Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Department of Applied Social Sciences 2025

Dr Carmen YAU is a distinguished scholar and practitioner in the field of social work, with a sustained commitment to advancing disability rights, inclusive research methodologies, and intersectional policy frameworks. A graduate of the Department of Applied Social Sciences at PolyU, Carmen has demonstrated academic excellence through her leadership as Lecturer in Social Work at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she serves as the Lead of the Wellbeing Research Unit.

Carmen’s impact extends beyond academia to global advocacy, having represented Hong Kong at the United Nations (UN) in 2022 and contributed to multiple non-governmental organisation (NGO) shadow reports on both the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Carmen’s scholarly contributions challenge conventional models by advancing an intersectional approach to disability, foregrounding gender, race, and power in both theory and practice. More specifically, her work focuses on disability-affirmative sex education, restorative justice in domestic and sexual violence, sex volunteering services, “crip” experience in kink and fetish, and radical professional practices.

Carmen is a multi-award-winning advocate in the community of the disabled. In 2024, Carmen won the Award of Disability Power 100 (Education & Research Category) as one of the 100 impactful disabled individuals in the United Kingdom. In 2021, she was nominated for the UN Women’s Rise and Raise Other Award as an acknowledgement of achievements that she has made supporting and inspiring women and girls all over the world. In 2020, She was the third-place winner in Tatler’s Hot List of “Sixteen Women Fighting for Fairness in Asia”.

In 2025, she has been awarded The King Charles III Coronation Medal, recognising her active contribution to the official coronation events in Westminster Abbey as well as processions and other officially recognised ceremonial Coronation events. Receiving this medal, Carmen remarked, is not only a personal milestone but also a celebration of collective efforts to create more equitable, inclusive, and welcoming public spaces. She said, “I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to APSS and PolyU for nurturing my journey as a disability researcher. Through the knowledge imparted and the invaluable research experiences offered, I have been empowered to champion accessibility with confidence and purpose. Thank you for laying the foundation that continues to guide my work and advocacy.”