Robert Heynen, York University

Research

(1) Biometrics (2) Surveillance (3) Science and technology (4) Bodies (5) Eugenics (6) Race (7) Gender (8) Disability

Latest papers

Anti-trafficking saviors: Celebrity, slavery, and branded activism.
Crime, media, culture · 2022 · first author

All 1 publications

Latest funding

Mediations of Anti-Human Trafficking: Technology, Securitization, and Policing at the Border
SSHRC · 2025 · Principal investigator
$218,627
Multijurisdictionality and Investigative Strategies of Anti-Trafficking Policing in Canada
SSHRC · 2022 · Co-investigator
$29,326
Biometrics and the Body: Tracing the Social Implications of the Science of Surveillance
SSHRC · 2019 · Principal investigator
$54,003

All 4 grants and awards

1 publications.

01

Anti-trafficking saviors: Celebrity, slavery, and branded activism.

Heynen R, van der Meulen E

Crime, media, culture2022First author

DOI: 10.1177/17416590211007896 PMID: 35574249

Mediations of Anti-Human Trafficking: Technology, Securitization, and Policing at the Border

Principal investigatorSSHRC2025Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Heynen, Robert J.

$218,627

Multijurisdictionality and Investigative Strategies of Anti-Trafficking Policing in Canada

Co-investigatorSSHRC2022Insight Development Grant

Principal investigators: Roots, Katrin

Keywords: human trafficking; policing; multijurisdictionality; municipal policing; sex work; surveillance assemblage; social sorting; carceral protection; crime production; white saviour

$29,326

Biometrics and the Body: Tracing the Social Implications of the Science of Surveillance

Principal investigatorSSHRC2019Insight Development Grant

Principal investigators: Heynen, Robert

Keywords: (1) Biometrics; (2) Surveillance; (3) Science and technology; (4) Bodies; (5) Eugenics; (6) Race; (7) Gender; (8) Disability; (9) Statistics; (10) Automated face recognition

$54,003

White Saviours and Rescue Fantasies? Making and Shaping Trafficking Discourse and Policy

Co-investigatorSSHRC2019Insight Grants

Principal investigators: van der Meulen, Emily

Keywords: human trafficking; whiteness and race; migration; sex work; prostitution

$67,900

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Mention their SSHRC grant from 2025

Subject: Prospective PhD student: (1) Biometrics Dear Professor Heynen, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Anti-trafficking saviors: Celebrity, slavery, and branded activism." (2022), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your SSHRC-funded project "Mediations of Anti-Human Trafficking: Technology, Securitization, and Policing at the Border" (2025), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]