Kim Thuy Seelinger is an expert on sexual violence related to armed conflict and forced displacement. She focuses on systems of legal accountability in conflict-affected settings, as well as survivors' access to support and protection.
Seelinger’s current projects aim to improve protection for refugees at risk of gender-based violence in the Americas and North Africa; she is also collaborating with 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege to support reparations for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. Her past research has been incorporated into global guidance and international protocols used by humanitarian actors and war crimes investigators alike. In addition to her journal publications, Seelinger is the co-editor of "The President on Trial: Prosecuting Hissène Habré" (Oxford University Press, 2020).
At Washington University, Seelinger holds a joint appointment with the School of Law, where she is a visiting professor. She is also the founding director of the Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration, at Washington University’s Institute for Public Health.
Previously, Seelinger served as founding director of the Sexual Violence Program at the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley (2010-2019). She received numerous awards including the Women Advancing the Law Award from Women of Berkeley Law and a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency. She also contributes to global protection and accountability efforts as a member of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' Advisory Group on Gender, Forced Displacement, and president of the Executive Committee of Civitas Maxima, a Swiss organization serving survivors of atrocity crimes.
