Paul Dodenhoff Biography

Head shot of Paul DodenhoffBorn in Liverpool, United Kingdom, I'm a seasoned social researcher, campaigner, and activist. From age 16 onwards, I've taken a keen interest in equality and environmental issues and have been involved in many anti-racist, anti-sexist, and environmental campaigns.

I've also had a long interest in Sociology and Psychology, completing a part-time Open University Bachelor of Science degree in Social Problems, Health, and Social Welfare in 1997, graduating at the Guild Hall, Preston, United Kingdom. I gained a part-time Master of Arts degree in Research Methodology in 2003, again with the Open University, graduating at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

I spent many years working for Royal Mail, first on the 'shop floor' and then gradually moving into an administrative role before the 'research bug' finally got the better of me, leaving in 2011 to undertake a small number of independent research projects. These include 'The factorization of the NHS hospital Ward' and 'Gender Differences in Health & Safety Motivation'.

Although I am 'able-bodied,' I have always taken an interest in disability issues, an interest gained primarily during my first degree, where I found the area of disability studies to be extremely challenging and exciting, giving me a completely different 'angle' on the social world. An interest that naturally came to rest upon 'disability hate crime' in 2012 after reading many horrific media reports of abuse, harassment, and violence towards mentally and physically disabled people within the UK. I was shocked by an apparent and repeated failure to tackle this social problem and the lack of academic knowledge surrounding it. Taking a 'Structuration/Social Action' approach, I began to develop a possible explanation for a disability hate crime. In 2013, I was also accepted as a part-time, self-funded Ph.D. student at Lancaster University's School of Law to develop the theory more fully and formally. I put this Ph.D. on hold in 2014 due to a shortage of funds, but I carried on the research in my spare time.

I've worked with a community teaching group, becoming Research and Development Director for the enterprise until Oct 2014. Since I have been working with several local charities, including working with the homeless, those with debt problems, drug & alcohol abuse, as well as working with disability itself. I have been writing for Disabled World for some time now, trying to highlight issues that don't always get a great deal of attention from Britain's popular media. Unfortunately, Britain is regressing how it treats 'disability' and slowly rolling back to the 1700s, so such issues must get worldwide attention.

You can contact Paul via the Disabled World contact page.

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