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Domestic violence

Can Science Enhance Equity? Findings and Implications From a Study To Detect Bruising on Victims with Dark Skin Pigmentation

August 2023

This plenary panel from the 2023 NIJ Research Conference features fascinating research on a methodology to improve the detection and documentation of bruises on victims of violence who have dark skin pigmentation. This study highlights the intersection between science, justice, and racial equity, featuring practitioner and victims’ advocacy perspectives. The discussion describes the research and its findings and explore strategies to ensure that this particular evidence-based methodology can be widely implemented by nurse practitioners in the field.

Participants:

Embodying Evidence to Action: Tracking the Impact of Three Key NIJ Research Investments; Opening Plenary of the 2023 NIJ Research Conference

August 2023

This plenary featured three significant areas of NIJ research investment that have had a tremendous impact on both the research community and the field of practice: advances in forensic DNA, police body armor standards, and place-based analyses of public safety. Each topic was explored by a collection of people representing the researcher, practitioner, policymaker, and advocacy perspectives, exploring how evidence generation resulted in changes that improved public safety and yielded more equitable criminal justice outcomes.

2023 NIJ Research Conference Opening Ceremony

August 2023

The theme of NIJ’s 2023 Research Conference was “evidence to action,” and our goal was to bring researchers and practitioners together to learn about the latest research evidence and how it can be implemented to promote safety, equity, and justice.

The opening ceremony included remarks from U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs Amy Solomon, and NIJ Director Nancy La Vigne.

Redefining Trauma-Informed Assessments for Teen Dating Violence: An Introduction to the VIP Study

February 2022

Mandates for risk assessment protocols to be trauma-informed are now common across juvenile justice and school settings. However, there is little direction on how to best translate this mandate into evidence-based screening and assessment tools. This presentation will describe the theoretical model underpinning the Vulnerability, Impairment, and Promotive factors (VIP) Study, which seeks to offer an alternative to existing risk assessment approaches in vulnerable adolescents.

Increasing Rigorous Evaluation of Interventions to Reduce Gender-based Violence Victimization

March 2022

The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) and its re-authorizations mandated several research efforts that stimulated a dramatic enhancement to violence against women research supported by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). This legislation has supported federal, state, local, and private partners in implementing policies and programs and conducting research directly related to gender-based violence. However, questions remain about the effectiveness of those mandates. This brown bag will discuss the gaps and challenges to evaluating gender-based violence interventions.

Current State of Knowledge about Stalking and Gender-Based Violence: The Known, Unknown, and Yet To Be Known

February 2022

Nearly one in six of women experience stalking victimization at some point during their life, and most are stalked by someone who they know—typically current or former intimate partners. Given the escalation of violence and potential harm that an individual may commit while stalking someone, it is important to bring more attention to this issue. This brown-bag session highlights a panel of scholars to share what the field currently knows about stalking behaviors and victims, including a focus on intimate partner violence, non-partner relationships, and police response.

Economic Justice for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

October 2022
Financial abuse is a common strategy used by those who abuse to gain power and control. The first panelist will discuss how intimate partner violence intersects with economic justice. In the second panelist's presentation, intimate partner violence shelter approaches and housing policies will be addressed. The final panelist will discuss the impact of COVID-19 on economic security and survivors’ experiences of economic hardship.