Mónica Sofia Ferreira Sousa holds a degree in Anthropology from the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at Universidade Nova de Lisboa (2011–2014), focusing on the field of criminal and forensic sciences. Currently, she is pursuing her PhD in Criminology at the Faculty of Law, University of Porto, where the research focuses on the governance of security at the local level, analyzing the perspectives and implementation practices of social actors responsible for public safety within municipals. Professionally, at the moment, she is a Superior Technician in the Department of Municipal Police in Olhão and previously, she used to work as a Victim Support Specialist with the Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV), in particular, with victims of human trafficking.