Bev Lawton

Beverley-Anne Lawton (née Singe) is a New Zealand academic and full professor at Victoria University of Wellington, specialising in women's health, particularly maternal health and cervical cancer prevention.

Early life and education Lawton is Māori, of Ngāti Porou descent, and grew up in a bicultural family in Wellington. She initially wanted to join the police but did not meet the height requirements, and instead trained as a GP. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Victoria University of Wellington in 1978 and subsequently studied medicine at the University of Otago, graduating MB ChB in 1983.

Career Lawton worked as a general practitioner in Newtown for seventeen years, where, prompted by a lack of support for menopausal women, she co-founded the Wellington Women's Menopause Clinic. She published a guide to the menopause in 2013. Lawton has also worked to improve coordination of maternal healthcare and wraparound services, addressing issues such as transport, immunisation, power and oral health.

Lawton joined the faculty of the University of Otago, Wellington, and then later transferred to Victoria University of Wellington, rising to full professor.

Lawton is an advocate for self-screening for HPV for cervical cancer prevention. Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of death in Māori women, and yet research had shown that Māori and Pasifika women were less likely to have smear tests. This means self-testing for HPV is an accessibility and equity issue, with Lawton's research showing that under-screened or never-screened Māori women were more than three times as likely to self-test than get a Pap test.

Honours and awards Lawton was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2004 New Year Honours, for services to women's health. In 2017, she was made a Distinguished Fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners.

In 2020, Lawton was awarded the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Māori Women's Health Award.

In 2023, Lawton was awarded the Royal Society Te Apārangi's Beaven Medal, which is awarded for excellence in translational health research.

In the 2026 New Year Honours, Lawton was promoted to Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to women's health.

Selected works