Nicole Shackleton

Lecturer, School of Law.

Dr Nicole Shackleton is a socio-legal researcher focused on gender and sex, technology and regulation. Using qualitative empirical research, Dr Shackleton explores how gender and technology interact, and consequently how technologies may be regulated to reduce abuse and harassment.

Dr Shackleton is a leading voice in addressing online misogyny and gendered hate speech. Through her research and public engagement, she has influenced national conversations on the legal regulation of online abuse, particularly targeting women in politics, journalism, and sports. Dr Shackleton's contributions to policy discussions and media platforms, including The Guardian and ABC, have helped shape legislative reforms, such as the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2025, which strengthens protections against gender-based hate speech. Her work continues to drive legal and societal recognition of the harms of digital misogyny, advocating for stronger legislative responses.

As research coordinator of the Technology, Law and Society Research Group, Dr Shackleton facilitates the group's activities and promotes research focusing on the continuously evolving intersection between emerging technologies, legal frameworks and regulation, and its societal impacts. 

Research projects:

Dr Shackleton is currently working on two projects, competitively funded by RMIT. In the project, 'Sharenting Practices on Instagram in Australia: Threats to Security and Privacy and Potential Countermeasure', which received $48k from the Boundary Crossing Grant Program, the research team is investigating the prevalence of sharenting among Australian parents on Instagram. They are currently in the process of analysing data and writing up our findings. 

The project 'Addressing the Dark Digital: Towards a National Digital Harms Observatory' received a grant of $32k from the Enabling Strategic Impact Proposal Scheme. This is a transdisciplinary project which will explore the extent, form and experience of digital harms, with the aim of informing regulators and key stakeholders. This project is currently in the early implementation phase, with most data collection to be completed by the end of 2025.

Industry experience:
Dr Shackleton has legal experience volunteering at Youthlaw, a CLC dedicated to young people who come in contact with the criminal justice system. She has also interned in international criminal law as a member of the Nuon Chea defence team at the former Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia.

Availability:

Dr Shackleton is available for collaboration, media enquires and article reviews. Check out her LinkedIn profile for a detailed description of her experience and engagement.