Dr Nadine McKillop is the Associate Dean, Research, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Justice, and Co-Leader of the Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit. at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Also a psychologist, Nadine worked with both offenders and victims within criminal justice settings before entering academia. With two decades of research, practice and teaching expertise in criminology and psychology, Dr McKillop brings with her a suite of skills in the design, facilitation, and evaluation of offending and support programs. Her international research profile demonstrates expertise in understanding and preventing the onset of sexual violence and abuse, and the assessment and treatment of youth and adult sexual offenders to reduce the extent and impacts of sexual violence and abuse in the community. She is the Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Sexual Aggression: An international, interdisciplinary forum for research, theory and practice.
Professional memberships and affiliations
- 2002 - current: Registered Psychologist, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency
- 2016 - current: Member, Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology
- 2016- 2019: Adjunct Research Fellow, Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University
- 2015- 2019: Honorary Research Fellow, Centre for Advances in Behavioural Sciences, Coventry University
Board appointments
- Current: Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Sexual Aggression: An international, interdisciplinary forum for research, theory and practice
- 2015-2019: Associate Editor, Journal of Sexual Aggression: An international, interdisciplinary forum for research, theory and practice
- 2015 - present: Research Advisory Panel, Bravehearts
Awards/Fellowships
-
Fellow with the Higher Education Academy (UK), and supervises honours and HDR (Criminology / Psychology) students.
- David Biles Correctional Research Award, for an outstanding research report in the field of correctional administration, policy or reform (Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology (ANZSOC), 2020
-
Award for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching, for outstanding and innovative teaching in Australian and New Zealand Criminology (Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology (ANZSOC), 2020
- Fellow, Advance HE (higher Education Academy), UK,2019-current
- Vice-Chancellor and President's Award for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, University of the Sunshine Coast, 2019
- Advancing the Blended Learning Environment Teaching Award, University of the Sunshine Coast, 2017
- Academic Lead, Australian Awards Fellowship Scheme, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trading and Minister for Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (Indonesia), University of the Sunshine Coast, (2016)
- University Medal, Griffith University, 2002
Professional Social Media
Potential research projects for HDR and Honours students
-
Youth and adult sexual offending
- Offender rehabilitation and re-entry
- Program evaluation
- Prevention of sexual violence and abuse
Research grants
| Grant/Funding Body | Investigators | Funding body and A$ value | Year (s) | Focus (of research grant) |
| University of Newcastle | Rayment-McHugh & McKillop | $16,809 | 2021 | ‘Evaluation of the Name Narrate Navigate’ Pilot Program for Youth Perpetrators of Domestic and Family Violence. |
| Stop it Now! UK and US | McKillop & Rayment-McHugh | $12,000 | 2021 | Assessing Future Directions for Stop It Now! in the UK, US, and Beyond. |
| Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women |
McKillop, Rayment-McHugh, Christensen, & Adams |
$142,764 |
2020-2022 |
Cairns Youth Sexual Violence Support Services - Evaluation |
|
Save the Children |
McKillop, Rayment-McHugh, Christensen |
$50,000 |
2020-2021 |
Informing Child - Safe Practice from a Contextual Lens |
|
Daniel Morcombe Foundation |
Christensen, Rayment-McHugh, McKillop |
$56,008 |
2020-2023 |
Evaluation of Changing Futures project |
|
USC Australia |
Rayment-McHugh, McKillop, Bennett, Christensen, & Campbell |
$337,886 |
2020-2021 |
Re-write the Sexual Offending Program Indigenous Males (SOPIM) including Practice Guidelines and a training package for staff delivering the Program |
|
USC Australia |
Christensen, Rayment-McHugh, McKillop |
$17,625 |
2019 |
'What Works' in Policing: Managing Child Sex Offenders |
|
USC Australia |
Rayment-McHugh, McKillop, Christensen |
$10,451 |
2019-2020 | Enhancing risk assessment for preventing child sexual abuse: An evaluation of Life Without Barriers 'train-the-trainer' program |
|
Australian Institute of Criminology |
Rayment-McHugh, Christensen, McKillop, Moritz, Burton, Munro, Jones, Prenzler & Lacey, in partnership with Queensland Police Service |
$68,860 |
2019-2020 |
"LEADing evidence-informed Child Exploitation Material (CEM) Reduction' |
|
Queensland Corrective Services Research Grant Scheme |
Nadine McKillop; Susan Rayment-McHugh; Lara Christensen; Tim Prenzler |
A$22,271 |
2018 - 2019 |
The effectiveness of sexual and violent offender rehabilitation and reintegration programs: Integrating global and local perspectives to enhance correctional outcomes |
|
Queensland Corrective Services (QCS 104.1718) |
Nadine McKillop; Susan Rayment-McHugh |
A$33,700 |
2018 |
Evaluation Framework for therapeutic interventions delivered within a forensic context |
| The Benevolent Society |
Nadine McKillop |
A$40,000 |
2018 |
Examination of the Benevolent Society's 'child-safe, child-friendly' risk management framework: Recommendations for enhanced practice |
|
Department of Community Services, Child Safety and Disabilities |
Nadine McKillop |
A$50,000 |
2016-2018 |
A short-term outcome evaluation of the Bravehearts Turning Corners program. |
|
Criminology Research Council (Australian Institute of Criminology) |
|
A$48,718 |
2014–2016 |
|
|
USC FABL Research Collaboration Grant |
Nadine McKillop; Sarah J Brown |
A$9,950 |
2016-2017 |
Comparison of UK and Australian students and offenders' experiences of unintended exposure to indecent images online and online pornography use. |
|
Griffith Criminology Institute Taking our Research to the World Grant |
Julianne Webster; Nadine McKillop |
A$8,990 |
2015-2017 |
Online sex offending trajectories (OSOT) Project |
Research areas
- understanding and preventing sexual violence and abuse
- assessment and treatment of youth and adult sexual offenders
- factors associated with the onset of youth and adult offending
- developmental, situational, and social ecological aspects of sexual violence and abuse
- online sex offending trajectories
Teaching areas
- Criminal Profiling
- Understanding Crime
- Professional Placement
- Crime Research Methods
Selected publications
-
Christensen, L.S., Rayment-McHugh, S., McKillop, N., Cairns, N., & Webster, J. (2021). Understanding what works in the police management of child sex offenders in the community. The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles. Online first: https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X211018791
- Molnar, R., McKillop, N., Allard, T., Rynne, J & Adams, D. (2021). Patterns of Rearrest for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Non-Indigenous Youth Who Have Sexually Harmed. Journal of Sexual Aggression: An international, interdisciplinary forum for research, theory and practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2020.1850894
- McKillop, N., Reynald, D. & Rayment-McHugh, S. (2020). (Re)conceptualizing the role of guardianship in preventing child sexual abuse in the home. Crime Prevention and Community Safety: An International Journal.
- Damiris, I., McKillop, N., Christensen, L.S., Rayment-McHugh, S., Burton, K., & Patterson, T. (2020). Judges’ gendered perceptions of sexual offenders: A new explanatory model. Current Issues in Criminal Justice. http://10.1080/10345329.2020.1837716
- McKillop, N., Rayment-McHugh, S., & Bojack, R. * (2020). Comparing the onset of child sexual abuse perpetration from adolescence into adulthood: Are there unique risks, and what does this mean for prevention?. Child Abuse and Neglect. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104630
- Allen, A., Katsikitis, M., Millear, P., & McKillop, N. (2020). Psychological Interventions for Sexual Fantasies and Implications for Sexual Violence. A Systematic Review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 55, 1-8. Published online first, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2020.101465.
- Molnar, T., Allard, T., McKillop, N., & Rynne, J. (2020). Reliability and Predictive Validity of the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol- II in an Australian Context. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X19900978
- McKillop, N., Smallbone, S. & Christensen, L. (2020). 'Psychological explanations'. In H. Hayes & T.Prenzler (Eds.). An introduction to crime and criminology (5e). Sydney:Pearson
- McKillop, N., Rayment-McHugh, S., Kaufman, K., Ransley, S., & Gardiner, M. (2020). Assessing child-safe culture and practices in organisational settings: A validation and refinement of Kaufman's Organisational Safety Climate Survey. Journal of Sexual Aggression: An international, interdisciplinary forum for research, theory and practice: Published online first. Doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2019.1692921
Dr Nadine McKillop's specialist areas of knowledge include understanding and prevention of sexual violence and abuse, with a particular interest in the development and evaluation of primary and secondary prevention initiatives. Her research also focuses on evaluating evidence-informed treatment interventions for youth and adults to enhance outcomes for both offenders and victims.