Sarah read Law at the Flinders University of South Australia and completed a Masters in International Studies before becoming a DPhil Candidate in Law at University of Oxford in 2007, where she examined the impact of United States' anti-human trafficking laws on men.

In particular, her research considers the interaction between law, victim-hood and gender, with a specific focus on masculinities and cross-border crime. Her other areas of interest are Administrative Law, Criminology, Human Rights and Health, International Criminal Law, International Relations Theory, and Jurisprudence (with a focus in gender theories). She has worked as a lecturer and researcher in Australia and abroad in Criminology, Politics, Law, and International Relations.