Maria Obrebska

Maria Obrebska is pursuing a DPhil in Socio-Legal Studies under the supervision of Associate Professor Agnieszka Kubal. Her UKRI-funded qualitative research focuses on sexual violence, examining how differing notions of freedom and care within international and domestic human rights frameworks impact the implementation of Poland’s new consent-based rape law. She is particularly interested in the challenges of adapting international laws within domestic contexts, the interaction between law and social change, feminist legal theory, and care ethics. Her regional focus is on Eastern Europe, primarily Poland and Ukraine, with a specific interest in LGBTQ and women’s rights. Her previous research explored the relationship between citizenship and mental health as experienced by LGBTQ communities in Poland.

Maria’s commitment to research stems from her belief that understanding the complexities of a given social issue is essential to bringing social change. It is her priority to use academic knowledge to make a difference for marginalised groups. She has over two years of experience facilitating Relationships and Sex Education, initially as a volunteer for Sexpression and then professionally with Brook Charity, and currently serves as an LGBTQ Officer at Reuben College, Oxford. One of the key aims for her DPhil is learning how to translate research findings into tangible change.

Alongside her studies, Maria works part-time as a Research Administrator for the Human Rights in Eastern Europe and Russia (HuRiEE) project. She supports the Principal Investigator in managing and coordinating the project, organizing meetings and events, preparing publicity materials, and overseeing project records in accordance with internal and funder guidelines.