Rannveig Traustadóttir is Professor and Director of the Centre for Disability Studies in the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at the University of Iceland. She holds a PhD in Disability Studies and a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies. She has a long standing experience in research in the field of disability and one of her expertise is the intersection of gender and disability. Other interests include qualitative research methods and human rights. She has been a visiting professor at many international universities and is a member of various professional bodies including the Nordic Network on Disability Research (NNDR), the Society for Disability Studies (SDS), and the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability (IASSID). Dr. Traustadóttir also published thirteen books and numerous scientific articles focusing on disability, gender, families, multiculturalism, marginal groups, and poverty. Recently she has focused on disability and human rights in relation to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN-CRPD). She has taken part in many international projects and managed numerous grants and research projects.

Hrafnhildur Snæfríðar- og Gunnarsdóttir holds a Master degree in Gender Studies and diplomas in sociology and social science research methods as well as a Bachelor degree in science in nursing. She is working in the Centre for Disability Studies and The Social Science Research Institute and participated in several studies that focus on the lives and experiences of disabled persons. One of these studies was a qualitative research about violence against women with disabilities, where the aim was to uncover and understand the multifarious and complicated violence disabled women face.