Sophie Henderson
Sophie's doctoral research examines the adequacy of the law in the Philippines and Sri Lanka governing the protection of women migrant domestic workers.
"I choose the Auckland Law School as it is well-ranked, with a high-quality doctoral programme. Its extensive areas of specialisation and the prospect of supervision by renowned academics was attractive. The facilities are excellent, with the law and general libraries having a wide selection of international sources.
"The primary objective of my thesis is to use case studies of the Philippines and Sri Lanka to assess the adequacy of the domestic legal frameworks that govern the protection of female migrant domestic workers against rights violations and abuse overseas.
"The Law School provided funding for me to conduct fieldwork in the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong. It also supports conference attendance, enabling networking and circulation of my work, which puts me in a strong position to achieve my goal of becoming an academic on completion of my PhD.
"I was awarded a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship, which is open to international students. It covers my tuition fees and provides an annual allowance, giving me financial support to study in Auckland.
“In addition to the scholarship I was awarded the Auckland Law School Doctoral Fellowship. The fellowship allows me to perform academic tasks in the school, which is preparing me for life in academia."