Publications

Peer-reviewed work & preprints

The full list is available on Google Scholar and in my CV. Highlights below, grouped by year and type.

Work in progress & preprints
  • Ransomware Insurance
    Breig, Z., Mezzetti, C., & Vakhitova, Z. I.
    Working paper, University of Queensland.
  • Do Criminologists Read Each Other's Work? A Longitudinal Analysis of Cross-Citation Patterns, 1960–2025 Under review
    Vakhitova, Z. I.
  • Surviving the Label: The Impact of Terminology on Public Sympathy and Support for Crime-Affected Individuals Under review
    Vakhitova, Z. I.
  • The Geography of Criminologycal Knowledge
    Vakhitova, Z. I.
    Work in progress, 2026.
2026
  • Ransomware, Emotions, and the Decision to Pay: Evidence from a Factorial Experiment
    Vakhitova, Z. I. & Mezzetti, C.
    Crime and Delinquency.
  • The Commercialization of Ransomware: From Spray-and-Prey to Big Game Hunting to the Ransom Bazaar
    Gundur, R., Topali, V., Vakhitova, Z. I., Liu, H. K., Levi, M., Winter, C., & Baxter, A. L. A.
    Crime and Delinquency.
  • Does Routine Arming Increase Police Officer-Involved Shootings? Evidence from Australia (1970–2020)
    Hendy, R., & Vakhitova, Z. I.
    Police Quarterly.
    • Performance-enhancing drug use in sports: a Bayesian variable selection and profile regression approach to identifying risk factors and estimating prevalence
    Vakhitova, Z. I., Mezzetti, C., Alston-Knox, C., et al.
    Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 21(25).
    DOI
2025
  • Content Moderation and Community Standards: The Disconnect Between Policy and User Experiences Reporting Harmful and Offensive Content on Social Media
    Flynn, A., Vakhitova, Z. I., Wheildon, L., Harris, B., & Robards, B.
    Policy & Internet, 17(3), e70006.
    DOI
  • Comparing Police Officers' and Domestic Violence Victims' Perspectives on Body-Worn Cameras
    Vakhitova, Z. I., Iliadis, M., Flynn, A., Harris, B., & Tyson, D.
    Justice Quarterly, 1–35.
    DOI
2024
  • How police body-worn cameras can facilitate misidentification in domestic and family violence responses
    Iliadis, M., Harris, B., Vakhitova, Z. I., Woodlock, D., Flynn, A., & Tyson, D.
    Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, 684, 1–15.
  • Examining cybercrime victimisation among Turkish women using routine activity theory
    Özaşçılar, M., Çalıcı, C., & Vakhitova, Z. I.
    Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 26, 112–128.
    DOI
  • Exploring the value of holiday preferences and routine activities for understanding tourist victimisation while on holiday
    Vakhitova, Z. I., Mawby, R. I., & Helps, N.
    Security Journal.
    DOI
2023
  • Online Routine Activities and Self-Guardianship against Cyber Abuse
    Vakhitova, Z. I., Alston-Knox, C. L., & Mawby, R. I.
    Victims & Offenders, 18(4), 623–645.
    DOI
  • The merits and risks of body-worn camera footage in domestic and family violence incidents and legal proceedings: a study of police perceptions and experiences
    Vakhitova, Z. I., Iliadis, M., Harris, B., Tyson, D., & Flynn, A.
    Policing and Society, 33(2), 170–186.  Outstanding Policing Research prize (ANZSOC).
    DOI
  • Tourism and Crime: An Exploratory Study of Burglary From Tourist Accommodation From the Criminal Opportunity Perspective
    Vakhitova, Z. I., Mawby, R. I., Helps, N., & Alston-Knox, C. L.
    Crime & Delinquency, 69(11), 2164–2193.
    DOI
  • Guardians Against Cyber Abuse: Who are They and Why do They Intervene?
    Vakhitova, Z. I., Go, A., & Alston-Knox, C. L.
    American Journal of Criminal Justice, 48, 96–122.
    DOI
2022
  • Explaining Victim Impact from Cyber Abuse: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Analysis
    Vakhitova, Z. I., Alston-Knox, C. L., Reeves, E., & Mawby, R. I.
    Deviant Behavior, 43(10), 1153–1172.
    DOI
2020
  • The Effect of a Food Addiction Explanation Model for Weight Control and Obesity on Weight Stigma
    O'Brien, K. S., Puhl, R. M., Latner, J. D., Lynott, D., Reid, J. D., Vakhitova, Z. I., Hunter, J. A., Scarf, D., Jeanes, R., Bouguettaya, A., & Carter, A.
    Nutrients, 12(2).
    DOI
  • To SPB or not to SPB? A mixed methods analysis of self-protective behaviours to prevent repeat victimisation from cyber abuse
    Vakhitova, Z. I., Mawby, R. I., Alston-Knox, C. L., et al.
    Crime Science, 9, 24.
    DOI
2018
  • Changing perspectives on guardianship against crime: an examination of the importance of micro-level factors
    Reynald, D. M., Moir, E., Cook, A., & Vakhitova, Z. I.
    Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 20, 268–283.
    DOI
  • Non-significant p-values? Strategies to understand and better determine the importance of effects and interactions in logistic regression
    Vakhitova, Z. I., & Alston-Knox, C. L.
    PLoS ONE, 13(11), 1–32.
    DOI
  • A script analysis of the role of athletes' support networks as social facilitators in doping in sport
    Vakhitova, Z. I., & Bell, P. J.
    Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 20, 168–188.
    DOI
  • Offender–victim relationship and offender motivation in the context of indirect cyber abuse: A mixed-method exploratory analysis
    Vakhitova, Z. I., Webster, J., Alston-Knox, C., Reynald, D., & Townsley, M.
    International Review of Victimology, 24(3), 347–366.
    DOI
2016
  • Right-wing extremism in Australia: the rise of the new radical right
    Dean, G., Bell, P. J., & Vakhitova, Z. I.
    Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, 11(2), 121–142.
    DOI
  • Toward the Adaptation of Routine Activity and Lifestyle Exposure Theories to Account for Cyber Abuse Victimization
    Vakhitova, Z. I., Reynald, D. M., & Townsley, M.
    Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 32(2), 169–188.
    DOI
2014
  • Australian internet users and guardianship against cyber abuse: An empirical analysis
    Vakhitova, Z. I., & Reynald, D. M.
    International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 8(2), 156–171.

Book chapters

  • Cyber Routine Activity Theory In press
    Vakhitova, Z. I.
    In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Oxford University Press, 2024.
  • Tourism and Crime
    Vakhitova, Z. I., Mawby, R., & Özaşçılar, M.
    In V. Ratten (Ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Business Management. Elsevier, 2024.
    DOI
  • Researching the Relationship Between Tourism, Crime and Security: The Tourism Industry and the Disenfranchised Citizens
    Mawby, R. I., & Vakhitova, Z. I.
    In M. Gill (Ed.), The Handbook of Security (pp. 581–601). Springer, 2022.
    DOI
  • Police Body-Worn Cameras in Response to Domestic and Family Violence: A Study of Police Perceptions and Experiences
    Iliadis, M., Vakhitova, Z. I., Harris, B., Tyson, D., & Flynn, A.
    In A. Powell, A. Flynn, & L. Sugiura (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Gendered Violence and Technology (pp. 417–439). Springer, 2021.
    DOI
  • Research Methods
    Bell, P., Dean, G., Vakhitova, Z. I., & Ransley, J.
    In L. A. Kihl (Ed.), Corruption in Sport (Ch. 12, pp. 240–257). Routledge, 2018.
    DOI

Selected technical reports

  • Police body-worn cameras and domestic and family violence: An evaluation of use in Australia
    Iliadis, M., Harris, B., Vakhitova, Z. I., Woodlock, D., Flynn, A., & Tyson, D.
    Criminology Research Grant No. 35/20-21. Australian Institute of Criminology, 2024.
  • Australian Users' Experiences with Control Features on Social Media Services and Online Dating Apps
    Flynn, A., Wheildon, L., Robards, B., Vakhitova, Z. I., & Harris, B.
    Final Report, Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, 2023.
  • Review of the Fast-Tracking Initiative in the Magistrates' Courts of Victoria
    Meyer, S., Pfitzner, N., Bartlett, T., Vakhitova, Z. I., Fitz-Gibbon, K., & O'Brien, K.
    Final report & summary report, 2019.

A full list of reports and invited talks is available in my CV.