Professor Deborah Fry
Director of Data, Global Data Institute for Child Protection / Personal Chair International Child Protection Research

- Moray House School of Education and Sport, IECS
- University of Edinburgh
Contact details
- Tel: +44 (0)131 651 4736
- Email: debi.fry@ed.ac.uk
Address
- Street
-
Moray House School of Education and Sport, SJ 3.06
- City
- University of Edinburgh (Holyrood Campus)
- Post code
- EH8 8AQ
Background
Deborah Fry is a Professor of International Child Protection Research at the University of Edinburgh and Director of Data for the Global Data Institute for Child Safety. At the University, Deborah undertakes primary research to measure the magnitude, drivers and consequences of violence against children, barriers and enablers to appropriate prevention and response systems including in school settings and the effectiveness of existing interventions.
Dr Fry leads the data division at the Global Data Institute for Child Safety. The Data Institute, funded by the Human Dignity Foundation, aims to take a data driven, evidence based approach to understanding the prevalence of child sexual exploitation and abuse across the globe and translating that data into sustainable action that safeguards children. The mission is to establish a world leading independent institute that gathers, translates and visualises the prevalence of child sexual exploitation and abuse across the world.
The institute is supported by the University of Edinburgh’s scientific expertise, including the End Violence Lab which Dr Fry co-founded, the Moray House School of Education, Edinburgh Futures Institute, the Data-Driven Innovation Programme and the Global Health Academy.
From 2019 to present, Dr. Fry serves as the academic lead for the University of Edinburgh for a Long-Term Agreement with UNICEF on child protection research, administrative data and training. Dr Fry leads studies commissioned by UNICEF offices globally on understanding the nature and drivers of violence against children and using this data for evidence-based programming and policy changes and recommendations.
In addition, Dr Fry was the academic Principal Investigator of a multi-country study exploring the drivers of violence affecting children in collaboration with the UNICEF Office of Research, Innocenti from 2013 to 2018. And in 2012, Dr Fry secured a prestigious Marie Curie Fellowship to longitudinally examine the knowledge, attitudes and perceived self-efficacy of new teachers in responding to issues of bullying and safeguarding in the classroom.
Dr Fry also undertakes postgraduate teaching and administration and teaches courses on research methods and child protection research and is the Deputy Director of Research, Knowledge Exchange and Impact for the Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh.
Prior to joining the University, Dr Fry was Research Director at the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault. During her time at the Alliance, she was the Principal Investigator (PI) on nine primary research studies on sexual violence and abuse in New York City ranging from participatory action research with immigrant communities to research with young people.
Deborah has a PhD by Research Publications from the University of Edinburgh, a Master of Arts degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, her Master of Public Health degree from Columbia University. Dr Fry was also a Fulbright Research Scholar from 2001 to 2002 and a Marie Curie Fellow from 2012 to 2015.
Research summary
Deborah's research on Preventing Violence in Childhood involves four main strands:
- Safe Inclusive Education
- Drivers of Violence
- Burden of Violence
- Prevention
Project activity
Current and Recently Funded Research includes:
-Principal Investigator for the ‘Multi-country Study of the Drivers of Violence Against Children in Italy, Peru, Vietnam and Zimbabwe’ funded by the Unicef Office of Research, Innocenti
-Principal Investigator to 'Develop an actionable multi-sectoral strategy to address key social and economic factors leading to child marriage in Jordan' funded by UNICEF Jordan
-Co-Principal Investigator of the ‘Safe Schools for Teens: Preventing Sexual Abuse for Urban Poor Teens in Manlia’ in collaboration with the Child Protection Network of the Philippines, the University of Manila and the Philippines Department of Education funded by the UBS Optimus Foundation
-Principal Investigator of the 'Bi-National Study: Social Norms and Violence in Zimbabwe and Swaziland' and the Zimbabwe Childline Study for Improved Monitoring funded by UNICEF.
-Co-Principal Investigator for the study, 'The Economic Burden of Violence against Children in South Africa' in collaboration with Save the Children South Africa, Univeristy of Cape Town and the China Agriculture Univeristy of Beijing
-Principal Investigator to explore factors related to parenting for the "Secondary Analysis of the Quantitative Data Set of the UN Multi-Country Study of Men and Violence in the Asia and Pacific" - a quantitative household survey with more than 10,000 men across 9 sites in 6 countries – Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka- and more than 3,000 women across 4 sites in 4 countries- Cambodia, China, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka.
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Rates, perceptions and predictors of depression, anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)-like symptoms about Covid-19 in adolescents
(17 pages)
In:
PLoS ONE, vol. 17
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266818
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Adolescents’ experiences of participating in sensitive research: A scoping review of qualitative studies
In:
Trauma, Violence and Abuse
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Accepted/In press) -
Appendix B4. Adapting Standard Operating Procedures for Addressing Gender-Based Violence during COVID-19: The Case of Bhutan
(4 pages)
Research output: › Commissioned report (Published) -
Appendix B5. Face-toface and Remote Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Schools during COVID-19: The Case of Bhutan
(4 pages)
Research output: › Commissioned report (Published) -
Appendix B7. Protecting Children on-the-move: UNICEF Partnership with the Police during the COVID-19 Migration Crisis in India
(4 pages)
Research output: › Commissioned report (Published) -
Appendix B8. Breaking the Silence about Sexual Violence: A National Campaign in the Maldives
(4 pages)
Research output: › Commissioned report (Published) -
Appendix B10. Leveraging Data and Partnerships to Increase Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Responses for Children in Nepal during COVID-19
(4 pages)
Research output: › Commissioned report (Published) -
Appendix B9. The Inclusion of Services for Children in the One-Stop Crisis Management Centres (OCMCs) for Gender-Based Violence: The Case of Nepal
(4 pages)
Research output: › Commissioned report (Published) -
Appendix B11. Systems Strengthening: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Responses in Pakistan
(4 pages)
Research output: › Commissioned report (Published) -
Appendix B12. Protecting Children and Families: Development of a Virtual Psychosocial Support System in Sri Lanka
(4 pages)
Research output: › Commissioned report (Published)