Workshop and Presenter Information

Keynote Presentation

The Politics of Gender Violence
Madelaine Adelman, PhD (Arizona State University) - Biographical information

Gender violence is perpetrated and experienced by individuals. Individual victims are injured; individual batterers are held responsible. However, scholars and practitioners alike have learned that the politics of gender violence matters. “Politics” generally refers to the national collective, state government, economic market, and public streets. In contrast, the “personal” refers to the self, home and family. Critics suggest that the political is valued over the personal, that the distinction between the political and the personal is actually a false one, and that the personal should be considered a political arena as well. I am interested in turning around the now classic feminist slogan “the personal is political” in order to explore how the “political is personal.” One way to do this is through an analysis of the relationship between the state and gender violence. This relationship is multidimensional, contested and at times contradictory. The state has been mobilized to intervene into and prevent gender violence. Securing state-based protection constitutes for some a significant achievement of the global anti-gender violence and human rights movements. Yet others argue that reliance on state intervention perpetuates cross-cutting forms of inequality. Still others suggest that the state engenders gender violence. Given that vulnerability to gender violence stems from a range of sometimes competing personal needs and public policies, advocates are charged with the challenging task of identifying appropriate resources and pursuing justice in a variety of ways.

Workshop Offerings

The Misuse and Abuse of Culture in the Gender-Based Violence Movement
Hillary J. Haldane, PhD (Quinnipiac University)

How widespread are acts of violence against women, in our own society and across the globe? How do we define violence cross-culturally? What measures can the international community put in place to prevent violence while remaining culturally sensitive and allow responses to be defined by local needs? In this talk we will explore how violence is addressed by policy and practice in the global context. Of particular concern is the way notions of culture and cultural differences have been discussed in international arenas that may have the unintended consequences of reinforcing stereotypes about peoples and societies. We will also use a study of one particular country, New Zealand, to highlight the importance of listening to the voices of the front-line workers who labor quietly, and often without recognition, to assist victims of violence and strive to makes changes in how violence is conceptualized in their society.  In closing, we will consider how we move from a framework of situating violence as a problem inherent in individual actors, to conceptualizing violence as produced by society through the institutionalization of structural violence.

An Integrated Model of Service Provision: 30 Years of Sexual Assault Survivor Advocacy at Colorado State University
Kathryn Woods, MSW LCSW (Colorado State University)

Colorado State University had one of the first sexual assault advocacy programs in the country. This presentation will explore CSU’s program in the context of other models nationally and will describe its current model integrated with academics and primary prevention programming in a women’s center on campus. We will discuss the social justice philosophy of the program and how we strive to remain grounded in feminism and intersectionality of identities as we do our work. The presentation will also explore the dramatic increase in the number of survivors requesting services in the past two academic years paired with a decrease in formal reporting and will discuss how the program has adapted to these trends. Additionally, the presentation will outline the victim advocacy program’s role on the University’s interdisciplinary Student Consultation Team and how this venue provides an additional avenue for survivors’ voices to be heard at a systemic level. Finally, we will undertake an inventory of the program’s successes and lessons learned over the years and how these have impacted our survivor-centered services.

Sexual Assault Prevention and Risk Reduction Programming: How Far Have We Come?
Christine Gidycz, PhD (Ohio University)

Data collected over the past twenty years at Ohio University in the Laboratory for the Study and Prevention of Sexual Assault substantiate that sexual violence is pervasive on college campuses.  Most alarmingly, data further underscore that rates of sexual violence have not appreciably decreased over the past decades.  The consistently alarming high rates of sexual violence have provided the impetus for mandated sexual assault programming on college campuses. Whereas significant progress has been made in the area of program development, data to substantiate the effectiveness of programming efforts are relatively scarce.  The purpose of the presentation is to discuss innovations in programming efforts aimed to reduce sexual violence.  In the presentation, the aims, critical components, and effectiveness of sexual assault risk reduction programs for women and prevention programs for men will be discussed. The importance of taking a systemic approach to addressing the problem of sexual violence will be emphasized.  Barriers that exist with programming efforts will be discussed as well as strategies to employ to overcome barriers.  Finally, in the presentation, Dr. Gidycz will discuss evaluation strategies utilizing her research studies as examples.  Some of the difficulties encountered when conducting evaluation studies, as well as ways to address program evaluation challenges, will be discussed.

The Extensive Sexual Violation and Sexual Abuse Histories of Incarcerated Women
Cathy McDaniels Wilson, PhD (Xavier University)

Girls and women involved in either juvenile or adult criminal justice systems are more likely to have experienced physical and sexual violence than their male counterparts or other females in the general public.  Using a combination of self-report survey data and official prison data from 370 women incarcerated in three Ohio prisons, these data examine racial differences among the women on demographic characteristics (e.g., age, education, employment status, marital status, and number of children), drug and alcohol abuse histories, conviction offense, criminal legal sanctions, and sexual abuse histories. The sample consists of 55% African American women and 45% White women. Analyses are both bivariate and multivariate and indicate significant differences between the women in self-reported sexual abuse histories and in drug/alcohol abuse. This presentation will also address the theoretical implications and possible policy and programming implementation.  Successful return to the community from detention, jail, and prison may be strengthened by supports, and services that are gender responsive and trauma informed.  This presentation will also review the needs of returning girls and women as they leave incarcerate settings and the options for service availability with the community. 

Men, Masculinity, and Mixed Messages
Robert Hynes, PhD (Fitchburg State College)

Supporting survivors of gender violence, while punishing its perpetrators, should not preclude a thoughtful examination of the variety of factors that may underlie this complex concern.  Specifically, there is an emerging area of theory and research that speaks to the social, cultural, and developmental underpinnings of men (or, more appropriately, “masculinity”), and those factors that may serve to increase the likelihood of sexual assault, domestic violence, sexual harassment, and other forms of gender violence.  This session will include a presentation of such relevant theory and research, and the presenter will make an effort to explore the causal linkages between our socialization practices with males, their “acculturation,” and their participation in violent interpersonal acts.  Particular focus will be paid to the college population, as well as the role that alcohol use and abuse may play in the causal sequence leading to violence.

How Schools and Organizations Effectively Address Gender Violence and Anti-LGBT Violence
Madelaine Adelman, PhD (Arizona State University)

In this interactive workshop, participants will have the opportunity to gain confidence, knowledge and resources related to intervening into gender violence and anti-LGBT violence. We will discuss relevant terminology; research-based evidence about the current school climate; how to assess and transform your school or workplace; and effective strategies for engaging in difficult dialogues about sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking on Campus
Myrta Charles, OVW Campus Program Specialist
Latinisha Felli, OVW Campus Program Specialist
Kathrina Peterson, OVW Campus Program Specialist
Kevin Sweeney, OVW Campus Program Specialist
(Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women)

This workshop will provide participants with the foundational elements of a comprehensive campus program to combat violence against women.  Participants will learn about the core requirements of the Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking on Campuses; key strategies utilized to develop and strengthen victim services in cases involving domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking on campuses; how to determine your role in developing and supporting your local campus prevention efforts to address violence against women; and identify key partnerships needed to enhance your local campus program.