Dr Violet Odala

Profile

Dr Violet Odala is a Child Rights Expert and Public Policy Specialist who has worked with organisations such as, the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) - a Pan-African institution of policy advocacy and dialogue on children (based in Ethiopa), where she managed the Children and the Law Programme; ECPAT International, where she served as the Regional Specialist for the programme on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism (SECTT) in Africa (based in Malawi); and Save the Children International where she was the Regional Coordinator for Child Rights Governance in Africa (based in Kenya). In these posts she managed programmes such as Child Rights Governance; Harmonisation of Laws on Children; Access to Justice for Children; Gender and the Law; Child Protection. Her skills range from legal and policy research; policy advocacy and development; coordinating high level dialogue forums; developing and nurturing partnerships, including with the private sector; capacity development of CSOs and policy makers; and engaging with human rights mechanisms. Dr Odala was part of the team that set up the Childhood, Law and Policy Network (CLPN) while she worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Queen Mary University of London.

Research

Publications

• ‘The Spectrum for Child Justice in the International Human Rights Framework: From “Reclaiming the Delinquent Child” to Restorative Justice’ (2012) 27:3 American University International Law Review 543–579.
• ‘Childhood Denied: Examining Age in Malawi's Child Law, as the Constitution “Becomes of Age”’ (2012) 6:1 Malawi Law Journal 97–120.

Expertise