Peter Aggleton is an internationally renowned sociologist and educationalist with a background in policy studies, development, psychology and international health.
A former UNSW Scientia Professor, he has worked with national, international and UN system agencies for over thirty years to strengthen responses to HIV and sexual health. Prior to joining UNSW, he worked at the Institute of Education, University of London (where he was Director of the Thomas Coram Research Unit and for a time Dean of Research) and at the University of Sussex (where he was Head of the School of Education and Social Work). Before that, he held a senior position within the World Health Organisation’s headquarters in Geneva.
Peter has published over 200 scientific papers and authored and edited more than 50 books. His lifetime research grant income is in excess of $40 million and he one of the most cited social scientists globally, with a Hirsch (h-) index of 54. He is well known internationally for his analytic work on health education and health promotion, the social aspects of HIV, sexuality and gender, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. He is currently chief investigator on several research projects funded by the Australian Research Council and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council.
Peter is editor-in-chief of three world class journals: Culture, Health & Sexuality, Health Education Journal and Sex Education, and is an associate editor of the journals AIDS Education & Prevention, Global Public Health and Health Education Research.
In Arts and Social Sciences at UNSW, he contributes to an initiative on Practical Justice, bringing together scholars, researchers, policy makers and practitioners in pursuit of equality and social justice. Within the initiative, Peter’s personal interests concern the ways in which gender and sexuality sit within the broader field of politics, national and international development, education and sexual health.
Peter is an honorary distinguished professor in the College of Arts and Social Sciences at The Australian National University and holds visiting professorial positions at UCL and the University of Sussex in the UK. He is an adjunct professor in the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University in Melbourne
Recently completed and ongoing research includes:
2009-10: Promoting gender equality and ending violence against women (with Claire Maxwell, Institute of Education University of London), Womankind funded
2009-11: Provision for young people’s sexual and reproductive health in the Arab States (with Elaine Chase, University of Oxford), UNFPA funded
2012: Diversity in School (with Felicity Thomas), Ministerio da Educacao (Brazil) and British Council funded
2010-14: Top Girls: Middle class privilege and agentic practice (with Claire Maxwell, Institute of Education University of London), UK Economic and Social Research Council funded
2013: Review of Sexual Health in School Project, New South Wales Health funded
2013- Community-based organising against HIV and for rights among same-sex attracted men in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (with Kare Moen, University of Oslo and Melkizedeck Leshabari, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences), Norwegian Research Council funded
2013- Men, Mobility and Money: A qualitative study to examine the role of mining development on sexual health risks amongst landowners, their sexual partners and others affected by resource extraction development (with Angela Kelly, PNG Institute of Medical Research and other partners), Internal Competitive Research Award Scheme, PNG Institute of Medical Research funded
2013- Sexuality, Health & Human Rights of Marginalised Men in Papua New Guinea (with Angela Kelly, PNG Institute of Medical Research and other partners), Internal Competitive Research Award Scheme, PNG Institute of Medical Research funded
2015- Queer Generations: Belonging and Sexual Citizenship among Gender and Sexual Minority Youth (with Rob Cover, University of Western Australia; Daniel Marshall, Deakin University; and Mary Lou Rasmussen, Monash University), Australian Research Council funded
2017- Crystal methamphetamine use, sex and risk practice among gay and bisexual men (with Carla Treloar, Gary Dowsett (ARCSHS, La Trobe University), Max Hopwood, Martin Holt, Toby Lea,
Peter has led major policy and programme reviews and evaluations for agencies including DFID, UNAIDS, UNDP UNESCO, UNICEF and WHO.
He directed the external evaluation of the Ford Foundation supported Global Dialogues on Sexual Health and Well-Being in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
2013- Member, Australasian Sexual Health Alliance (ASHA) Executive
2008- Chair, Australian Development Research Awards Panel (HIV/AIDS)
2005-10 Member, ESRC Research Grants Board (Education, Psychology, Sociology and Health)
2001-2 Member, Wellcome Trust Society Awards Panel
2000- Reviewer for UK Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council, Research Council of Norway, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, World Health Organization, UNAIDS, and other international bodies
2017- Fellow, Royal Society of New South Wales
2015- Fellow, Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
2004- Fellow, Academy of Social Sciences (UK)
2000- Fellow, Royal Anthropological Institute
2000- Fellow, Royal Society for Public Health
1996- Fellow, Royal Society of Arts
1996- Fellow, British Psychological Society
Journal editorships
2013- Editor in Chief, Health Education Journal (SAGE)
2011- Editor in Chief, Sex Education (Routledge)
1999- Editor in Chief, Culture, Health and Sexuality (Routledge)
2005- Senior Editor, Global Public Health
2001- Associate Editor, AIDS Education and Prevention
2000- Associate Editor, Health Education Research
2014- Senior Editorial Advisor, Health Sociology Review
2008- Member, Editorial Board, Salud y Sociedad - Revista Latino Americana
2006- Member, Editorial Board, International Journal of Sexual Health
2005-9 Member, International Editorial Board, Journal of Sociology
2003-9 Member, Editorial Advisory Board, London Review of Education
2001-9 Member, Editorial Board, AIDS
1998- Member, Editorial Board, Critical Public Health
1998- Member, Editorial Board, Health Education
Social Aspects of AIDS (Taylor and Francis/Routledge) 1988-2002
Sexuality, Culture and Health (Routledge) 2005-
Foundations and Futures of Education (Routledge) 2006-
Social Aspects of HIV (Springer) 2013-
Awards and honours
2018- Honorary Distinguished Professor, College of Arts and Social Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra
2014- Visiting Professor, UCL Institute of Education, London, UK
2014- Adjunct Professor, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne
2012- Visiting Professor in Global Health, University of Sussex, UK
2012- Visiting Professorial Fellow, Institute of Education University of London, UK
2009-11 Visiting Professor, Section for International Health, Department for Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway