Laya Behbahani is a Sessional Lecturer in Labour Studies at Simon Fraser University in Metro Vancouver, B.C. She completed her Masters at the School of Criminology at SFU and is currently a PhD student at the School of Communications. Her research focuses on the narrativization of forced labour and human trafficking experiences in the Middle East. In 2020, Laya was a scholar and fellow at the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.
Among her many professional activities, Laya previously worked at the Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, Austria. Laya is deeply active in her local community and she previously served as an advisor to the B.C. RCMP Commanding Officer.