Dr. Rusenko is an expert on the transhistorical role of public policy in producing and maintaining structural inequalities, particularly as relates to poverty and homelessness in Japan and Malaysia. In her academic research, she employs historical and ethnographic methods to investigate the development, implementation, and street-level impacts of historical and contemporary policies across multiple fields including housing, employment, welfare, policing, identification, urban planning, and property rights. She has 14 years of fieldwork experience in Japan and 5 years of fieldwork experience in Malaysia.
Addiction/drugs/drug policy, Caste discrimination or persecution, Climate-related issues, Deportees/criminal deportees, Disability, Document Authentication, Ethnic discrimination or persecution, Gang-related violence/non-state actors, Gender-based violence/domestic violence, Healthcare access/health systems capacity, HIV/AIDS, Journalist persecution, LGBTQ, Likelihood of destitution or homelessness, Mental illness, Religious discrimination or persecution, Sexual abuse/assault, Tribal discrimination or persecution
I assisted asylum seekers in Japan as they put together their applications while working at Asian People's Friendship Society, a Tokyo-based NGO, between 2006 and 2011. I have also interviewed and otherwise engaged with unhoused refugees and asylum seekers while doing research on homelessness in Japan and Malaysia between 2011 to present.