Dr Maya Flax profile image

Dr Maya Flax

Senior Lecturer in Criminology
Course Leader for the Undergraduate Criminology pathways
School of Human and Social Sciences
maya.flax@uwl.ac.uk

Maya has worked as a criminal defence barrister in London. She represented and defended clients in criminal courts and prepared multi-handed jury trials. She then worked as a civil and commercial mediator, mediating in various disputes ranging from financial settlements to school admissions.

The subject of her PhD and remains her primary research interest. She is in the process of publishing articles on the process of shunning and has a keen interest in the topic of bystanders of hate crime. 

Maya has a strong commitment to engaging with her students and in ensuring that the material taught is clear and understood by all. She has been accredited with a UWL Star Award for Teaching Excellent each year since she has commenced teaching in UWL.

  • Qualifications

    • LLB (Hons) - University College London
    • Bar Vocational Course - College of Law
    • Civil and Commerical Medical - London School of Mediation
    • MA Criminology - Middlesex University 
    • PhD - University of West London
    • FHEA - University of West London
    • SFHEA - University of West London

  • Memberships

    British Society of Criminology
    Member of the Criminal Justice Alliance

Teaching

I have worked as criminal defence barrister in London, where I represented and defended clients in criminal courts and prepared multi-handed jury trials. I then worked as a civil and commercial mediator, mediating in various disputes ranging from financial settlements to school admissions. I am in the process of publishing work on hate crime, which was the subject of my PhD and remains my primary research interest. I have a strong commitment to engaging with my students and in ensuring that the material taught is clear and understood by all.

Research

  • Research and publications

    Journal articles

    Grendele, W., Flax, M., Bapir-Tardy, S. (2023) ‘I'm dead in God's eyes, who's going to destroy me anyway’: A UK qualitative study on the coping mechanisms adopted by those shunned from the Jehovah’s Witnesses community. Manuscript in Preparation. 

    Flax, M. and Shannon, K. (2023) Religious victims of hate crime: comparing the experiences of victimisation targeted against Muslims, Jews and Hindus. Manuscript in Preparation. 

    Grendele, W., Flax, M., Bapir-Tardy, S. (2023) ‘"You're Going to Go into Some Really Dark, Dark Places in Your Mind." Loss and Disillusionment of Being Shunned From the Jehovah’s Witness Community and its Impact’ International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation, DOI: 10.54208/1000/0004/005

    Grendele, W., Flax, M., Bapir-Tardy, S. (2023) 'Shunning from the Jehovah’s Witness Community; Is it Criminal?' The Journal of Law and Religion https://doi.org/10.1017/jlr.2023.13

    Grendele, W., Flax, M., Bapir-Tardy, S. (2023) 'Experiencing Religious Shunning: An insightful journey from being a member to leaving the Jehovah’s Witness community' Pastoral Psychology. doi: 10.1007/s11089-023-01074-y

    Flax, M., Millband, O (2022) ‘Doesn’t anyone care anymore?’ - Bystander Intervention to Hate Crimes Manuscript in Preparation 

    Flax, M. (2021) ‘Antisemitism is just part of my day-to-day life’: Coping mechanisms adopted by Orthodox Jews in North London” International Review of Victimology. doi:10.1177/02697580211006663

    Flax, M. (2021) 'Understanding Perceptions of Contemporary Antisemitism among Orthodox Jews in London'. Ethnic and Racial Studies.

    Book chapters

    Flax, M. (2024) Experiences of Antisemitism among Jewish Orthodox Women in  Zempi, I., Smith, J and Trickett, L. (eds) Palgrave Handbook of Violence Against Women and Girls: Palgrave.  Manuscript in Preparation. 

    Reports

    Flax, M. (2023) Normalisation among Jews re-visited: Comparing hate crime incidents and responses among three religious minorities in the UK. Funded by the Anti-Defamation League.

    Other publications

    Flax, M., (2023) 'Strategies for enhancing teaching excellence: Providing real-world examples and building rapport', New Vistas 9(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.36828/newvistas.227

    Flax, M. (2020) 'Enhancing engagement levels using Kahoot'. Paper presented at UWL Festival of Learning and Teaching, 2 July, 2020.

    Flax, M. (2017) ‘Do you qualify to be a victim of crime?’ New Vistas, Vol. 3 Issue 2, University of West London pp.23–27.

    Media experience

    Feature in Sky Crime Documentary, What the Killer Did Next: Joy Morgan, 4 January 2023.

    Feature in Sky Crime Documentary, What the Killer Did Next: Peter McMahon, 14 December 2022.

  • Conferences

    Flax, M. (2023) Normalisation Re-visited among Jews: Comparing hate crime incidents and responses among three religious minorities in the UK. Paper presentation at Mid Term Conference, European Sociological Association, 7 September 2023, Portugal. 

  • Research degree supervision

    Principal Supervisor

    The impact of Police uniform and code of dress on crowd behaviour (Victoria Hebborn).

    Gendered Perspectives of Female Associates to Gang Affiliated Males (Vikky Chambers).

    Experiencing Disfellowshipping in the Jehovah’s Witnesses community: Explorative Research on Religious Exclusion. (Windy Grendele) Awarded June 2022

    Second Supervisor

    Predicting Officer Perpetrated Domestic Abuse (Harriet Prettyjohn).

Courses taught on