Diete Humblet

Diete Humblet graduated in 2010 as a jurist (University of Antwerp) and in 2012 as a criminologist (Ghent University), after which she obtained her PhD in criminological sciences on the subject of ‘The Meaning of Imprisonment in Later Life’ in 2018 (Vrije Universiteit Brussel). In 2023, she will be celebrating her tenth anniversary at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where she has been able to develop herself in interdisciplinary projects and pioneering research at the intersection of criminological and gerontological sciences. Her research focus lies on criminal behaviour, law and criminal justice, including sentencing and the implementation of custodial sanctions and measures, with human rights concerns for older people deprived of their liberty. Her work on older people in prison won her international acclaim. She received the 2015 edition Perrie Lectures Essay Award and recently published her book ‘The Older Prisoner’ in the Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology Series. She was previously affiliated to the centre of expertise on older adult care at Odisee University of Applied Sciences, where she supervised research on professional development in correctional aged care. She is currently affiliated to the Law and Criminology Department and the Research Group Crime & Society at the VUB, where she combines a 0.1 ZAP position with a senior postdoctoral research fellowship to conduct her research on ageism in prison (funded by the Research Foundation - Flanders). She is the co-founder of a Think Tank – Flanders advocating correctional aged care policy reform, and the founder of a European research network on Ageing and the Criminal Justice System.

Research Line

Penality and Society

Current Research Projects

Ageism in prison

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