Skip to main content

Cluster Lead:

Bethany Backes, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Social Work Bethany.Backes@ucf.edu

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.

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…
Community
UCF Professor’s Research Helps Inform Policy, Laws Surrounding Intimate Partner Cyber Abuse
Erica Fissel, assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, shares her passion for helping women affected by cyber abuse in honor of Women’s History…
Science & Technology
New UCF Co-led Study Will Focus on Keeping Intimate Partner Violence Survivors Safe
The researchers will create evidence-based, intimate partner violence pretrial safety assessment guides for judges to use when considering pretrial release in intimate partner violence cases.

Explore the News Archive

Violence Against Women (VAW) Research

Projects


Publications

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