OUR RESEARCH
Science that improves women's equality throughout society
At the Gender, Violence & Policy Lab, we study everyday violence against women to shape stronger policies and societal change — breaking the silence on these overlooked topics.
We use quantitative and qualitative methods to gather and analyze high-quality data on vulnerable populations and develop policy recommendations. Our approach is community-engaged and trauma-informed, prioritizing survivors and their experiences.
Themes in our research include:
Everyday violence
against women
We study the causes and consequences of everyday violence against women. Our goal is to reduce the prevalence and severity of violence against women, with the goal of eradicating it from society entirely.
Power of policy to help women escape
We want to understand how policies can help or hinder women leaving abusive relationships. In understanding the influence and impact of policies, we can reduce burdens placed on women fleeing violence and minimize negative policy outcomes.
Building
gender equality
We believe that achieving women's equality is one of the most critical challenges facing our society today. Our goal is to improve ALL women's lives by reducing gender-based disparities and enhancing women's representation.
Featured Projects
State of Harm: How Public Policies Create Private Violence
Despite being a leader of gender equality, the European Union continues to have astronomical rate of everyday violence against women. This book project examines the influence of European social and family policies on intimate partner violence.
Evaluation of Wisconsin's Domestic Violence Housing First Pilot Program
Safe and secure housing is a pressing concern for survivors of domestic violence (DV). This project evaluates the implementation and impact of Housing First philosophy in nine organizations in Wisconsin.
The Manosphere and Politics
The revived men’s movement, colloquially the “manosphere,” has recently increased in prominence and influence. This project analyzes the manosphere, developing a typology for mapping the movement, and hypothesizes the link to violence against women.
Our Mission
We analyze the causes and consequences of everyday violence against women and how policy can help eliminate violence throughout our society. We examine policy-relevant questions about how to improve women's lives and answer those questions using innovative and trauma-informed quantitative and qualitative methodologies.
