Gender Violence


Scholars at the Wellesley Centers for Women have conducted numerous research studies on issues related to gender violence, including bullying- and sexual harassment-prevention programs in schools, and patterns of and interventions for intimate partner violence, including family violence and teen dating violence.


    Active Projects in this Area




  • Creating a Family Court Advocacy Training Curriculum for Battered Minority and Immigrant Women

    Ongoing since 2009
    Empowering Battered Immigrant Women

    Through this project we will develop and pilot-test a new family court advocacy training curriculum for service providers who work with battered immigrant and minority women.  This project is intended to directly affect the lives of battered immigrant women by empowering them with substantive, strategic knowledge.




  • Dating Violence Prevention Program for Each Grade in Middle School

    Ongoing since 2011
    A longitudinal multi-level experiment

    The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of grade-differentiated dating violence and sexual harassment prevention curricula.




  • Improving the Court Approach to Domestic Violence Cases in the Massachusetts Family Courts

    Ongoing since 2008
    Massachusetts Domestic Violence Data Collection

    This project will provide systematic data on court cases involving domestic violence in Massachusetts.




  • Sexual Harassment in Schools: Concerns, New Directions, and Strategies for Prevention

    Ongoing since 2010
    Sexual Harassment/Gender Violence

    This project examines sexual harassment in K-12 schools over the course of 30 years and identified future directions for research, litigation and school strategies.


    • Archived Projects in this Area




  • Adult Memories and Consequences and Recovery from Child Sexual Abuse

    Completed in 1997
    Remembering Childhood Sexual Abuse

    This research looked at longitudinal data about adult memories of abuse-related traumas from childhood. Findings from this project can be used to design interventions for and promote the health and well-being of victims of childhood sexual abuse and violence.




  • Attachment- and Mindfulness-Based Interventions

    Completed in 2009

    Interventions based on exploring intergenerational attachment patterns and learning to use mindfulness exercises can be useful in helping pregnant and parenting teens modulate their reactions to stress.




  • Battered Mothers' Testimony Project

    2000 - 2004
    Gender and Justice

    This statewide project combines human rights fact-finding, qualitative research, advocacy, and community organizing to document and address the injustices inflicted on battered mothers and their children during family court child custody and visitation litigation.




  • Dating Violence Prevention Programs in Public Middle Schools

    2008 - 2010
    A Collaborative Multi-Level Experimental Evaluation

    The goal of this study is to increase the capacity of schools to prevent Dating Violence/Harassment (DV/H) by evaluating the effectiveness of current multi-level DV/H prevention programming in middle schools within a large urban school district.




  • Decriminalizing Consensual Teen Sex

    Completed 2007
    Law and Consensual Teen Sex

    This project explored the ways in which states attempt to regulate consensual adolescent sexual behavior through criminal law.




  • Developing Direct Connections on Bullying and Harassment to Curriculum Frameworks and Performance Standards Nationwide Using Bullyproof

    2004-2006
    Linking Bullyproof to Curriculum Frameworks and Performance Standards: Nationwide

    This project led to the development of a teacher's manual that links curriculum on bullying and harassment directly to national education standards, based on Bullyproof curriculum.




  • Development and Evaluation of Sexual Violence/Harassment Prevention Programs

    Completed
    Sexual Violence/Harassment Prevention Programs in Middle Schools

    This study is designed to help increase the capacity of programs to prevent sexual violence and harassment. The long-term goal/objective of this study is to help prevent intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and sexual harassment by employing the most rigorous methods to evaluate strategies for altering the violence-supportive attitudes and norms of youth.




  • Dual-Trauma Couples

    Completed in 2009
    Couples where both members have a history of childhood trauma

    This project is attempting to address the question as to what happens when both members of a couple have a history of childhood trauma.




  • Gender & the Law in China Expert Group Consultation

    Completed 2012
    Chinese Expert Group on Gender & Law

    international work  The project brings together China’s leading scholars on gender and the law to build common cause on women’s rights in China.




  • Homeless Women and Intimate Partner Violence

    Completed in 2009

    A collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance and numerous shelters in Boston, this study involves surveying and interviewing homeless women with respect to their experience of childhood trauma and intimate partner violence. 




  • Intimate Partner Violence, Motivational Interviewing and Health Outcomes

    Completed in 2009
    Proposal to train domestic violence advocates

    A collaboration with the HAVEN Program at Mass General Hospital for a proposal to train domestic violence advocates to use motivational interviewing with victims of partner violence.




  • Longitudinal Research on Partner Violence, Child Physical Abuse, and Child Sexual Abuse

    Completed in 1998
    Partner Violence, Child Physical Abuse, and Child Sexual Abuse

    This study examined the ways in which physical and/or sexual violence within a family affects the individual, the family unit, and the community. The project focused on prevention programs and policies in order to better understand the varied outcomes of family violence.




  • Middle School Bullying & Sexual Violence: Measurement Issues & Etiological Models

    Completed
    Informing Sexual Violence Prevention

    This research project addresses a critical issue by examining the overlap of bullying perpetration/victimization and sexual violence in order to inform sexual violence prevention in US schools.




  • National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center

    1998-2002
    A consortium to help prevent violence against women.

    The Centers for Disease Control established this consortium of WCW, the Medical University of South Carolina, and the University of Missouri. 




  • Navy Family Study

    1998-2004
    Violence in Navy Families

    This longitudinal study examined family violence within the Navy and was designed to help Navy leaders develop their family advocacy program.




  • Sexual Harassment and Gender Violence in Schools: A Research and Development Project Linking Schools

    1995-1999
    Title IX, Sexual Harassment and Gender Violence in Schools

    This project created a collaborative intervention model and curriculum for schools and community-based organizations in order to understand and counter rising rates of rape, sexual harassment, and gender discrimination in school environments.




  • Stages of Change in Intimate Partner Violence

    Completed in 2009
    Impact of stages of change on both male batterers and their female partners

    This project looks at the impact of stages of change on both male batterers and their female partners.




  • Teasing and Bullying

    2000 - 2008
    Addressing Teasing and Bullying in Schools

    This project worked to examine and counteract the effects of the culture of bullying on children and youth by raising awareness about bullying and by exploring the links between bullying, other forms of aggression, and violence through a combination of research, action, and advocacy.




  • Women in Development IQC: Gender Matters

    2002-2005, 2007-2008
    School-related Gender Violence in Developing Countries

    international work   Through this project, a review was developed to identify, annotate, and synthesize research studies and projects/interventions addressing primary and secondary school-related gender-based violence in developing countries. The review was conducted in 2002-2003 and again in 2007-2008.




  • Women's Insights Project: African-Americans and Intimate Partner Violence

    2005 - 2007
    Domestic Violence and African-American Women

    The Women’s Insights Project was a study that is designed to explore the experiences of African-American women who have survived IPV. Specifically, the purpose is to gain an understanding of the perceived costs and benefits that African American women experiencing intimate partner violence face when they consider seeking help from family, friends, and social institutions.




  • Zero Tolerance

    2000-2003
    Sexual Harassment Policies: Zero Tolerance

    Through this project, researchers examined experiences of sexual harassment in schools even when zero-tolerance policies may exist.