Cluster Lead:
UCF’s Violence Against Women Cluster researchers work across the disciplines of education, social work, criminal justice, sociology and medicine to create knowledge to guide policymaking designed to reduce the experience and impact of violence toward women.
About 33 million women will experience violence in their lifetimes. In addition to physical, sexual, emotional injury and even death, the economic costs of violence against women in lost work productivity and healthcare services are as high as $12.6 billion in the United States.
Effectively impacting this social issue can save countless lives and billions of dollars.
To better understand the complexity of violence against women and create innovative responses that transcend any one discipline, the cluster studies it from an interdisciplinary approach that merges health, social welfare and social justice perspectives.
The cluster incorporates all of these fields to better understand violence against women and provide insight into preventing it. To support this vital program, please visit the UCF Foundation Preventing VAW.
UCF Colleges Involved with Violence Against Women (VAW) Research:
In The News
Research
New UCF Project Works to Help Keep Victims of Intimate Partner Violence Safe
The goal is to create a screening tool that can be used by student health services and beyond, including in college athletic training settings or…
Colleges & Campus
UCF Reach for the Stars 2023 Honorees Are Unleashing the Potential of People, Ideas
The researchers are working to improve how we respond to survivors of violence, promote positive healthcare, explore space, advance computing and enrich cultural understanding.
Colleges & Campus
UCF Podcast: Championing Against Violence
Bethany Backes, an assistant professor in the Violence Against Women faculty cluster who worked for the Department of Justice for more than 10 years, shares what…
Violence Against Women (VAW) Research
Projects
Publications
- ““See What We See”: Law Enforcement Perceptions on Using Cameras for Evidence Collection in Domestic Violence Cases”, Bethany Backes, Ph.D., Anna Wasim, Ph.D., Matthew Stephenson, Ph.D., Leila Wood, Ph.D., Victims & Offenders 18(6), 1148-1165: Jul, 2022
- “Utilization of Services at Community-based Intimate Partner Violence Agencies: Associations with Sociodemographic and Victimization Factors”, Bethany Backes, Ph.D., Morgan E. PettyJohn, Ph.D., Elizabeth Baumler, Ph.D., Barbie Brashear, Ph.D., Jeff R. Temple, Ph.D., Leila Wood, Ph.D., Journal of Family Violence 1-13: Oct, 2023
- ““The Subject Matter Should Be an Adequate Trigger Warning”: How and Why Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Use (and Don’t Use) Trigger Warnings”, Alison Cares, Ph.D., Lisa Growette Bostaph, Ph.D., Bonnie S. Fisher, Ph.D., Arelys Madero Hernandez, Ph.D., Shameika Daye, Ph.D., Journal of Criminal Justice Education: Oct, 2022
- “For or Against?: Criminal Justice and Criminology Faculty Attitudes toward Trigger Warnings”, Alison Cares, Ph.D., Arelys Madero Hernandez, Ph.D., Lisa Growette Bostaph, Ph.D., Bonnie S. Fisher, Ph.D., Journal of Criminal Justice Education 32(3), 302-322: Aug, 2021
- “Testing the Target Congruence Approach: Do Vulnerability, Gratifiability, and Antagonism Explain Cyberstalking Victimization Among Young Adults?”, Erica Fissel, Ph.D., Bonnie S. Fisher, Ph.D., Pamela Wilcox, Ph.D., Criminal Justice and Behavior 50(9), 1380-1404: Jun, 2023
- “Understanding the Impact of Intimate Partner Violence Type and Timing on Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Knowledge, Acceptability, Sexual Behavior, and Gender Roles Among Women of Color”, Karina Villalba, Ph.D., Michele Jean-Gilles, Ph.D., Rhonda Rosenberg, Ph.D., Robert L. Cook, Ph.D., Amanda Ichite, Ph.D., Pilar Martin, Ph.D., Jessy G. Dévieux, Ph.D., Journal of Interpersonal Violence: Mar, 2021
- “A Transdisciplinary Analysis of Domestic Violence Homicides in Harris County, Texas (2016-2020)”, Hsiu-Fen Lin, Ph.D., Kathryn J. Spearman, Ph.D., Jennifer L. Ross, Ph.D., Emily Blackburn, Ph.D., Jill T. Messing, Ph.D., Jacquelyn C. Campbell, Ph.D., Millan A. AbiNader, Ph.D., Kevin J. Grimm, Ph.D., Homicide Studies 27(4), 472-492: Jul, 2023
- “How Many Terms Does It Take to Define Sexual Assault? Inconsistencies in U.S. Higher Education Sexual Misconduct Policies”, Leanna Papp, Ph.D., Sandra R. Levitsky, Ph.D., Elizabeth A. Armstrong, Ph.D., Kamaria B. Porter, Ph.D., Violence Against Women 0(0): Aug, 2023
- “Understanding Intimate Partner Cyber Abuse across Partnership Categories Based on Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation”, Erica Fissel, Ph.D., Leah C. Butler, Ph.D., Brian Gildea, Ph.D., Bonnie S. Fisher, Ph.D., Victims & Offenders 18(1), 77-100: Jan, 2023
- “Priorities for Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment and Prevention During COVID-19’s Second Wave”, Karina Villalba, Ph.D., Jennifer Attonito, Ph.D., Shelley Fontal, Ph.D., American Journal of Public Health 111(3), 359-362: Mar, 2021
- “Internalizing symptoms, alcohol use, and protective behavioral strategies associated with regretted sexual experiences of college students”, Jacqueline Woerner, Ph.D., Roselyn Peterson, Ph.D., Robert D. Dvorak, Ph.D., Melissa A. Lewis, Ph.D., Journal of Affective Disorders 283, 363-372: Mar, 2021
- “The Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse: The Role of Anxiety and Alcohol Use among Haitian Women Living with HIV”, Karina Villalba, Ph.D., Jennifer Attonito, Ph.D., Michele Jean-Gilles, Ph.D., Rhonda Rosenberg, Ph.D., Mariana Sanchez, Ph.D., & Jessy Devieux, Ph.D., Journal of Child Sexual Abuse 29(7), 788-801: Oct, 2021
- “Protective Factors for Sexual Violence Perpetration Among High School and College Students: A Systematic Review”, Julia O’Connor, Ph.D., Jacqueline Woerner, Ph.D., Lakaysia Smith, Assad Khan, Trauma, Violence, & Abuse 0(0): May, 2023
- “Patterns of Violence Victimization and Disclosure Among Transgender/Gender Nonconforming and Cisgender Latinx College Students”, Julia O’Connor, Ph.D., Kyle T. Ganson, Ph.D., Shelleta Ladonice, Ph.D., Iris Cardenas, Ph.D., Journal of Interpersonal Violence 38(7-8), 6017-6037: Oct, 2022
- “Evaluating the Impact of Policy and Programming on Female-Victim Intimate Partner Homicide at the County Level in Florida”, Amy Reckdenwald, Ph.D., Julio Montanez, Ph.D., Amy Donley, Ph.D., Violence Against Women 29(2), 253-275: May, 2022
- “The Association Between Resources, Accessibility, and Female Victim Intimate Partner Homicide at the County-Level in Florid”, Amy Reckdenwald, Ph.D., Kayla Toohy, Ph.D., Ciara Peebles, Ph.D., Jason Ford, Ph.D., Violence Against Women 29(11), 2147-2169: Sep, 2021
- “Intimate Partner Violence Survivors' Daily Experiences of Social Disconnection, Substance Use, and Sex with Secondary Partners”, Jacqueline Woerner, Ph.D., Danielle Chiaramonte, Ph.D., David Angus Clark, Ph.D., Howard Tennen, Ph.D., Tami P Sullivan, Ph.D., Prevention Science 24(7):1327-1339: May, 2023
- “Social Disconnection as a Pathway to Sexual Risk Behavior Among Victims of Intimate Partner Violenc”, Jacqueline Woerner, Ph.D., Tami P Sullivan, Ph.D., Violence and Victims 34(3), 508-521: Jun, 2021
- “Hey ChatGPT, Let’s Talk About Sexual Consent”, Jacqueline Woerner, Ph.D., Tiffany L. Marcantonio, Ph.D., Karen E. Nielsen, Ph.D., Michelle Haikalis, Ph.D., Ruschelle M. Leone, Ph.D., Elizabeth C. Neilson, Ph.D., Anne Marie Schipani-McLaughlin, Ph.D., The Journal of Sex Research 1-12: Sep, 2023
Violence Against Women (VAW) Degree Programs
UCF offers multiple degree programs for students interested in courses related to preventing violence against women. For more programs, search UCF programs below.
Violence Against Women (VAW) Faculty
-
Kim Anderson, Ph.D.
Professor of Social Work -
Bethany Backes, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Criminal Justice & Social Work -
Alison Cares, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology -
Erica Fissel, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice -
Jana Jasinski, Ph.D.
Pegasus Professor of Sociology -
Hsiu-Fen Lin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Social Work -
Elizabeth Mustaine, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology -
Julia O’Connor, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Social Work -
Leanna Papp, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Population Health -
Amy Reckdenwald, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology -
Karina Villalba, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Population Health -
Jacqueline Woerner, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Social Psychology