Who am I?

Born in Manchester, I have lived in the North of England all my life. I gained my first degree in Computing and Management Science from Sheffield Hallam in BSc (Hons). During this time I became more drawn towards the statistical manipulation of social science data rather than solving financial and business problems; postgraduate study seemed the obvious way to convert and in 2004 I joined the Department of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield to study on the MA Sociological Research. This was the beginning of a shift of disciplines from computing science to social science. In 2011 I completed my ESRC funded PhD titled “Paying for sex: A socio-cultural exploration of men who pay for sex”

After competing my PhD, I remained at Sheffield as a University Teaching Associate for a number of years teaching across and leading a range of sociology, social policy and research methods modules. I then moved to the University of Manchester as a temporary Lecturer in Sociology leading a number of under graduate and post graduate methods modules. I joined the Social Care team at MMU in 2014.

I currently volunteer for Sexual Health Sheffield as a Community Sexual Health Champion. I sat on the management committee for Sheffield Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Service from 2009 to 2011. Previously, I worked for a number of years as a mental health support worker, both in a clinical setting and out in the community, for Sheffield Care Trust (NHS).

How I’ll teach you

Inspired by the John Dewey and Paulo Freire, I believe that education is social, interactive and emancipatory. I emphasise how teaching and learning should be a partnership with interactive dialogue between tutor and students and between students themselves, rather than a one way process in which the tutor conveys content. I aim for my teaching to transform students thinking and not simply transmit knowledge. I encourage students to learn through doing, allowing them to take responsibility for their own learning and guiding them to become independent, reflective critical learners. Thus, inquiry based learning, participatory approaches and inclusivity are central to my teaching.

I am committed to teaching excellence and am engaged with the process of how to make my teaching more effective and inspiring. To this end I am working towards a Master’s in Education Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.

Academic and professional qualifications

2000–2004: BSc (Hons) Computing and Management Science, Sheffield Hallam University. First Class

2004– 2005: MA Sociological Research, University of Sheffield.

Dissertation: Police Perceptions of Street Prostitution.

2006– 2011: ESRC Funded PhD in Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield.

Title: Paying for Sex: a socio-cultural exploration of men who engage in sexual commerce. Supervisors: Prof. Jenny Hockey and Prof. Richard Jenkins. External examiner: Dr. Teela Sanders

2011– present: M.Ed Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, University of Sheffield

Why study ?

Undergraduate courses

I currently teach on a range of units:

Social Policy for Contemporary Social Issues

Social Care: Community, work and families

Medical Technologies - The Body as a Project

Research expertise

I am interested in the everyday aspect of, and socio-cultural environments in which, people are living out their lives as sexual and gendered beings. My main research interests are: sexuality and gender specifically commercial sex, sexual citizenship, sexual health, sex and health, HIV/AIDS, the body; bodies and health; ICT, digital media and online worlds; research methodology especially innovative methods, researching challenging topics and ethics.

I enjoy working collaboratively and I am currently co-investigator on 3 interdisciplinary, cross faculty research projects with colleagues at different institutions.

The first, working with Dr Sarah Kingston at Lancaster University, is a British Academy funded project which seeks to explore women who pay for sex in the UK. This project asks questions about motivations for paying for sex; how physical and sexual health and safety are negotiated and how the gendering of increased criminalisation of paid-for sex is experienced.

Second, The Condoms of Tomorrow, is a cross faculty project combining materials science ( Dr Andrew Parnell, University of Sheffield) and social science ( Dr Natalie Hammond, MMU) to explore how condoms and other female led approaches to the transmission of sexual diseases and contraception can be improved focusing on the materials these products are made from.

Third, The Phoenix Project: Surviving Cancer and Sexual Citizenship, brings together an interdisciplinary research team (Dr Andrew Chantry, Medicine, Dr Alex Peng, Information Systems, Dr Matt Cheeseman, English- all University of Sheffield and Dr Natalie Hammond, MMU, Sociology) working to ascertain the unmet sexuality, sexual health and relationship needs of cancer survivors and to explore how these unmet needs can be supported using innovative digital and visual means. We were awarded NHS ethics approval and conducted interviews with cancer survivors around sexual wellbeing. Working alongside the Graphic Medicine community, we have transformed these narratives into visual materials, which are hosted on a website we developed http://isrg.shef.ac.uk/Joomla/. We have taken part in a number of public engagement events at which we exhibit the art work produced.

Previously my ESRC funded PhD titled Paying for Sex: a socio-cultural exploration of men who engage in sexual commerce, explored the social and cultural landscape in which men buy and women sell sex. Focusing on relationships and sexuality, it attends to the broader cultural formations of heterosexual male identities in contemporary sexual culture.

I am a member of an EU funded network COST Action IS1209 – 'Comparing European Prostitution Policies: Understanding Scales and Cultures of Governance' (ProsPol). This is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme. The aim of ProsPol, is to exchange, enhance and compare knowledge about prostitution policies across Europe. I am a member of Working Group 3 Sex, Money & Society. I have operated at the intersection between academic and political fields by responding, individually and collectively, to sex work policy consultations. I am a member of COST Action IS1209 – 'Comparing European Prostitution Policies: Understanding Scales and Cultures of Governance' (ProsPol). The COST (Cooperation in Science in Technology) Action is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme. The aim of ProsPol, is to exchange, enhance and compare knowledge about prostitution policies across Europe. I am a member of Working Group 3 Sex, Money & Society.

Academic collaborations

2013 to date: member of EU facilitated COST Action Prospol, Comparing European Prostitution Policy.

2012 to date: with Feona Attwood (university of Middlesex), co-guest editor of themed section ‘Taking a Cultural Studies Approach to Sex Work Policy’, Social Policy and Society 14(1).

2012 to date: with Andrew Chantry, Matthew Cheeseman and Alex Peng (University of Sheffield), Co-investigator on The Phoenix Project: Sex and Surviving Cancer.

2012 to date: with Andrew Parnell (University of Sheffield), Co-investigator on The Condoms of Tomorrow: An exploratory study using materials and social science to enhance & improve the use of lifesaving contraceptives.

2010 to date: with Sarah Kingston (University of Lancaster) – Co authorship; British Academy Small Grant (2014-2015) co-investigator.

Publications

• Featured Works

  N. Hammond, M. Cheeseman, A. Chantry, GCA. Peng (2015). Researching surviving cancer and sexuality using visual methods: a reflection on research rationale and negotiating ethical issues. Families, Relationships and Societies. 4(3), pp.483-492.

  N. Hammond (2015). Men Who Pay for Sex and the Sex Work Movement? Client Responses to Stigma and Increased Regulation of Commercial Sex Policy. Social Policy and Society. 14(01), pp.93-102.

• Journal articles

  N. Hammond, M. Cheeseman, A. Chantry, GCA. Peng (2015). Researching surviving cancer and sexuality using visual methods: a reflection on research rationale and negotiating ethical issues. Families, Relationships and Societies. 4(3), pp.483-492.

  N. Hammond, F. Attwood (2015). Introduction: The Cultural Study of Commercial Sex: Taking a policy perspective. Social Policy and Society. 14(01), pp.79-82.

  N. Hammond (2015). Men Who Pay for Sex and the Sex Work Movement? Client Responses to Stigma and Increased Regulation of Commercial Sex Policy. Social Policy and Society. 14(01), pp.93-102.

  N. Hammond, S. Kingston (2014). Experiencing stigma as sex work researchers in professional and personal lives. Sexualities. 17(3), pp.329-347.

• Chapters in books

  NJ. Hammond (2010). Tackling taboos: Men who pay for sex and the emotional researcher. In: New Sociologies of Sex Work. Ashgate,

• Reports

  G. yarwood, L. webb, N. hammond, PM. Gray (2017). Evaluation report of families experiences of Partners of Prisoners (POPs) prison-based visitor centre services. Manchester Metropolitan University, Partners of Prisoners (POPs).

Invited papers

Hammond, N. (2012) The Role of Information Communication Technologies in negotiating risk in paid-for-sex, paper presented at Sexual Health Research and Practice Seminar, University of Greenwich, Greenwich, 14th February*.

Hammond, N. (2011) Question and Answer Session: The highs and lows of doing a PhD, paper presented at White Rose DTC Regional Seminar: Social work and social Care. University of Sheffield, Sheffield, 11th July.

Hammond, N. (2011) Men, Money, Sex and Power, paper presented at Sociological Studies Seminar Series. University of Sheffield, Sheffield.

Conference organisation

2014 Stream Co-organiser, Crime, Rights and Violence, British Sociological Association Annual Conference, University of Leeds, Leeds (International)

2014 Plenary organiser, Violence against women Study Group, British Sociological Association Annual Conference, University of Leeds, Leeds (International)

2013 Organiser, Gender Research Centre display, University of Sheffield, Sheffield

2013 Stream Co-organiser, Crime, Rights and Violence, British Sociological Association Annual Conference, Grand Connaught Rooms, London (International)

2012 Stream Co-organiser, Crime, Rights and Violence, British Sociological Association Annual Conference, University of Leeds, Leeds (International)

2011 Conference organiser, Festival of Social Science event, Feminist Principles Research Methods Training for the 3rd Sector, University of Sheffield, Sheffield

2007 Conference Co-organiser, Department of Sociological Studies, Postgraduate Conference, University of Sheffield, Sheffield.

Expert reviewer for journals and publishers

Reproductive Health

Journal of International and comparative Social Policy

The International Journal of Human Rights

Grants

British Academy Small Grant ‘Women who pay for sex’, Award holders: Sarah Kingston and Natalie Hammond, £10, 000 (joint PI)

Sheffield University Crucible. ‘The Condoms of Tomorrow: An exploratory study using materials and social science to enhance & improve the use of lifesaving contraceptives’, Award Holders: Natalie Hammond and Andrew Parnell, December 2012 – June 2014, £8,295 (joint PI)

Sheffield University Crucible ‘The Phoenix Project: Surviving Cancer’ , Award Holders: Andrew Chantry, Natalie Hammond, Mathew Cheeseman and Alex Peng, December 2012 – January 2014, £9,987 (joint PI)

ESRC Festival of Social Science (2011) Feminist Principles Research Methods Training for the 3rd Sector, Award holder: Natalie Hammond, November 2011, £500 (PI)

Projects and initiatives

My research operates at the intersection between academia, policy and practice.

As part of the Phoenix Project: Surviving cancer, I have been involved in a number of public engagement events. We have exhibited art work developed during this project at a number of events which are open to the public.

I was awarded funds to hold an ESRC Festival of Social Science event. This event offered research training, based on feminist principles to local third sector organisations. Sstaff from across the Social Science faculty delivered sessions using their research as a teaching tool.

Exhibitions

Chantry, A,. Cheeseman, M., Hammond, N. and Peng, A. (2012) The Phoenix Project: Surviving cancer. Researchers University of Sheffield, Sheffield.

Hammond, N and Parnell, A. (2012) The condoms of Tomorrow: Using materials science and social science to explore perceptions of the materials condoms are made from. Festival of the mind, University of Sheffield, Sheffield.

Chantry, A,. Cheeseman, M., Hammond, N. and Peng, A. (2014) The Phoenix Project: Surviving Cancer Art Exhibition at the Cancer Research/ Yorkshire Cancer Research (CR-UK/YCR) Sheffield Cancer Research Centre Public Lecture 27th February

Chantry, A,. Cheeseman, M., Hammond, N. and Peng, A. (2014) The Phoenix Project: Surviving Cancer Art Exhibition at the Cancer Research/ Yorkshire Cancer Research (CR-UK/YCR) Sheffield Cancer Research Centre Annual Cancer Research Forum Friday 28th February.

Chantry, A,. Cheeseman, M., Hammond, N. and Peng, A. (2014) The Phoenix Project Art Exhibition, Festival of Medicine, Dentistry and Health, University of Sheffield, May 21st 2014.

Chantry, A,. Cheeseman, M., Hammond, N. and Peng, A. (2014) Sex and Surviving Cancer: the Phoenix Project. Paper to be presented at the Late Effects in Cancer Survivors 5th biennial meeting, University of Sheffield, June 13th-14th 2014.

Chantry, A,. Cheeseman, M., Hammond, N. and Peng, A. (2014) The Phoenix Project Art Exhibition. Late Effects in Cancer Survivors 5th biennial meeting, University of Sheffield, June 13th-14th 2014.

Community, charity and NGO links

I have one foot firmly in health care practice; in a voluntary capacity I take part in sexual health promotion for Sexual Health Sheffield (Sheffield Teaching Hospitals). I am involved in activities such as condom distribution and delivering information in local communities.