Department of Social Work

Education:

• Ph.D in Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
• M.A in Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India
• B.A in Political Science, L.D. Arts College, Ahmedabad, India

Specialties:

• Sex Work Studies & Human Trafficking
• Violence Prevention
• HIV/AIDS Prevention
• Cultural Biography Method

Biography:  

Dr. Sinha is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work and an Affiliate Faculty in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies. She is the author of the book, Risks, Stigma, Agency: Life Histories of Women Involved in Sex Work in Kolkata, India, recently published in March 2025 by Palgrave MacMillan.

She joined the Department of Social Work in 2023 and has taught a variety of graduate level courses, including Leadership in Health and Human Services (SW 5825), Sex Work and Human Trafficking (SW 5530/SW 5700), Program Development and Evaluation in Health and Human Services (SW 5855), and Advanced Advocacy Practice (SW 5845).

Dr. Sinha has extensive experience in social work practice and research, particularly with diverse sex worker communities and various NGOs in both India and the U.S. Over the past two decades (2005-2025), she has conducted research with women living in brothels, women indirectly employed in sex work through informal occupations, transgender sex workers, and clients of sex workers. Rather than relying on conventional survey-based and cross-sectional methods common in sex work studies, Dr. Sinha employs cultural biography— a feminist, non-stigmatizing, and empowering approach to understanding the lived experiences of marginalized populations from their own perspectives within the discipline of social work.

Dr. Sinha’s research has received significant recognition. She was awarded the 2009 Fahs-Beck Doctoral Research and Experimentation Award, as well as the 2018 Michael H. Agar Lively Science Award, which honors the most innovative applied research article published each year in Qualitative Health Research journal. Dr. Sinha brings a transnational feminist perspective to all aspects of research, teaching, and service. She currently serves as Consulting Editor for AFFILIA: The Feminist Inquiry in Social Work, Editorial board member for Palgrave Advances in Sex Work Studies Series.

Curriculum Vitae: view here