Dr. Debra Parkes

Biography

Professor Parkes joined Allard School of Law in July 2016 after being a member of the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba from 2001 to 2016, where she served as Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies from 2013 to 2016. She has worked as a visiting researcher at the University of Wollongong and the University of Sydney, and has served as Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law from 2009 to 2013, and as President of the Canadian Law & Society Association from 2007 to 2010. Her scholarly work focuses on addressing societal injustices and rights claims, particularly in the context of criminal justice, corrections, and the workplace through a feminist, intersectional, and socio-legal lens. She has a particular interest in the incarceration of women, prison reform, and adjudicating prisoners’ rights claims. With funding from the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada, she is examining mechanisms of oversight and accountability in Canadian imprisonment, as well as leading a new SSHRC-funded project on life sentences. Professor Parkes also guest-edited a special volume of the Canadian Journal of Human Rights on solitary confinement and human rights. Having begun her academic career as a law clerk for justices at the BC Supreme Court and having practiced at Gowlings LLP, she maintains strong ties to the legal community and is actively involved in presenting judicial education and professional development workshops. She supervises graduate students in the fields of sentencing, penal policy, and the criminalization of women.

Research Interests

Experience

Courses