Dr Senuri Wijenayake

Dr Senuri Wijenayake is a Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA Fellow in the School of Computing Technologies at RMIT University. Her research explores what Safety by Design for social media could look like from the perspective of women, gender-diverse people and other underrepresented communities who are disproportionately targeted by online harm. She examines the strengths and limitations of current social media safety features, co-designs alternatives with affected users to bring their perspectives into the process, and identifies the design and policy changes needed to make these alternatives a reality.

As a 2024 ACCAN Independent Grants Program recipient, Dr Wijenayake led the project behind the national report Design and Policy Recommendations for Social Media Safety of Women and Gender-Diverse People in Australia. The report sets out practical recommendations for platforms and policymakers, and has attracted significant media attention amid ongoing discussions about Australia’s proposed Digital Duty of Care. Through her DECRA project, “Protecting Australia from Online Abuse,” she is extending this work across Australia and the UK in partnership with the Centre for Protecting Women Online at The Open University.