3), 515-531. doi: 10.1017/s0047279409003080
Abel, G. M., & Fitzgerald, L. J. (2008). On a fast-track into adulthood: An exploration of transitions into adulthood for street-based sex workers in New Zealand. Journal of Youth Studies, 11(4), 361-376. doi: 10.1080/13676260802104808
Abel, G., & Fitzgerald, L. (2006). 'When you come to it you feel like a dork asking a guy to put a condom on': Is sex education addressing young people's understandings of risk? Sex Education, 6(2), 105-119.
Abel, G., & Brunton, C. (2005). Young people's use of condoms and their perceived vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 29(3), 254-260.
Abel, G. M., & Plumridge, E. W. (2004). Network 'norms' or 'styles' of 'drunken comportment'? Health Education Research, 19(5), 492-500.
Plumridge, E. W., Fitzgerald, L. J., & Abel, G. M. (2002). Performing coolness: Smoking refusal and adolescent identities. Health Education Research, 17(2), 167-179.
Corwin, P., Abel, G., Wells, J. E., Coughlan, E., Bagshaw, S., Sutherland, M., & Plumridge, L. (2002). Chlamydia trachomatis prevalence and sexual behaviour in Christchurch high school students. New Zealand Medical Journal, 115(1158). Retrieved from http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/115-1158/107/content.pdf
Abel, G. M., Plumridge, E. W., & Graham, P. J. (2002). Peers, networks or relationships: Strategies for understanding social dynamics as determinants of smoking behaviour. Drugs, 9(4), 325-338.
Plumridge, E. W., & Abel, G. M. (2001). A 'segmented' sex industry in New Zealand: Sexual and personal safety of female sex workers. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 25(1), 78-83.
Plumridge, E. W., & Abel, G. M. (2000). Services and information utilised by female sex workers for sexual and physical safety. New Zealand Medical Journal, 113, 370-372.
Journal - Research Other
Abel, G. (2019). The problem with sex work policies. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48, 1925-1929. doi: 10.1007/s10508-018-1366-5
Abel, G. (2018). Decriminalisation of sex work protects human rights. BMJ, 362, k3630. doi: 10.1136/bmj.k3630
