Violet Odala

Dr Violet Odala obtained her Doctor of Laws (LLD) Degree from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, in 2018. She is an Independent Consultant with research interests in child rights, including the rights of children of incarcerated parents.

She has worked with various organisations in Africa including the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF); Save the Children International; and ECPAT International, where, among other things, she managed programmes on access to justice for children; girls and the law; harmonization of laws on children; and child rights governance.

Under the Access to Justice Project which she managed while working at ACPF, she led research on the status of children imprisoned with their mothers in Ethiopia, which was published in 2021 under the title “Behind bars without a crime”. 

She has been involved at different levels in legal and policy research as well as advocacy on children; coordinating high level forums for dialogue; building partnerships; conducting training and engaging with treaty bodies and other human rights mechanisms on children’s rights. 

Dr Odala is the 2011 winner of the prestigious international Human Rights Essay Award for which she also holds a Diploma in Advanced Studies in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law from Washington College of Law, American University, USA.