Dr. Sulaimon Abiodun Olawale Giwa
Interim Dean
Interim Associate Dean, Graduate Programs and Research
Full Professor
Elected College Member, Royal Society of Canada
School of Social Work
St. John's College
Room: J-2019
91´«Ã½
St. John's, NL A1C 5S7
Tel: (709) 864-7940
Email: sgiwa@mun.ca /
deansocialwork@mun.ca
Dr. Sulaimon Abiodun Olawale Giwa is a Nigerian-born Canadian citizen, and Canada-based educator, researcher, and scholar-activist, who works at the intersection of forensic social work and LGBTQ+ studies. He completed his Diploma in Law and Security Administration with a specialization in Police Education from Fleming College in 1999. He received a Bachelor of High Honours in Criminology and Criminal Justice with a concentration in Law and a minor in Women’s Studies in 2004, and a Masters of Social Work in Social Policy and Administration in 2006, both from Carleton University. He earned his PhD in Social Work from York University in the specialty areas of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture in 2017.
Dr. Giwa joined the faculty at 91´«Ã½ in 2017, where he is Full Professor and Interim Dean in the School of Social Work, with a cross-appointment to the Department of Sociology (Police Studies). He is the Endowed Chair in Criminology and Criminal Justice at St. Thomas University, and is an antiracism, equity, diversity, and inclusion trainer and consultant. Before coming to 91´«Ã½, he taught in the social work programs at Ryerson University and York University, and in the Police Foundations program at Sheridan College.
Dr. Giwa’s professional experience includes research and policy work at the community and federal levels, antiracist community and organizational change, and direct practice in diverse contexts, including policing and corrections. He has worked with coalition movements against police racial profiling for over a decade. He led the first community and multiagency responses to racial profiling in policing in Ottawa, Ontario. He has developed, coordinated, and implemented several educational workshops and training programs for police, health and social service providers, and the general public, to address issues of systemic racism in policing, enhance civic participation, and develop cultural sensitivity. Dr. Giwa has advocated for and worked with public-safety partner agencies and with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated service users and their families, facilitating the successful reintegration of these individuals back into their communities. He has also provided individual and group solution-focused brief counselling to at-risk youth experiencing challenging life situations, including cofacilitating an anger management program (Keeping It Cool) for male youths referred by the courts, the education system, and social/health agencies providing services to youth.
Dr. Giwa’s academic and applied-research program centralizes critical race transformative pedagogies and human rights theories as frameworks and analytic tools for social justice and equity. His research interests are in the areas of critical race and anti-Black racism; race and sexuality; LGBTQ+ migration, settlement, and integration; intersectional stigma and human rights; minority stress and coping; critical social work pedagogy; and the criminal justice system. Students, cognate faculties, community organizations, and government agencies frequently seek his policy and program development knowledge; his expertise in teaching and interdisciplinary content; and his supervision and mentorship for help in their practice. He is a member of the National Advisory Committee to Address Anti-Black Racism in Research and Research Training Programs, for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC); a member of the African, Caribbean, and Black National Expert Working Group, Rapid Assessment of the Impact of COVID-19 on STBBI Care and Prevention, Public Health Agency of Canada; and a member of the National Guideline Development Expert Advisory Committee for SOGIESC/LGBTQIA+ Newcomers and Refugees. He is a principal investigator and co-principal investigator on several research and public engagement projects, which have received funding from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; SSHRC; Dobbin Atlantic Scholarship Programme, Ireland Canada University Foundation; New Brunswick Law Foundation; and the Office of Public Engagement, 91´«Ã½. He has published widely in peer-reviewed academic journals and in alternative venues, such as newspapers and magazines, and presented over 40 referred papers at local, national, and international conferences and meetings. He sits on the editorial advisory board for the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality.
Dr. Giwa is an active member and participant in university and community life. He is part of numerous university committees, including the Research Advisory Committee on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and is the co-chair of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Anti-Racism Committee at 91´«Ã½. His leadership also extends to being the convener for the Research Exchange Group on Gender, Sexuality, and Health at the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Applied Health Research. In addition to his university committee work, he is the chair of the City of St. John’s Anti-Racism Working Group; the co-chair of the City of St. John’s Inclusion Advisory Committee; the co-lead of the Training and Education subcommittee of the Anti-Racism Coalition of Newfoundland and Labrador; a member of the City of St. John’s Ad Hoc Budget Strategy Committee; an Advisory Board Member with Relationships First—Restorative Justice Education, Newfoundland and Labrador Consortium/Centre; and a Board Member with Quadrangle Community Centre of Newfoundland and Labrador, among others.
Dr. Giwa’s life’s work is driven by an acute sense of equity and social justice, which is matched by his commitment to a collaborative, community, strengths-based approach to knowledge generation for the implementation of policy, practice, and system-level changes.
Further information about Dr. Giwa’s academic and professional work can be found and .
Funded Research and Public Engagement Projects
2020–2025&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Co-Principal Investigator (in partnership with Ms. Wendolyn Schlamp, YWCA, and another co-principal investigator).
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, $487,443.
Fostering collaboration of services for LGBTQ2S+ newcomers in Newfoundland and Labrador.
2020–2023 Principal Investigator
91´«Ã½ Seed, Bridge, and Multidisciplinary Fund, $10,000.
What about us? Dynamic characteristics of male sex workers and their needs in Newfoundland and Labrador.
2020–2023&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Co-Applicant (PI: Dr. Stephen Ellenbogen with other co-applicants and collaborators).
Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse, Quebec-Atlantic Node, $10,000.
Exploring cannabis harm reduction strategies for women and gender-variant people through community-based participatory research.
2021–2022&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Principal Investigator
91´«Ã½ Catalyst Conference Fund for Public Engagement, $5,000.
LGBTQ2S+ Community and Police Action Dialogue—Conference NL
2020–2022&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Co-Applicant (PI: Dr. Stephen Ellenbogen with other co-applicants and collaborators).
91´«Ã½ Seed, Bridge, and Multidisciplinary Fund, $9,943.75.
Exploring the accessibility of oncology camps for children and families affected by childhood cancer in Newfoundland and Labrador.
2020–2021&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Principal Investigator
91´«Ã½ SSHRC Research Exchange Grant, $2,000.
Resisting the stigma of racism: The coping experiences of gay men of colour in Canada.
2020–2021&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Co-Principal Investigator (PI: Dr. Adrien Habermacher).
Université de Moncton Fonds de dotation de la Faculté de Droit, New Brunswick Law Foundation, $1,500.
Online legal education and professional competence.
2020–2021&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Co-Applicant (PI: Dr. Dorothy Vaandering with other co-applicants and collaborators).
91´«Ã½ Public Engagement Accelerator Fund, $10,000.
Learning from Indigenous experience: Making relational restorative justice real in Newfoundland and Labrador.
2019–2021 Principal Investigator
91´«Ã½ Public Engagement Quick Start Fund, $2,500.
Police participation in Pride: LGBTQ2S+ community and police action
dialogue about the way forward.
2019–2020 Co-Applicant (PI: Dr. Dorothy Vaandering with other co-applicants and collaborators).
SSHRC Connection Grant, $24,893.
Learning from experience: Making relational restorative justice real in Newfoundland and Labrador.
2019–2020&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Co-Applicant (PI: Dr. Stephen Ellenbogen with other co-applicants and collaborators).
SSHRC Connection Grant, $21,309.
Building student and community research capacity through scale-up projects.
2019–2020&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Co-Applicant (PI: Dr. Stephen Ellenbogen with other co-applicants and collaborators).
91´«Ã½ Public Engagement Quick Start Fund, $2,500.
Phase 2 of scale-up: Integrating capacity building.
2019–2020&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Co-Applicant (PI: Dr. Delores V. Mullings).
91´«Ã½ Public Engagement Accelerator Fund, $10,000.
Creating opportunities for dialogue among newcomer racialized women and community stakeholder to strategize about inclusive and welcoming workplaces.
2017–2020&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Principal Investigator
New Faculty Start-up Funds, 91´«Ã½, $10,000.
Diversity in the workplace: Occupational experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) police officers in the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC).
2018–2019&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Co-Applicant (PI: Dr. Delores V. Mullings).
91´«Ã½ Public Engagement Quick Start Fund, $993.
Creating an inclusive and supportive work environment for newcomer racialized women in Newfoundland and Labrador: Facilitating dialogue among newcomers and community members.
2018–2019&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Principal Investigator (with a co-investigator).
91´«Ã½ Public Engagement Accelerator Fund, $10,000.
Settlement experiences of racialized lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) immigrants and refugees in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador: How do settlement agencies measure up?
2017–2019&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Principal Investigator
91´«Ã½ SSHRC Vice President’s Research Grant, $6,996.56.
Diversity in the workplace: Occupational experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) police officers in the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC).
2017–2018&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Principal Investigator
Dobbin Atlantic Scholarship Programme, Ireland Canada University Foundation, $5,100.
Workplace diversity: Promoting the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) police officers in Atlantic Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and the Republic of Ireland.
2017–2018&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Principal Investigator
91´«Ã½ SSHRC Research Travel Grant, $1,924.18.
Racism as a determinant of health: The coping experiences of gay men of colour in Ottawa.
2006–2008 Principal Investigator
Department of Canadian Heritage Multiculturalism Funding Program, $128,104.
Community Policing: A Shared Responsibility.
Selected Publications
Refereed Books Published or In Press
1. Giwa, S. (Forthcoming, 2022). Racism and gay men of color: Living and coping with discrimination. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefield.
2. Mullings, D. V., Clarke, J., Bernard, W. T., Este, D., & Giwa, S. (Eds.). (2021). Africentric social work. Black Point, NS: Fernwood Publishing.
Non-Refereed Book In Press
1. Craig, A., Giwa, S., Ryan, A. J., & Thompson, S. (Eds.). (Forthcoming: Fall 2021). Acceptance: Stories at the centre of us. St. John’s, NL: Engen Books.
Accepted or Published Articles in Refereed Journals
*Denotes current or former student
1. Giwa, S., Colvin, R. A., Ricciardelli, R., & *Warren, A. P. (accepted). Workplace experiences of lesbian and bisexual female police officers in the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. Women & Criminal Justice.
2. Karki, K. K., Moasun, F., Freymond, N., Giwa, S., & Zoltek, A. M. (accepted). MSW student perceptions of the professional identities of the social work practitioner and the social work researcher: Considerations for educators. Journal of Social Work Education.
3. Alessi, E. J., Greenfield, B., Yu, M., Cheung, S., Giwa, S., & Kahn, S. (2021). Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 38(7), 1941–1960.
4. Giwa, S., Alessi, E. J., Mullings, D. V., & *Carlson-Strain, M. D. (2021). . International Journal of Social Welfare, 30(3), 342–352.
5. Davis, E. B., Plante, T. G., Grey, M. J., Kim, C. L., Freeman-Coppadge, D., Lefevor, T., Paulez, J. A., Giwa, S., Lasser, J., Stratton, S. P., Deneke, E., & Glowiak, K. J. (2021). . Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 8(2), 79–97.
6. Giwa, S., Colvin, R. A., Karki, K. K., Mullings, D. V., & *Bagg, L. (2021). . SAGE Open, 11(2).
7. Djiadeu, P., Nur, J., Mbuagbaw, L., Giwa, S., Whitfield, D., & Nelson, L. E. (2021). . BMJ Open, 11(3), e043055.
8. *Smith, A.-A., *Tulk, D. M., *Ropson, M., *Snook, K. A., & Giwa, S. (2020). . Greenwich Social Work Review, 1(2), 68–77.
9. Mullings, D. V., Giwa, S., Gooden, A., Karki, K. K., Shaikh, S., Spencer, E. B., & Anderson, W. (2020). . Journal of International Migration and Integration.
10. Giwa, S., Mullings, D. V., Adjei, P. B., & Karki, K. K. (2020). . Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, 5(1), 224–235.
11. Giwa, S., Mullings, D. V., & Karki, K. K. (2020). . Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 63(6–7), 679–681.
12. Henrickson, M., Giwa, S., Hafford-Letchfield, T., Cocker, C., Mulé, N. J., Schaub, J., & Baril, A. (2020). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(18), 6615.
13. Alessi, E. J., Kahn, S., Giwa, S., & Cheung, S. (2020). Ethnicity and Health.
14. Giwa, S., Logie, C. H., Karki, K. K., Makanjuola, O. F., & Obiagwu, C. E. (2020). Greenwich Social Work Review, 1(1), 36–49.
15. Lefevor, G. T., Smack, A. C. P., & Giwa, S. (2020). Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 16(2), 148–162.
16. Giwa, S., & Mihalicz, M. G. (2019). Journal of Sociology and Social Work, 7(2), 46–63.
17. Chaze, F., Giwa, S., Sheppard, N., & Burns, B. (2019). Journal of Aging and Long-Term Care, 2(1), 21–36.
18. Giwa, S., & Chaze, F. (2018). Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 30(3), 220–243.
19. Giwa, S. (2018). Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 28(6), 710–730.
20. Giwa, S. (2015). International Journal of School and Cognitive Psychology, 2(2).
21. Meng, Y., Giwa, S., & Anucha, U. (2015). Canadian Journal of Family and Youth, 7(1), 115–148.
22. Giwa, S., James, C. E., Anucha, U., & Schwartz, K. (2014). Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 12(3), 218–245. (One of three most downloaded articles published in 2014.)
23. Nelson, L. E., Walker, J. J., DuBois, S., & Giwa, S. (2014). Nursing Inquiry, 21(4), 270–282.
24. Brennan, D. J., Asakura, K., George, C., Newman, P. A., Giwa, S., Hart, T. A., Souleymanov, R., & Betancourt, G. (2013). Body Image, 10(1), 389–398.
25. Greensmith, C., & Giwa, S. (2013). American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 37(2), 129–148.
26. Knott, T., & Giwa, S. (2012). Residential Treatment for Children and Youth, 29(3), 219–230.
27. Giwa, S., & Greensmith, C. (2012). Journal of Homosexuality, 59(2), 149–185.
Accepted or Published Refereed Book Chapters
*Denotes current or former student
1. Adjei, P. B., Mullings, D. V., & Giwa, S. (accepted). Using critical race and anti-colonial theories to reframe the conversation on youth violence in Toronto. In R. Bromwich, A. Bailey, & T. Harrison (Eds.), Gun violence and gun control: Critical engagements. Bradford, ON: Demeter Press.
2. Giwa, S., & *Bagg, L. (accepted). Applying critical race theory to understanding of antecedent risk factors for gang involvement and desistance among young Black men. In S. S. Shaikh, B. A. LeFrançois, & T. Macias (Eds.), Social work theory and practice. Black Point, NS: Fernwood Publishing.
3. Mullings, D. V., Clarke, J., Giwa, S., Bernard, W. T., & Este, D. (2021). A foundation for the social work profession. In Mullings, D. V., Clarke, J., Bernard, W. T., Este, D., & Giwa, S. (Eds.), Africentric social work (pp. 1–25). Black Point, NS: Fernwood Publishing.
4. Clarke, J., Mullings, D. V., Bernard, W. T., Este, D., & Giwa, S. (2021). In our own words: This is the beginning. In Mullings, D. V., Clarke, J., Bernard, W. T., Este, D., & Giwa, S. (Eds.), Africentric social work (pp. 28–43). Black Point, NS: Fernwood Publishing.
5. Mullings, D. V., Giwa, S., & Adam, A. (2021). Black Caribbean Canadian elders. In Mullings, D. V., Clarke, J., Bernard, W. T., Este, D., & Giwa, S. (Eds.), Africentric social work (pp. 160–183). Black Point, NS: Fernwood Publishing.
6. Clarke, J., Mullings, D. V., & Giwa, S. (2021). Black lives under lockdown: COVID-19 and racial injustice converge. In Mullings, D. V., Clarke, J., Bernard, W. T., Este, D., & Giwa, S. (Eds.), Africentric social work (pp. 285–319). Black Point, NS: Fernwood Publishing.
7. Mullings, D. V., Giwa, S., Clarke, J., Bernard, W. T., Este, D., Quelleng, H. K., Gyamfowa, A., & Hay, A.-M. (2021). Epilogue: In conversation—this is not the end. In Mullings, D. V., Clarke, J., Bernard, W. T., Este, D., & Giwa, S. (Eds.), Africentric social work (pp. 320–346). Black Point, NS: Fernwood Publishing.
8. Giwa, S., Norsah, K., & Chaze, F. (2020). Navigating the spaces between racial/ethnic and sexual orientation: Black gay immigrants’ experiences of racism and homophobia in Montréal, Canada. In J. G. Smith & C. W. Han (Eds.), Home and community for queer men of color: The intersection of race and sexuality (pp. 107–148). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefield.
9. Giwa, S. (2018). Coping with racism and racial trauma: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of how gay men from the African diaspora experience and negotiate racist encounters. In D. W. Riggs (Ed.), The psychic life of racism in gay men’s communities (pp. 81–103). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefield.
10. Pon, G., Giwa, S., & Razack, N. (2016). Foundations of anti-racism and anti-oppression in social work practice. In A. Al-Krenawi, J. R. Graham, & N. Habibov (Eds.), Diversity and social work in Canada (pp. 38–58). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
Major Encyclopedia Articles
*Denotes current or former student
1. Giwa, S. (2014). Social work practice and people of color. In L. H. Cousins (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human Services and Diversity (Vols. 1-3, pp. 1230–1234). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
2. Giwa, S., & *Boyd, K. (2014). Discrimination/institutional racism. In L. H. Cousins (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human Services and Diversity (Vols. 1-3, pp. 383–387). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Technical Reports and Evaluations
*Denotes current or former student
1. Giwa, S., Craig, A., *Warren, A. P., & Byrnes, B. (2021). LGBTQI2S+ housing and senior care. Final report. St. John’s, NL: Gray Gays NL.
2. Giwa, S., Craig, A., Byrnes, B., & *Warren, A. P. (2021). LGBTQI2S+ housing and senior care. Progress report. St. John’s, NL: Gray Gays NL.
3. Giwa, S., & Jackman, M. C. (2020). Missing persons investigation and police interaction with racialized people who identify as LGBTQ2S+. Independent Civilian Review into Missing Person Investigations. Toronto, ON: Toronto Police Services Board.
4. Giwa, S., *Carlson-Strain, M., & Mullings, D. V. (2019). Settlement experiences of racialized lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender immigrants and refugees in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador: How do settlement agencies measure up? Final report. St. John’s, NL: The Office of Public Engagement, 91´«Ã½.
5. Giwa, S. (2018). Workplace diversity: Promoting the inclusion of LGBT police officers in Atlantic Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and the Republic of Ireland. Dobbin Atlantic Scholar Report. Dublin, ROI: Ireland Canada University Foundation.
6. Giwa, S., Brunet, N., Chipman, C. W., & Semerad, D. (2018). Restoring confidence in pride: The way forward. St. John’s, NL: St. John’s Pride Inc.
7. Giwa, S. (2016). Forces for change: Exploring multicultural community leaders’ perspectives on Ottawa’s gang violence. A discussion forum summary report prepared for Crime Prevention Ottawa. Ottawa, ON: Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization.
8. Giwa, S. (2010). Ontario Black gay men’s summit—cultures of sexuality and Black men’s health: Summit summary and outcomes. A report prepared for the African and Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario (ACCHO), Toronto, ON.
9. Giwa, S. (2008). Community policing—a shared responsibility: Final project report & evaluation. A report prepared for the Department of Canadian Heritage, Multiculturalism Program. Ottawa, ON: South-East Ottawa Community Health Centre.
10. Giwa, S., Pepper, D., & White, V. (2008). Community policing—a shared responsibility project: A focus on police-minority relations in Ottawa. A report prepared for the Ottawa Police Services Board. Ottawa, ON: Ottawa Police Service.
11. Giwa, S., Sethi, A., Smith, B., & Wabano, M. (2006). Reconciliation—looking back, reaching forward: Indigenous peoples and child welfare. A research project for the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada (FNCFCSC). Ottawa, ON: Carleton University.
12. Conners, D. E., & Giwa, S. (2005). Ottawa Police Liaison Committee for the LGBT Communities: Report on the Community Mobilization Scorecard. Ottawa, ON: Ottawa Police Service.
Professional and Popular Writings
*Denotes current or former student
1. Giwa, S. (2021, July 24).
2. Giwa, S. (2021, June 19).
3. Giwa, S., & Simpson, J. (2020, September 10).
4. Giwa, S. (2020, September 3).
5. Giwa, S. (2018, September 1).
6. Giwa, S., *Gathercole, L., *Gellately, K., & *Pardy, A. (2018, July 1). Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Social Workers. Connecting Voices, 2018, pp. 14 & 21.
7. Giwa, S. (2018, May 27). Reprinted in the National Post, Toronto.com, Canadian Immigrant, and many others.
8. Giwa, S. (2018, April 30). The article featured on the cover of the May print edition.
9. Giwa, S. (2018, April 18). Reprinted in the National Post, Halifax Chronicle Herald, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Indigenous Lands & Resources Today, and many others.
10. Giwa, S. (2017, July 20).
11. Giwa, S. (2017, April 11).
12. Giwa, S. (2017, January 9).
13. Giwa, S. (2016, October 1).
14. Giwa, S. (2016, September 1).
15. Giwa, S. (2016, March 22). Ottawa Citizen.
16. Giwa, S. (2015, June 16).
17. Giwa, S. (2015, May 14).
18. Giwa, S. (2014, February 21). Ottawa Citizen, p. B5.
19. Giwa, S. (2013, October 2). Police discreditable conduct: Legislative change needed. Available at socialjusticejournal.org/police-discreditable-conduct-legislative-change-needed/
20. Giwa, S. (2013, July 17).
21. Giwa, S. (2013, April 3).
22. Giwa, S. (2011, January 5).
23. Giwa, S. (2010, November 15).
24. Giwa, S. (2010, October 27). Excalibur, p. 8.
25. Giwa, S. (2009, April). Refugee claims based on sexual orientation discrimination. FOCALPoint: Canada’s Spotlight on the Americas, 8, 14–15.