Rate My Professor Peta Jane Secrett

Dr Peta-Jane Secrett is an Associate Lecturer at Curtin Law School, Curtin University. She holds the post-nominals PhD (UWA), LLB (Hons) (UWA), and BCom (UWA). Peta-Jane has a PhD in law from the University of Western Australia, accepted in December 2022. Her doctoral thesis is titled 'From Sexual Servitude to Modern Slavery: Examining Conceptual Coherence in the Australian Parliament’s Understanding of Human Trafficking'. This work investigates inconsistencies in legislative approaches to human trafficking within Australian law.

Secrett's research specializations center on criminal laws related to trafficking in persons, slavery, and slavery-like practices. Her key publication, 'The persistent problem of consent in Australian criminal laws on trafficking in persons, slavery and slavery-like practices', appeared in the University of Western Australia Law Review in 2024. The article, derived in part from her PhD thesis, evaluates the federal offences in Divisions 270 and 271 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) against Article 3(b) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. It explores meanings of consent through lenses such as the transnational business approach, radical feminist approach, sex worker rights approach, human rights approach, and migrant labour approach. Secrett analyzes specific offences including trafficking in persons, deceptive recruiting for labour or services, servitude and forced labour, slavery, forced marriage, and organ trafficking. She recommends law reform for greater conceptual clarity. Additionally, Dr Secrett provided a submission to the Australian Government’s Targeted Review of Modern Slavery Offences in Divisions 270 and 271 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). Her Google Scholar profile identifies research interests in law, business and human rights.

In her teaching portfolio, Secrett teaches units like LAWS1006 Legal Research & Writing. She co-hosts panel sessions on Legal Foundations and professional responsibility for Curtin Law School students. With Senior Lecturer Christina Do, she received a Learning & Teaching Award from Curtin Law School. Secrett's scholarship informs policy discussions on modern slavery, enhancing academic and practical understanding in the field.