Deborah Fry is a Professor of International Child Protection Research at the University of Edinburgh and Director of Data for Childlight –Global Child Safety Institute.  At the University, Deborah undertakes primary research to measure the magnitude, drivers and consequences of child sexual exploitation and abuse, barriers and enablers to appropriate prevention and response systems and the effectiveness of existing interventions.  

Childlight aims to take a data driven, evidence based approach to understanding the prevalence and nature of child sexual exploitation and abuse across the globe and translating that data into sustainable action that safeguards children.  The mission is to establish a world leading independent institute that gathers, translates and visualises the prevalence and nature of child sexual exploitation and abuse across the world.

From 2019 to present, Prof Fry serves as the academic lead for the University of Edinburgh for a Long-Term Agreement with UNICEF on child protection research, administrative data and training. Prof Fry leads  and supports studies commissioned by UNICEF offices globally on understanding the nature and drivers of violence against children and using this data for evidence-based programming and policy changes and recommendations.

Prof Fry also undertakes postgraduate teaching and administration and teaches courses on research methods and child protection research and is the Programme Director for the new MSc in Child Protection Data Futures through the Edinburgh Futures Institue and linked with Childlight.

Prior to joining the University, Prof Fry was Research Director at the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault. During her time at the Alliance, she was the Principal Investigator (PI) on nine primary research studies on sexual violence and abuse in New York City ranging from participatory action research with immigrant communities to research with young people. 

Deborah has a PhD by Research Publications from the University of Edinburgh, a Master of Arts degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, her Master of Public Health degree from Columbia University.  Dr. Fry was also a Fulbright Research Scholar from 2001 to 2002 and a Marie Curie Fellow from 2012 to 2015.