Prof. Dr. Hannelore Van Bavel

Prof. Dr. Hannelore Van Bavel is a Research Professor and an FWO Senior Postdoctoral Fellow at RHEA, an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Bristol, and member of Jonge Academie. She holds a PhD in Anthropology & Sociology from SOAS University of London, as well as an MA in Gender and Diversity Studies and an MSc in Sociology from Ghent University.

Hannelore's research explores why societies (surgically) alter genitalia and why some genital modifications are criminalised while others are normalised. She examines what these distinctions reveal about the intersections of gender, culture, race, and power. Empirically, her work focuses on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS), drawing on social anthropology, gender studies, and bioethics. Methodologically, she uses ethnographic and arts-based approaches to centre lived experiences, alongside empirical bioethics to develop normative recommendations grounded in evidence.

Across her research trajectory, Hannelore has examined these questions in both African and European contexts. Her early ethnographic work with Maasai communities in East Africa explored local perspectives on female circumcision and the impacts of anti-FGM/C interventions. Building on this work, her doctoral research traced the colonial genealogy of global FGM/C discourse, examined why it continues to shape international policy despite sustained critique and resistance, and explored its material consequences for targeted communities, including racial profiling and increased surveillance. During her Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action postdoc, she studied women's motivations for undergoing female genital cosmetic surgeries, and the ways in which medics respond to such requests in Belgium and the Netherlands. In her current FWO Senior Postdoctoral Fellowship, Hannelore examines the increasingly blurred boundary between female genital cosmetic surgery and medicalised FGM/C in Kenya, exploring how distinctions between the two are constructed, negotiated, and contested.

Hannelore also leads the VLIRUOS Team project Co-creating Decolonial and Community-Driven Pathways to Strengthen Kenya’s Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Framework, working alongside Prof. Dr. Samuel Kimani and Dr. Maryogrety Akinyi at the University of Nairobi, and Dr. Paulien Broens and Prof. Dr. Gily Coene at VUB. The project supports two Kenyan candidates pursuing joint PhDs between the University of Nairobi’s African Women’s Studies programme and VUB’s Gender and Diversity Studies programme.