BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Cecilia Benoit holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Toronto. She is currently a Scientist at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Victoria, BC.
Over the past three decades, Dr. Benoit has conducted ground-breaking research showing the contributions of midwifery as a profession and to the care of pregnant women and families. Her research has also identified structural barriers for urban Indigenous women, social inequities faced by street-involved youth transitioning to adulthood, complex life challenges confronting pregnant women, and determinants of social exclusion faced by sex workers. Her research philosophy is “think of people you interview as partners rather than subjects” and “shed light on real-world health and social problems that often seem overwhelming.” Through a lifetime in academia and advocacy, Dr. Benoit has been learning from and supporting progressive policies to better the lives of people who are marginalised — midwives and sex workers, the unhoused and youth and adults who use substances.
Dr. Benoit holds numerous awards, including the Royal Society of Canada Ursula Franklin Award in Gender Studies, Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award from the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of BC, Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, BC Community Achievement Award, Killam Prize for the Social Sciences, the senior researcher Trailblazer Award in Population and Public Health Research from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) and the R.D. Defries Award from the Canadian Public Health Association. She has received fellowships from the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation, Royal Society of Canada, and Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
Dr. Benoit’s steadfast commitment to transforming our understanding of Canadians historically outside of social categories is evident in her work as an expert witness for the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights examining Human Trafficking in Canada and as expert witness in the 2021 constitutional challenge of Canada’s prostitution criminal laws. She serves as an Associate Editor for Archives of Sexual Behavior and Sexes and guest editor for three other academic journals. She is Scientific Officer and Reviewer to CIHR, reviewer for The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Canadian Research Chairs program and Advisory Board member of The Canadian Society for the Sociology of Health/ Société canadienne de sociologie de la santé.