Research areas

Primary research areas

Robin May Schott is a philosopher who works in the areas of gender studies, ethics, and political theory. She focuses on issues of gender and (in) security, including the production of gendered insecurities through sexual and gender-based violence in conflict and in peacetime contexts.

Current research

Robin May Schott works with a broad range of issues related to gender, violence and conflict, including topics of trauma and resilience, moral injury, transgression, sexual violence, victims, and vulnerability.  She also writes on current political issues related to gender, including the burqa bans, LGBT+ rights, and international agendas on gender, peace and security.

Projects

She is PI of the project, "Sexual Transgressions in Aid: Humanitarian Perceptions and Responses" (STAid), funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark. STAid explores how humanitarian actors perceive and respond to sexual transgressions in the context of power and inequality inherent in humanitarianism. Working with major Danish organizations, STAid focuses on the plurality of perspectives about what 'counts' as transgressive behavior, which influence decisions to report.  With interdisciplinary perspectives from philosophy, organizational theory, and anthropology, STAid focuses on organizational concepts of responsibility; accounts of unsafe spaces by international aid workers who returned from postings; and local perceptions of transgressions and digital response in the field. The project runs from September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2027.