INQUIRIES:
I welcome inquiries from attorneys to discuss whether my expertise would be relevant and helpful for a particular case.
I typically respond to inquiries within 2-3 business days. Please include in your initial contact:
- Brief description of the case
- Country/countries of origin
- Topics/issues relevant to the claim
- Timeline for expert declaration
- Information about funding source if relevant to fee discussion
Expert Testimony & Consultation
INQUIRIES
I welcome inquiries from attorneys about whether my expertise is a fit for a particular case. I usually respond within two to three business days. Please include:
Brief description of the case
Country or countries of origin
Topics relevant to the claim
Timeline for expert declaration
Funding source if relevant to fee discussion
EXPERT WITNESS
I provide expert testimony in asylum and humanitarian protection cases involving sub-Saharan Africa. My direct fieldwork is in South Africa. I also work analytically on Rwanda, Nigeria, and Ethiopia through collaborations and secondary data, and I have regional expertise across sub-Saharan Africa. My topical work includes gender-based violence (including obstetric violence and FGM/C), structural violence and discrimination, healthcare access, maternal and reproductive health, poverty and economic precarity, and refugee health. I have years of experience translating social science research for legal and policy audiences, including policy consultation and testimony before the Ohio State House. I take case consultations, expert declarations, and related work case by case.
Fees: Case by case. Fees depend on funding source (whether an asylum seeker is paying out of pocket, a non-profit, or pro bono legal services) and on the scope and timeline of the work. Contact me to discuss your specific case.
COUNTRIES OF EXPERTISE
Primary: South Africa (Cape Town, Western Cape; Xhosa communities). Additional: Rwanda, Nigeria, Ethiopia. Regional: Sub-Saharan Africa.
DETAILS OF COUNTRY EXPERTISE
South Africa (Primary Expertise, 2010–Present)
Basis of expertise: Direct ethnographic fieldwork.
I conducted two years of ethnographic fieldwork in Cape Town townships from 2010 to 2012, with support from a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant and a Fulbright Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship. The research examined Xhosa women's experiences of poverty, public healthcare, structural violence, and maternal health in urban townships.
That fieldwork was 24 continuous months in Khayelitsha and Gugulethu, working across South Africa's public healthcare system from primary care clinics and maternity hospitals to community health workers and traditional providers. I have reading fluency in isiXhosa and beginner-level speaking ability from fieldwork. Since 2012 I have returned to Cape Town for month-long research visits roughly every other year and maintain active collaborations with South African colleagues. My peer-reviewed work from this fieldwork covers obstetric violence, maternal emotional distress, mother love under conditions of poverty, and women's survival strategies in South African townships.
Key publications:
Rubin, Sarah E. "'The Inimba It Cuts': A Reconsideration of Mother Love in the Context of Poverty." Ethos 46, no. 3 (2018): 330-350. [Cape Town townships, Xhosa mothers]
Smith-Oka, Vania, Sarah E. Rubin, and Lydia Z. Dixon. "Obstetric violence in their own words: how women in Mexico and South Africa expect, experience, and respond to violence." Violence Against Women 28, no. 11 (2022): 2700-2721.
Rwanda (Genocide and Post-Genocide Period: 1994–2013)
Basis of expertise: Collaborative secondary analysis. No direct fieldwork in Rwanda.
I co-authored peer-reviewed research on resilience and motherhood among Rwandan genocide-rape survivors, with Maggie Zraly (who conducted the fieldwork in Rwanda) and Donatilla Mukamana (Rwandan collaborator). My role was analytical and theoretical. My expertise here covers gender-based violence in the context of genocide, psychological resilience, and motherhood after sexual violence.
Key publication:
Zraly, Maggie, Sarah E. Rubin, and Donatilla Mukamana. "Motherhood and Resilience Among Rwandan Genocide-Rape Survivors." Ethos 41, no. 4 (2013): 411-439.
Nigeria (Contemporary Period: 2020–Present)
Basis of expertise: Collaborative secondary analysis. No direct fieldwork in Nigeria.
My current Nigeria work is a manuscript under review at Cultural Anthropology, co-authored with Olubukola (Bukky) Olayiwola, whose ethnographic fieldwork in Southwestern Nigeria the analysis draws on. My role is collaborative theorization. The work examines women's economic survival strategies, the informal economy, and the relationship between poverty and mental health among Nigerian market women navigating microloan default.
Ethiopia (Contemporary Period: 2020–Present)
Basis of expertise: Secondary data analysis and graduate student supervision. No direct fieldwork in Ethiopia.
I co-authored a peer-reviewed study on factors associated with men's opinions about female genital mutilation in Ethiopia, using Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data. The first author was my Master of Global Health thesis student, Bethany Sara, whose thesis I chaired. My expertise here covers FGM/C, community attitudes toward gender-based violence, and men's roles in harmful traditional practices.
Key publication:
Sara, Bethany A., Sarah E. Rubin, Zelalem T. Haile, Dawit G. Alemu, and Ilana R. Azulay Chertok. "Factors associated with men's opinion about female genital mutilation in Ethiopia." Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare 32 (2022): 100721.
Sub-Saharan Africa (Regional Expertise)
Basis of expertise: Graduate training, ongoing student supervision, grant review, and teaching. Not based on direct fieldwork outside South Africa.
My MSc in African Studies from Oxford (St. Cross College, 2006) gives me a foundation in the region's history, politics, economics, and social structures. I regularly chair or serve on thesis committees for Master of Global Health students researching across Ethiopia, Kenya, Botswana, and other African contexts, which requires staying current on country-specific health systems and social conditions. I serve as African regional expert for the Fulbright Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad fellowships (Principal Grant Reviewer, 2021–2024) and the Wenner-Gren Foundation peer review panel (2025–2027), evaluating research proposals across sub-Saharan Africa. I teach medical students on African healthcare systems, global reproductive health, and social determinants of health in African contexts.
TOPICS OF EXPERTISE
Gender-Based Violence Applicable to: South Africa (direct fieldwork), Ethiopia (secondary data analysis), Rwanda (collaborative analysis), regional sub-Saharan Africa.
My peer-reviewed publications cover obstetric violence in South Africa (women's experiences of mistreatment and resistance in healthcare settings, in Violence Against Women, 2022), FGM/C in Ethiopia (community attitudes and men's opinions, in Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, 2022), and sexual violence and motherhood after genocide in Rwanda (Ethos, 2013). I also have ongoing work on reproductive coercion in African contexts.
Relevant to asylum cases involving survivors of obstetric violence or medical mistreatment, survivors of FGM/C or those at risk of FGM/C, survivors of sexual violence in conflict contexts, women facing reproductive coercion, and gender-based persecution in healthcare settings.
Structural Violence and Discrimination Applicable to: South Africa (direct fieldwork), Nigeria (collaborative analysis), regional sub-Saharan Africa, United States (direct fieldwork).
My peer-reviewed work examines how structural violence operates in healthcare systems, urban poverty contexts, and marginalized communities. This includes systematic discrimination in South African public healthcare (racial and ethnic discrimination, medical neglect) and survival strategies under extreme poverty, food insecurity, and economic marginalization in South Africa and Nigeria. At OU-HCOM I developed and co-facilitated the Racism in Medicine seminar series (2020–present) and received the Inclusion Champion Award (2023).
Relevant to asylum cases involving systematic healthcare discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or social status, denial of medical care or medical neglect, persecution based on economic or social marginalization, and structural barriers to essential services.
Healthcare Systems, Access, and Barriers Applicable to: South Africa (direct fieldwork), regional sub-Saharan Africa, United States (direct fieldwork, refugee health).
My fieldwork examined how marginalized populations move through public health systems, from primary care clinics and hospitals to community health workers and traditional providers. My research identifies structural, economic, cultural, and geographic barriers to healthcare access in under-resourced settings. I have published research on the challenges primary care providers face caring for refugees in Northeast Ohio (Cureus, 2021), which bears on refugee healthcare experiences after resettlement. I have over a decade of experience teaching medical students on healthcare disparities and culturally responsive care, and I co-direct an annual study abroad program in Cape Town focused on health disparities and economic precarity.
Relevant to asylum cases involving inadequate access to medical care in country of origin, discrimination in healthcare settings, barriers to treatment for chronic or serious conditions, mental health care access, and healthcare for refugees and displaced populations.
Maternal and Reproductive Health Applicable to: South Africa (direct fieldwork), Rwanda (collaborative analysis), regional sub-Saharan Africa, United States (direct fieldwork).
I have peer-reviewed publications on maternal emotional distress, maternal mental health, obstetric violence, childbirth experiences, and motherhood under conditions of poverty and violence. I co-authored a policy brief on maternal mental health that was used as testimony before the Ohio State House (Ohio Journal of Public Health, 2025). I am a founding board member of the Cleveland Kangaroula Collective, a consortium supporting birthing people through evidence-based care and research. My research on doula care as a reproductive justice intervention for Black women facing obstetric racism appeared in Women's Reproductive Health (2025).
Relevant to asylum cases involving denial of reproductive healthcare, forced pregnancy or reproductive coercion, maternal health complications without care, mental health challenges related to pregnancy and motherhood, and gender-based violence in reproductive healthcare.
Poverty, Economic Precarity, and Food Insecurity Applicable to: South Africa (direct fieldwork), Nigeria (collaborative analysis), regional sub-Saharan Africa.
My research examines survival strategies among Xhosa women in extreme poverty in South African townships (Ethos, 2018), and a manuscript under review examines Nigerian market women's experiences of economic precarity and psychological distress related to microloan default. My long-term fieldwork engaged with communities experiencing food insecurity, housing instability, and economic exclusion. I co-direct an annual study abroad program in Cape Town focused in part on health disparities and economic precarity.
Relevant to asylum cases involving persecution linked to economic or social class, food insecurity and survival strategies, economic exploitation or debt bondage, and informal economy workers facing persecution.
State and Non-State Violence Applicable to: South Africa (direct fieldwork), Rwanda (collaborative analysis), regional sub-Saharan Africa.
My published research on Rwandan genocide-rape survivors addresses experiences of state-sponsored sexual violence (Ethos, 2013). My South Africa fieldwork examined urban township contexts where residents experience police violence and state surveillance, and I have written on how chronic exposure to violence affects health and well-being in marginalized urban communities.
Relevant to asylum cases involving survivors of genocide or mass atrocities, police violence or state persecution, violence in urban townships or informal settlements, and persecution by non-state actors where state protection is unavailable.
Family, Kinship, and Social Structures Applicable to: South Africa (direct fieldwork in Xhosa communities).
My fieldwork examined family structures, motherhood practices, and kinship systems in Xhosa communities in South Africa, and my published work addresses motherhood, childrearing, and intergenerational relationships under conditions of poverty.
Relevant to asylum cases involving family-based persecution, forced marriage or child marriage, inheritance rights and property disputes, persecution related to family or kinship status, and cultural practices affecting women and children.
EXPERIENCE AS EXPERT WITNESS
I am newer to providing formal expert declarations for asylum cases, but I have years of experience translating social science research for legal and policy audiences.
Policy consultation and legislative testimony. I served as policy consultant for Project ECHO's Women's Health initiative, contributing to a policy brief. I also co-authored a policy brief with The Center for Community Solutions on maternal mental health that was used as testimony before the Ohio State House (now published in Ohio Journal of Public Health, 2025: https://ojph.org/article/id/6413/). These experiences taught me to translate ethnographic and epidemiological evidence into formats that work for non-academic decision-makers.
Grant review and expert evaluation. I served as Principal Grant Reviewer for the U.S. Department of Education Fulbright Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) program (2021–2024), evaluating research proposals across sub-Saharan Africa. I am a Peer Review Panelist for the Wenner-Gren Foundation (2025–2027). I am also an ad hoc reviewer for NSF, NIH, and several foundations.
Academic and research credentials. PhD in Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University (2014). MSc in African Studies, University of Oxford (2006). Over a decade of teaching medical students on health disparities, cultural competency, and social determinants of health. Published in Ethos, Violence Against Women, Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry, and Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare.
Availability. My faculty position at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine gives me both stability and flexibility for remote consulting on asylum cases. I take case-by-case engagements with standard turnaround of four to eight weeks, and I can accommodate expedited requests.
KEY PUBLICATIONS
Directly relevant to asylum and gender-based violence cases:
Obstetric violence: Smith-Oka, Vania, Sarah E. Rubin, and Lydia Z. Dixon. "Obstetric violence in their own words: how women in Mexico and South Africa expect, experience, and respond to violence." Violence Against Women 28, no. 11 (2022): 2700-2721.
Female genital mutilation: Sara, Bethany A., Sarah E. Rubin, Zelalem T. Haile, Dawit G. Alemu, and Ilana R. Azulay Chertok. "Factors associated with men's opinion about female genital mutilation in Ethiopia." Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare 32 (2022): 100721.
Genocide-rape survivors: Zraly, Maggie, Sarah E. Rubin, and Donatilla Mukamana. "Motherhood and Resilience Among Rwandan Genocide-Rape Survivors." Ethos 41, no. 4 (2013): 411-439.
Poverty and maternal experiences (South Africa): Rubin, Sarah E. "'The Inimba It Cuts': A Reconsideration of Mother Love in the Context of Poverty." Ethos 46, no. 3 (2018): 330-350.
Refugee healthcare: Reece, Mackenzie J, and Sarah Rubin. "Qualitative Pilot Study: Challenges for Primary Healthcare Providers Caring for Refugees in Northeast Ohio." Cureus (2021). doi:10.7759/cureus.12572.
Additional relevant publications:
Obstetric racism and doula care: Casapulla, S., Rubin, S., Nigeda, B., Pichardo, G., & Patton, K. "'Because Doulas Save Black Women's Lives': Black Women's Strategic Use of Doulas in Anticipation and Experiences of Obstetric Racism." Women's Reproductive Health (2025): 1-21.
Nigeda, B., Patton, K., Pichardo, G., Rubin, S. E., & Casapulla, S. "Impact of presence of doulas on perceived racism for Black mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic." PRiMER: Peer-Reviewed Reports in Medical Education Research 9 (2025): 28.
Black maternal embodiment: Rubin, Sarah E. and Joselyn Hines. "'As Long as I Got a Breath in My Body': Risk and Resistance in Black Maternal Embodiment." Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry (2022). doi:10.1007/s11013-022-09780-7
Maternal mental health policy: Akhter, Amber, Rubin, Sarah, Takyi-Micah, Natasha, Zabala, Amanda. "Rethinking Maternal Mental Health Solutions: Addressing Racial Disparities in Ohio and Beyond." Ohio Journal of Public Health (2025). https://ojph.org/article/id/6413/
LANGUAGE EXPERTISE
isiXhosa: Reading fluency, with beginner-level speaking ability developed during fieldwork in Cape Town townships. I can read isiXhosa-language materials.
English: Native fluency.
POPULATIONS OF EXPERTISE
My research populations include Xhosa communities in South Africa (two years of fieldwork in Cape Town townships, isiXhosa reading fluency, work on kinship and gender roles); women facing poverty and structural violence in urban African contexts (township and informal settlement residents, market women in the informal economy); survivors of gender-based violence (obstetric violence, sexual violence in conflict, FGM/C, reproductive coercion); refugees and displaced populations (with research on healthcare access challenges after resettlement); and Black women in the United States, including Cleveland-based research on maternal health disparities and obstetric racism.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Scope of expertise. My work is grounded in qualitative ethnographic methods: participant observation and in-depth interviews, cultural analysis, and analysis of how structural factors (poverty, discrimination, violence) shape lives and communities. I also work on healthcare systems and barriers to care, and on cross-cultural psychiatry and mental health.
Geographic and temporal scope. My South Africa expertise rests on intensive fieldwork from 2010 to 2012, maintained through biennial research visits and ongoing literature review through the present, with primary authority for the 2010–present period. My Rwanda expertise focuses on the genocide and post-genocide recovery period (1994–2013) and on genocide-rape survivors. My Nigeria and Ethiopia work is contemporary (2020–present). My regional sub-Saharan Africa expertise comes from graduate training, student supervision across multiple countries, and grant review.
Methodological approach. My approach as a medical anthropologist is to situate individual experiences in their social and political context. I attend to how culture and structural inequality shape lived experience, and I interpret practices and beliefs within their own cultural frameworks. I work to identify patterns across cases while taking individual variation seriously.
Professional standards. I follow the ethical guidelines of the American Anthropological Association, including transparency about the limits of my expertise, accurate evidence-based representation, and attention to the power dynamics of expert testimony.
Availability for case consultation. I am available for initial case consultations to assess fit, review of case materials, written expert declarations, telephone consultations with attorneys, and supplementary declarations as needed. I welcome inquiries from attorneys.
Response time. I typically respond within two to three business days. Please include in your initial contact a brief description of the case, country or countries of origin, topics relevant to the claim, timeline for expert declaration, and funding source if relevant to fee discussion.