Francesca CIMINO

Francesca Cimino is a post-doctoral researcher at Ca' Foscari University (Dpt. Philosophy and Cultural Heritage), and she holds an International Joint PhD in Human Rights, Society and Multi-level Governance from the University of Padua. Her research focuses on migration governance and the production of irregularity, with particular attention to return and readmission policies, non-returnability, administrative detention, access to rights and services, and the gendered effects of migration control. Her work also addresses human trafficking, labour exploitation and migrant vulnerabilities. She conducts primarily qualitative research, combining ethnographic and visual methods, interviews and policy analysis.

At Ca’ Foscari, she is a postdoctoral researcher within the Horizon Europe project MORE – Motivations, experiences and consequences of returns and readmissions policy: revealing and developing effective alternatives. Since 2026, she has also been a postdoctoral researcher within the Horizon Europe project YOU-DARE – Youth debunking the gendered Arguments of far-right extremism, at Smart Venice Research Institute.

Her research profile combines academic research with policy and practice. She is a Consultant in the Council of Europe Pool of Experts on Migration and Asylum, an External Expert on Human Rights and International Protection working with asylum commissions in Italy, and a member of the Advisory Board of the AMIF-TIES project at IRC Europe.

Current research
MORE – Motivations, experiences and consequences of returns and readmissions policy: revealing and developing effective alternatives
Horizon Europe | 2023–present | Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

Postdoctoral researcher in Sociology. Her work focuses on the implementation and consequences of European and Italian return and readmission policies, including the experiences of migrants at risk of return, non-returnable migrants and professionals working in the field. Her activities include qualitative fieldwork, comparative analysis, scientific dissemination and policy engagement.

YOU-DARE – Youth debunking the gendered Arguments of far-right extremism
Horizon Europe | 2026–present | Smart Venice Research Institute

Postdoctoral researcher contributing to research on the gendered dimensions of far-right extremism and the development of evidence-based approaches to counter extremist narratives among young people.

Policy and professional engagement
Alongside her academic work, Francesca Cimino has developed extensive experience at the intersection of research, public policy and professional practice.

2023–present – Consultant, Pool of Experts on Migration & Asylum, Council of Europe
She contributes expertise on migration, asylum and human rights, including training activities for public authorities.

2022–present – External Expert on Human Rights & International Protection, UNHCR–Asylum Commissions, Padua and Treviso

2025–present – Advisory Board Member, TIES – Transnational Initiative on Enhancing early (Self)Identification of Victims of labour exploitation and exploitation of criminal activities and forced criminality, International Rescue Committee Europe

Her previous professional experience includes work on anti-trafficking policies and services, labour exploitation, migrant social inclusion and social policy for the International Rescue Committee, Veneto Lavoro, Equality and Gruppo Polis.

Education
2017–2022 – International Joint PhD in Human Rights, Society and Multi-level Governance
Human Rights Centre, University of Padua
Thesis: The identification of women victims of trafficking within mixed migration flows

2019 – Visiting PhD researcher
Panteion University, Athens, Greece

2012–2015 – MA in Lifelong Education Sciences
University of Padua
Thesis: Facilitating resilience among asylum seekers through transformative learning

2007–2011 – MA in Interculturality and Social Citizenship – Social Work
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Thesis: One step to reception? Asylum seekers and refugees living in camps, local projects and occupied places

2004–2007 – BA in Education
University of Turin
Thesis: Migration detention centres: new total institutions?

Teaching and supervision
Her teaching activities cover migration policies, return and administrative detention, human trafficking, qualitative and visual research methods, human rights and gender-sensitive asylum procedures.

In 2025, she was supplementary lecturer in Qualitative and Visual Methods for Social Research at the University of Padua. She has also delivered university lectures at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, the University of Padua and the University of Ferrara, as well as professional and international training activities.

In 2026, as an international expert for the Council of Europe, she contributed to training for Moldovan authorities on integrating a gender perspective into asylum procedures.

At Ca’ Foscari, she has co-supervised BA and MA theses on return and readmission, non-returnability and human trafficking, and supervised research interns within the MORE project.

Selected recent publications
Cimino, F., Grasso, B. & Perocco, F. (2026). “In the quicksand: the suspended lives of non-returnable migrants in Italy.” Frontiers in Sociology, 11. DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2026.1897781.

Cimino, F. & Perocco, F. (2026). “The Rise of Return Policy as the Second Arm of Immigration Control: The Case of Italy.” Critical Sociology. DOI: 10.1177/089692052614719.

Cimino, F., Pascoal, R. & Perocco, F. (2026). “Editorial: Labour and health of undocumented migrant women: condition, trends and critical issues.” Frontiers in Human Dynamics, 8. DOI: 10.3389/fhumd.2026.1793110.

Degani, P. & Cimino, F. (2025). “Addressing Trafficking and Severe Exploitation in Italy under a human rights perspective: the role of Street-Level Workers at the Intersection between policy responses and the shifting patterns of the phenomenon.” Peace Human Rights Governance.

Cimino, F. & Degani, P. (2024). “On migrants’ identification issues in Italy: the case of trafficked women within mixed migration flows.” Journal of International Migration and Integration. DOI: 10.1007/s12134-024-01123-2.

Cimino, F. & Degani, P. (2020). “On the severe forms of labour exploitation of migrant women in Italy: an intersectional policy analysis.” Rivista Italiana di Politiche Pubbliche, 3, 337–369.

Forthcoming book chapters
Cimino, F. & Perocco, F. (2026). “The other side of immigration control. Italian Return Policy – Return Agreements 1998–2023.” In Unpacking the EU Return and Readmission Policy: Development, Implementation, Impact and Controversies Across Europe. Brill.

Cimino, F. (2026). “Performing Being a Refugee or a Victim of Human Trafficking? Italian Asylum System Pitfalls within a Promising Practice.” In Staging Injustice: Performance and Asylum Hearings. Palgrave Macmillan.

Selected invited presentations and policy engagement
2026 – Cross-border collaboration on anti-trafficking: lessons learned in Transnational Referrals and outlook on the EU Migration Pact
Invited presentation: The (new) Pact on Migration and Asylum: which consequences for victims of trafficking?

2025 – What is the impact of return policies on migrants and communities on the ground? Insights from the MORE research project
Invited presentation: Alternative policy approaches to returns: the situation of non-returnable third-country nationals in Italy.

2025 – S&D LIBE Event on Returns Policy, European Parliament, Brussels
Invited presentation: Alternative policy approaches to returns: the situation of non-returnable third-country nationals in Italy.

Her research has also been presented at international conferences including IMISCOE, ESA and the International Conference on Ethnography and Qualitative Research.

Editorial and scientific service
2025–present – Scientific Committee, Festival In Movimento, Venice
2024–present – Editorial Assistant, Inequalities – Journal of Critical Inequality Studies
2024–present – Review Editor, Frontiers in Sociology
2024–present – Review Editor, Frontiers in Human Dynamics

Awards and recognition
2026 – European Commission Seal of Excellence, Horizon Europe – Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

2025 – MIrreM Spring School bursary, Approaching Irregular Migration from a Quantitative Perspective: Data, Estimates, Methods, Krems, Austria

2020 – ECPR Winter School on Methods bursary, Bamberg, Germany

Academic profiles
ORCID: 0009-0002-8443-7375

Publications and additional research outputs are available through Ca’ Foscari’s institutional research profile and academic repositories.