Dr. Rusan Lateef

Assistant Professor

School of Social Work
St. John's College
Memorial University
St. John's, NL

Email: rlateef@mun.ca 

Dr. Rusan Lateef (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Memorial University. She holds a HBSc (Psychology Specialization) and Master of Social Work (Health and Mental Health Specialization) from the University of Toronto and a PhD in Social Work from McGill University. Her doctoral research focused on child sexual abuse, shame, and counseling using an intersectional approach and was funded by a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship - Doctoral Award. Subsequently, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Group for Research and Intervention on Children’s Social Adjustment (Le Groupe de recherche et d’intervention sur les adaptations sociales de l’enfance/GRISE), in the Department of Psychoeducation at the Université de Sherbrooke, focusing on child maltreatment and campus sexual violence among vulnerable groups, which was funded by a Fonds de recherche du Québec–Société et culture (FRQSC) postdoctoral scholarship. Prior to joining Memorial University, Dr. Lateef also served as the Associate Director of Sexual Violence Prevention at McMaster University, leading the development and implementation of the institutional sexual violence prevention and education plan.

Dr. Lateef’s current research program examines, through an intersectional lens, the shame, mental health, disclosure and recovery pathways, counselling experiences, and criminal legal system experiences of survivors of child sexual abuse and sexual violence from marginalized communities, with a particular focus on survivors from marginalized racial and ethnic groups. The goals of her research are to advance inclusive understandings of these issues, promotes anti-oppressive clinical practices, and highlight the role of oppression in systemic responses. Her commitment to these areas is evidenced by a growing body of scholarship, regular presentations at national and international research conferences, and invitations to present her research to helping professionals working with survivors of child sexual abuse, sexual violence, and/or gender-based violence.

Beyond her primary research program, Dr. Lateef contributes to collaborative research initiatives focused on (1) child maltreatment among children with intellectual disabilities; (2) the experiences of social work field instructors; (3) traumatic exposure among child protection professionals.

Dr. Lateef also serves on the International Survivor-Centered Advisory Committee for the Exodus Road – a global non-profit organization dedicated to combatting human trafficking – contributing to knowledge translation initiatives, training development, and informing global aftercare for survivors. She is expanding her research to include international human trafficking.

Dr. Lateef is currently accepting PhD students whose research aligns with her areas of scholarship and past clinical experience, including:

  • Sexual violence, child sexual abuse, child maltreatment
  • Intersectional and anti-oppression research
  • Mental health and clinical social work
  • Forensic social work practice

Selected Publications

Lateef, R., Dion, J., Tremblay, K., Daigneault, I., Hébert, M., Lemieux, A., & Paquette, G. (2026). Exploring the indirect pathways between service involvement, unmet service needs, parental distress, and the maltreatment of children with intellectual disabilities. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/20473869.2026.2733838

Lateef, R., Collin-Vézina, D., Alaggia, R., MacIntosh, H. (2026). An intersectional perspective on shame among women survivors of child sexual abuse from minoritized racial and ethnic groups. Women & Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1080/02703149.2026.2738889

Lateef, R., Collin-Vézina, D., MacIntosh, H., Alaggia, R. (2025). The influence of intersectionality on the counseling experiences of women survivors of child sexual abuse from minoritized racial and ethnic groups. Journal of Counseling Psychology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cou0000823

Lateef, R., Collin-Vézina, D., Alaggia, R., & MacIntosh, H. (2025). A scoping review of shame among child sexual abuse survivors across the lifespan: Findings and trends over three decades (1994–2024) and clinical implications. Traumatology. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000613

Boatswain-Kyte, A., & Lateef, R. (2024). Access and equity of legal support services for racialized survivors of sexual violence. Women and Criminal Justice, 35(1), 71–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/08974454.2024.2307893

Lateef, R., Alaggia, R. Collin-Vézina, D., McElvaney, R. (2023). The legacy of shame following childhood sexual abuse disclosures. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 32(2), 184-203. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2022.2159910

Lateef, R., Moloney, F., Ali, A, Jones, R. (2023). Shame among forensic and non-forensic patients and the impact of the social determinants of health: A pilot study. Journal of Forensic Psychology Research and Practice, 23(1), 92-111. https://doi.org/10.1080/24732850.2021.2016115

McElvaney, R., Lateef, R., Collin-Vézina, D., Alaggia, R., Simpson, M. (2021). Bringing shame out of the shadows: Identifying shame in child sexual abuse disclosure processes and implications for psychotherapy. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211037435

Lateef, R., & Jenney, A. (2021). Understanding sexually victimized male adolescents with sexually abusive behaviors: A narrative review and clinical implications. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 22(5), 1169-1180. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838020906558

 

See Google Scholar for full list of Dr. Lateef’s peer-reviewed publications.