Dr Melissa Jardine

Tab 01 · Profile

Profile

A former Victoria Police officer with a PhD from the University of New South Wales Law School on organisational culture and gender in male-dominated environments across the Asia-Pacific. She has worked on these topics in more than twenty countries for UN Women, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and INTERPOL. Twenty-five years' professional experience, 15 of them on public health and gender equity in policing and security, gender-based violence and LGBTQ inclusion.

Melissa served ten years as a Victoria Police officer, working at the frontline and in criminal investigations, drug taskforces and as an undercover operative. She holds a PhD from the UNSW Law School, a Master of Philosophy in public health (harm reduction) and law enforcement in Vietnam from the University of Melbourne, and a Master of Asian Studies from Monash University. Based in Vietnam, she has worked in more than twenty countries across Asia, Africa and the Pacific, and co-authored the UNODC Training Manual for Law Enforcement Officers on HIV Service Provision for People Who Inject Drugs (2014), which she was commissioned to update in 2024 as a Training Manual for Law Enforcement Officers on HIV and Other Related Infectious Diseases.

She is currently a Partner Investigator on a four-year Australian Research Council Discovery Project at the University of the Sunshine Coast investigating gender-responsive policing and gender-based violence in the Pacific, specifically Fiji. She is a member of the Strategic Planning Committee for the International Association of Women Police, inaugural Editor for the IAWP eJournal and Research Paper Series, an inaugural Fellow of the Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association, and Chair of the Board of the Australia-Vietnam Leadership Dialogue.

Tab 02 · Areas of expertise

Areas of expertise

• Policing & public health Fifteen years working at the intersection of law enforcement and public health — co-author of the UNODC Training Manual for Law Enforcement Officers on HIV Service Provision for People Who Inject Drugs (2014), commissioned by UNODC in 2024 to update it, and an inaugural Fellow of the Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association.
• Gender-responsive policing Research and policy advice on organisational culture and gender in male-dominated environments across the Asia-Pacific for UN Women, UNODC and INTERPOL, including gender assessments for police services in Eastern Africa and Southeast Asia.
• Research & needs assessments Published qualitative and quantitative researcher — documentary, legal and policy analysis, interviews and focus group discussions — providing policy advice that is both gender-sensitive and human rights-based.
• Training design & delivery Design and delivery of training and train-the-trainer programmes for police, immigration and government officials across Asia, Africa and the Pacific, including for UNODC, IOM and the Australian Federal Police.
• International policing reform Member of the United Nations Security Sector Reform Advisory Network and the Strategic Planning Committee of the International Association of Women Police, and inaugural Editor of the IAWP eJournal and Research Paper Series.

Tab 03 · Service record

Service record

• 2023 – present Partner Investigator, Australian Research Council Discovery Project, University of the Sunshine Coast Four-year project investigating gender-responsive policing and gender-based violence in the Pacific, specifically Fiji — research design, ethical approval, fieldwork and publication, with an international advisory board including representatives from UN Women HQ and Fiji.
• 2024 – 2025 Lead Researcher on Police Leadership and Inclusion, UNODC Regional Office for Eastern Africa Led the gender assessment for the 'Empowering Every Badge' project — a collaboration between UNODC, UN Women and the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization — designing the methodology and research instruments and collecting data from approximately 100 participants across Djibouti, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles and Tanzania.
• 2024 Policing and Public Health Expert, UNODC HIV/AIDS Section, Vienna Commissioned to update the UNODC Training Manual for Law Enforcement Officers in HIV Prevention for People Who Inject Drugs — which she co-authored in 2014 — including a new module on women, HIV and violence prevention, and convening a global expert consultation of UN partner agencies, law enforcement officers, academics and civil society.
• 2023 – 2024 Researcher for Gender Assessment, UNODC Counter-Cybercrime Unit, Regional Office for South East Asia and the Pacific Prepared the research report, recommendations and action plan for 'Preventing and Countering Cybercrime in Asia: Building a Gender Inclusive Cyber Workforce', drawing on approximately 50 interviews across Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.
• 2022 – 2024 Senior Trainer in Human Rights and Gender, International Organization for Migration Designed and delivered training and train-the-trainer programmes on human rights-based and gender-sensitive approaches to migration management for immigration, police and government officials, in the Philippines, Korea and Lao PDR.
• 2019 – 2023 Research and gender advisory consultancies, UN Women, UNODC and INTERPOL Regional research on women in law enforcement in ASEAN for UN Women, UNODC and INTERPOL; fieldwork in Kabul on gender-sensitive security sector reform in the Afghan National Police for UN Women; a gender toolkit for INTERPOL covering Central Asia; and human rights and gender-responsive police reform work for UNODC in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.
• 2008 – 2022 Policing, research and advisory roles, Nossal Institute for Global Health and Centre for Law Enforcement and Public Health Co-ordinator and Technical Advisor of the Law Enforcement and HIV Network at the Nossal Institute, University of Melbourne; Gender Advisor and Communications Manager, and later Project Manager of the global 'Envisioning the Future for Policing and Public Health' project, at the Centre for Law Enforcement and Public Health.
• 2001 – 2011 Police Officer, Victoria Police Ten years' service in general duties, criminal investigations, the Asian Squad, drug taskforces and as an undercover operative.
• Earlier career Human Resources & Training Officer, Myer Recruitment and training for a 400-employee retail department store, developing training programmes and policies for staffing and occupational health and safety.