Dr Jane Healy

Jane joined the OU in 2026 as Staff Tutor in Psychology and Counselling. Previously, she was Principal Academic in Criminology at Bournemouth University, having joined as Lecturer in Sociology of Crime and Deviance in 2017, and was Deputy Head of the Department of Social Sciences and Social Work from 2019 to 2023. 

Prior to that, Jane completed her PhD at Middlesex University in disablist hate crimes, where she also worked as a part time lecturer and research assistant in both psychology and criminology departments. She has Masters degrees in Social Science Research Methods, and Criminology with Forensic Psychology, a BA in Psychology, as well as a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education. She is a Senior Fellow of the HEA/Advance HE. 

Jane has worked on a number of research projects in relation to domestic abuse service provision, hate crimes at university, and against service workers, and safeguarding teams' use of restorative and strengths-based practices. Her current research includes a British Academy funded project examining Inclusivity at the Eurovision Song Contest, and an evaluation of domestic abuse service provision for adults and their young children for the charity Yellow Door in Southampton.  She has supervised PhDs in relation to prisoner experiences in Lebanon, Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion Services in Dorset, UK, hate crimes towards transgender communities in the UK, quality of life for adults with Downs' syndrome in Nigeria, and currently, hate crimes towards Muslim and Jewish women. 

Jane has taught across a range of criminology, sociology and forensic psychology subjects, at both undergraduate and masters levels, and guest lectured at other institutions on intersectionality, hate crimes and feminist criminology. She has been module and programme lead on undergraduate and masters programmes. She is External Examiner for University of East London, Chair of CPS Wessex Modern Slavery Panel, and Independent Panel Member for CPS Wessex Hate Crime Panel.