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Faculty of Law

Welcome to the Faculty: Maira Hassan

August 24, 2026

Maira Hassan
New Faculty of Law assistant professor Dr. Maira Hassan.

By David Murphy

About Dr. Maira Hassan

UVic Law is excited to welcome Dr. Maira Hassan, the latest assistant professor to join the faculty. Dr. Hassan will teach Torts and Evidence Law this fall at UVic.

Dr. Hassan’s expertise is in gender, race and equality, particularly in the context of gendered violence. She recently completed her Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice, UBC, and the Islamophobia Research Hub at York University where she led a research project examining anti-racist policies, laws and practices and how they relate to experiences of racialization.

She received her LLB at Queen Mary University of London, and both an LLM and PhD at Allard School of Law, UBC. At Allard, Dr. Hassan served as an Indigenous Legal Studies Academic Coach, providing academic tutoring to Indigenous law students.

Q&A

Welcome to UVic Law! Can you tell us about yourself?

Thank you! I am delighted to join the faculty at UVic law and sincerely looking forward to teaching in the fall. As a legal scholar, I have immense interest in understanding the diverse and intersectional experiences of people in their interactions and understandings of the law. Inevitably, my interest in issues pertaining to social justice and equality translates into the work I engage with in my community and my research.

Can you tell us more about your general research focus and postdoc research?

My general research provides an intersectional approach to legal questions, particularly through critical race feminist perspectives, investigating the application of the law and its impact on those often situated in the margins of society. Specifically, my current research explores the treatment and portrayal of Muslim women complainants in sexual assault cases. For my postdoc research, I examined anti-racist polices and laws, their relation to experiences of racialization, and the processes of systemic racism within structural organizations.

What experiences in your career stand out as meaningful, and how have they shaped you?

I think I have been immensely lucky to have found amazing mentors throughout my academic career, for which I am truly grateful. Each mentor has shaped me. For example, my criminal law professor in law school later co-authored a journal article with me. In graduate studies, I met racialized women scholars doing groundbreaking work. They have all given me the confidence to pursue my passion for research.

What is your approach to teaching, and what can students expect from taking your class?

My approach to teaching seeks to encourage students to develop critical thinking skills and to reflect on the perspectives and voices that may not always be obvious or included in common legal texts. Students can expect to first, learn basic elements and application of legal rules and principles, which is an important first step, and then, hopefully understand the importance of thinking about them critically, to see what and who the law implicates and how.

What excites you most about joining UVic Law?

There is so much that excites me about UVic Law! I am in awe of the natural surroundings on campus, where I am anxious to go birding. I am also honoured to be amongst incredible faculty and a law school that offers transsystemic teaching, including the significance of Indigenous laws and traditions, and a focus on social justice.