Lorleen Farrugia PhD, C.Psychol
CONTACT INFORMATION
Phone number: -; -
Email:-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorleenfarrugia/
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
Lorleen Farrugia is a consultant and researcher with over 10 years of experience in child protection
and online safety. Strong background in academia and international research projects.
Demonstrated expertise in evidence-based interventions, advocacy, project management,
monitoring, and evaluation. Collaborated effectively with renowned international organizations such
as Trilateral Research, PLAN International UK, ChildFund Alliance, and Child Helpline
International. Strong commitment to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of children and
youth.
CONSULTING EXPERIENCE
Missing Children Europe, Belgium
Research Consultant – Accessibility of 116000 Hotlines (Fully remote)
March 2024 – present date
Conducting research to support Missing Children Europe in strengthening access to the 116000
hotlines and in improving accessibility of their services for all users. Conducting desk research and
consultations with members to develop standards and criteria related to the accessibility of hotlines
together with tools and activities that hotlines can implement to develop accessibility.
Child Helpline International (CHI), Amsterdam
Research Consultant - Children’s Voices Ukraine Phase 3 (Fully remote)
February 2024 – present date
Consulting on the methodology of the Children’s Voices Ukraine Phase 3 aimed at investigating
the accessibility of child helplines for children from Ukraine in Ukraine’s neighbouring countries.
Creating an online survey tailored for children and young people. Offering feedback and insights on
the tools used and the data analysis process.
Family Empowerment Media
Social Psychology Consultant (Fully remote)
October 2023 – present date
Reviewing and providing feedback about radio content focusing on social and behavioural change
related to family planning intentions, improving agency and maternal and child health in Nigeria.
Trilateral Research
Consultant – Project Monitoring Officer (Fully remote)
March 2023 – present date
Monitoring Officer for the Consortium Contre l’Esclavage Moderne project funded by the UK Home
Office on strengthening social norms around non-use of modern slavery in the DRC.
PLAN International UK, United Kingdom
Consultant - Monitoring + Evaluation for Girls’ Rights Collective UK & Wales (Fully remote)
November 2023 – June 2024
Evaluating the purpose, outputs, outcomes and impact of the Girls’ Rights Collective UK and
Wales. Designing an evaluation framework, using mixed methodology and conducting periodic
evaluations, including data collection, analysis and interpretation.
Child Helpline International (CHI), Amsterdam
Research Consultant - Core Quality Standards Best Practices (Fully remote)
September 2023 – December 2023
Qualitative Researcher investigating child helpline practitioners’ insights, experiences, and
perspectives on a set identified practices for the different Core Quality Standards, and to gather
their feedback on the relevance and effectiveness of these practices in real-world settings.
Contributions: Conducted focus groups with 17 Child Helpline International member helplines
worldwide to discuss 3 core quality standards with the aim of evaluating the proposed list of best
practices. Analysed the qualitative data. Authored a report for each of the three core quality
standards and developed recommendations for the development of the best-practices based on
the findings. Contributing to CHI’s Learning and Knowledge Team to develop learning materials
based on these best practices.
ChildFund Alliance
Consultant - Development of Online Safety Advocacy Toolkit (Fully remote)
November 2022 – June 2023
Development of an Advocacy Toolkit for the WEB Safe and Wise campaign on online safety. The
toolkit aims to provide a practice and accessible approach to national advocacy under the auspices
of the campaign.
Contributions: Carried out a needs assessment exercise with ChildFund Alliance members using
surveys and focus group discussions to identify their advocacy needs. Developed a draft toolkit
outline and presented it to ChildFund Alliance and its members for feedback. Developed a modular
toolkit based on the evidence collected and evidence available. Presented the toolkit during the
Safer Internet Day events. Developed and conducted capability building sessions based on the
toolkit for the ChildFund Alliance members and its Advocacy Task Force.
Child Helpline International (CHI), Amsterdam
Research Consultant - Further Development of Core Quality Standards (Fully remote)
July 2022 – December 2023
In-depth qualitative research with CHI members based on the nine Core Quality Standards to
identify areas of good practice and obstacles faced by child helplines in ensuring quality standards.
Contributions: Conducted focus groups with 20 Child Helpline International member helplines
worldwide to discuss 3 core quality standards with the aim of investigating their understanding of
each and identifying areas of good practice and obstacles faced in attaining these quality
standards. Analysed the qualitative data. Authored a report for each of the three core quality
standard and developed recommendations for practice based on the findings. Contributing to CHI’s
Learning and Knowledge Team.
Talk2U, Brazil
Consultant - Development of Interventions for Emotional and Digital Literacy (Fully remote)
September 2022 – November 2022
Development of evidence-based interventions and behavioural change strategies to foster digital
and emotional literacy for a project addressing online hate speech funded through the UNICEF
Innovation Fund.
Contributions: Developed three evidence-based interventions focusing on strategic silence, coping
mechanisms, and counter speech as part of the ‘If I Was’ ChatStory experience for young people
targeting hate speech. Reviewed relevant literature and applied the findings to the behavioural
interventions. Delivered training focused on ‘Creating Interventions Based on Scientific Literature
and Behaviour Change Strategies’ to the team.
Child Helpline International (CHI), Amsterdam
Research Consultant – Child Helplines Core Quality Standards Audit Baseline (Fully
remote)
October 2021 – May 2022
Evaluating the feasibility and robustness of the recently revised Core Quality Standards
Framework for Child Helplines to establish a baseline value for audit purposes.
Contributions: Planned, executed, and supervised the research project. Tested the Core Quality
Standards Framework for Child Helplines with a selection of 30+ child helplines worldwide.
Evaluated the framework with the participating helplines and produced a methodological report
based on this evaluation.
Jesuit Refugee Services, Malta
Researcher – Safeguarding of young asylum seekers (Fully remote)
September 2021 – May 2022
Research on youth transitions and young asylum seekers living in Malta, as part of the project
‘Access to Protection’ funded by the Fondation Assistance International - FAI to provide
recommendations for the safeguarding of minor asylum seekers.
Contributions: Organised and conducted the data collection. Carried out the thematic data
analysis. Co-authored the study report for publication.
Child Helpline International (CHI), Amsterdam
Research Consultant – Impact Assessment of Child Helpline Services (Fully remote)
July 2021 – Jan 2022
Assess how European child helplines measure user satisfaction and the impact of their services to
identify best practices and suggest how impact assessment can be further developed.
Contributions: Conducted mixed methods research. Carried out a survey and interviews with the
participating child helplines. Analysed the data. Authored the final report based on the findings.
University of Malta, Malta
Researcher – University of Malta Graduates’ Tracking Study
November 2021 – December 2022
Graduate Tracking Study according to the framework of the European Graduate Tracking Initiative.
The study is carried out on behalf of the University of Malta (UM) and in collaboration with the
Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA). It tracks the career outcome of graduates,
investigates their labour market integration and participation in further education and training. The
reports are then used to strengthen the career guidance practices, educational planning, and
contribute to policy development.
Contributions: Engaged with MFHEA and other Higher Education Institutions. Implemented the
study design according to EU guidelines. Coordinated the data collection through the Students’
Information Management Office.
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
University of Malta, Malta
Lecturer – Department of Psychology, Faculty for Social Wellbeing
October 2023 – Present
Lecturer in Research Methods, Qualitative Research, Social Psychology, Critical Psychology,
Children, Youth and the Media courses.
Dissertation Supervisor
Erasmus+ Coordinator
EU Kids Online
Researcher – EU Kids Online III & IV
October 2009 – Present
The network conducts ongoing research and produces several reports aimed at creating
awareness about children’s risks and opportunities online and to inform stakeholders and policy
makers about safeguarding and protecting children.
Contributions: Participating in international project coordination meetings. Discussing and
evaluating the proposed methodology. Coordinating the Maltese leg of qualitative and quantitative
data collection. Analysing the data collected for Malta. Co-authoring the national reports.
Contributing to the network’s global, technical, and thematic reports.
University of Malta, Malta
Contract Lecturer – Department of Psychology; Department of Youth Studies
October 2008 – September 2023
Lecturer in Research Methods, Qualitative Research, Social Psychology, Critical Psychology,
Children, Youth and the Media courses.
Supervisor of over 30 dissertations.
University of Malta, Malta
October 2017 – November 2021 Student Advisor, Student Advisory Services
September 2007 – October 2016 Intake Officer, Counselling Unit
January 2004 – August 2007 Executive Officer, Department of Management
Full professional experience, published papers, conference presentations, and selected reports
available upon request.
EDUCATION
PhD in Psychology
Master in Youth and Community Studies
Bachelor of Psychology (Hons).
AFFILIATIONS
Chartered Psychologist – British Psychological Society (Membership Number 707245)
Member – Social Research Association
Board Member Besmartonline! – Maltese Safer Internet Centre Advisory Board.
Reviewer – SAGE Journal of Adolescent Research; Quality and Quantity; Routledge Companion to
Digital Media; ECREA Conferences 2016, 2020, 2022; Media and Communications.
LANGUAGES
English & Maltese: Native
Italian: Professional Proficiency
French: Intermediate knowledge
Spanish & Portuguese: Rudimentary knowledge
SKILLS
Research, Study Design, Qualitative Studies, Focus Groups Facilitator, Interviewer, IPA, Thematic
analysis, Quantitative Studies, Questionnaire development, Data collection, Data analysis,
Covariate analysis, Latent Class Analysis, Systematic Review, Impact Assessment, Quality
Assurance.
NVIVO, SPSS, Qualtrics, Refworks, Microsoft Office Suite, Office 365, SharePoint, Google Suite,
Dropbox, Zoom, Trello, Information Management Systems (IMS), Content Management Systems
(CMS), Basic Power BI, Basic Photoshop.
INTERESTS & VOLUNTEERING
Photography, Youth Work, Theatre, and musical performances.
Founding member of the Strummin’ Foundation aimed at engaging young people through musical
outreach and to empower and help them develop their talents and skills.
