Synnøve Jahnsen is a researcher at Fafo, Institute for Labour and Social Research, and holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Bergen. Her research is situated at the intersection of labour, migration and welfare, with a particular focus on how complex social problems are defined, regulated and addressed in policy, public administration and service provision.

Jahnsen has published on topics including prostitution policy, human trafficking, labour exploitation, work-related crime, organised crime, violence and neglect. She is particularly concerned with the relationship between regulation, control and rights, and with how emerging problem definitions shape prevention, enforcement and access to protection and assistance. Her work combines qualitative methods, institutional analysis and policy research, and is often oriented towards issues of high relevance for policymakers and practitioners.

She leads the Research Council of Norway–funded project Provision of Labour Rights to Migrant Workers (PROMI), supported through the FRIPRO Young Research Talents scheme. The project examines how migrant workers’ rights are safeguarded in the context of intensified efforts to combat social dumping, labour exploitation, human trafficking and work-related crime.

In addition, she leads a larger research portfolio funded by the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufdir) on violence, abuse, hate and discrimination. Within this portfolio, she leads work aimed at developing knowledge bases for more equitable and effective services, as well as synthesis work on violence prevention and service development targeted at authorities and practitioners. She also leads a project on violence against older people with immigrant backgrounds, examining how violence, abuse and neglect affect this group and how services respond to their needs.