Violence against Women

Sexual violence is a significant criminal justice problem with long-term effects for its victims. In particular, sexual assault on or related to college campuses across the United States presents a growing public health and economic burden, starting with significant impacts on academic outcomes.

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.

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.

This webinar presents preliminary findings from a secondary data analysis study using the Haven Online Campus Sexual Assault Prevention program data. The scope and scale of the data used in this study allow for the examination and generalization of findings across contexts and behaviors and may help identify student populations in greatest need of services and resources.

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.

Objectives:

What is evidence-based research? Why is it important to measure program activities and impacts and what are some strategies to do so? How can research be used to support engagement and empowerment for historically marginalized and underserved communities? Find answers in an recorded discussion moderated by Linda A. Seabrook, Senior Counsel for Racial Justice & Equity for OJP, with a panel of distinguished experts in the field.