Linda M. Williams News
- Learn more about where our research initiatives started, and where they are today
- How a WCW Research Scientist and a 妻友社区 Student Co-Authored a Book Chapter
In a Q&A, Linda Williams, Ph.D., and 妻友社区 graduate Simone Toney discuss their experience updating a chapter on rape and sexual assault.
- WCW Collaborates on Audit of How Police Handle Sexual Assault Cases
February 16, 2023Many findings from the audit are relevant to police departments across the country, according to Senior Research Scientist Linda Williams, Ph.D.
The Police Executive Research Forum, Women's Law Project, and WCW completed an audit of the Austin, TX, Police Department's handling of sexual assault cases.
WCW partnered on a review of the City of Austin, TX, Police Department's handling of sexual violence cases.
KVUE News highlights findings from a report co-authored by WCW researchers.
KXAN News highlights findings from a report co-authored by WCW researchers.
A report co-authored by researchers from WCW highlighted ways to improve investigations of sexual assault.
WCW collaborated on a report that offered recommendations to improve the Austin, TX, Police Department's approach to sexual assault investigations.
Linda Williams, Ph.D., and Stephanie Block, Ph.D., share findings from their study on the challenges of prosecuting child sexual abuse cases.- Workshops in Liberia Provide Training to Recognize Human Trafficking
WCW Executive Director Layli Maparyan, Ph.D., (back right) with attendees, presenters, and organizers of the 鈥淲hen You See It, TALK It!鈥� workshop in Monrovia, Liberia, during March 2022. Photo courtesy of Layli Maparyan. WCW recently hosted two workshops aimed at countering human trafficking in Liberia.
- Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse: Overcoming Challenges to Achieving Justice
A new white paper investigates the response to reports of child sexual abuse and the characteristics of cases that drop out of the criminal justice system.
- New White Paper on Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse: Challenges in Achieving Justice
April 26, 2022The white paper from the Justice and Gender-Based Violence Research Initiative offers policy and practice recommendations to achieve justice for victims, families, and communities.
- Research Scientist Testifies at Hearing on Title IX Changes
Linda Williams, Ph.D., stressed the importance of implementing research-informed policies to support survivors of sexual violence on college campuses.
LaShawnda Lindsay, Ph.D., and Linda Williams, Ph.D., discuss the significance of the R. Kelly conviction and how the criminal justice system is skewed against victims of color.
Linda Williams, Ph.D., stresses the importance of updating Title IX rules on how colleges and universities respond to incidents of sexual assault.- Colleges Need to Include Info on Their Websites About Sexual Assault Response
A WCW research team developed a checklist to aid institutions in designing and maintaining user-friendly website content related to the prevention of and response to sexual violence. - Research Team Completes Study on Campus Sexual Assault as New Title IX Rules Released
May 26, 2020A report on campus sexual assault by our Justice and Gender-Based Violence Research Initiative was published days before new Title IX rules were issued by the Department of Education.
- Research Study Highlights Challenges to Child Sexual Abuse Prosecution
A recent study from our Justice and Gender-Based Violence Research Initiative details challenges related to the prosecution of child sexual abuse cases.
Linda M. Williams, Ph.D., a senior research scientist, completed a federally-funded study on sexual assault case attrition鈥攎entioned in this article鈥攊n which 71 of 100 cases did not lead to an arrest, largely due to police use of "exceptional clearance.鈥�
Linda Williams, Ph.D., of WCW鈥檚 Justice and Gender-Based Violence Research Initiative is helping to examine Austin PD鈥檚 handling of sexual assault cases from the past seven years.- Social Biases Impede Justice for Sexual Assault Victims
Assumptions about a potential jury鈥檚 social biases are tied to sexual assault cases dropping out of the criminal justice system. - Does #MeToo Represent Black Girls鈥� Experiences with Sexual Violence?
Scholars from WCW investigate how Black women and girls cope with sexual violence and whether #MeToo reflects their experiences. Linda Williams, Ph.D., comments on the controversy around accusations of inappropriate touching against presidential candidate Joe Biden.
- Concerning Rates of Attrition for Sexual Assault Cases: New ReportMarch 21, 2019
A DOJ-funded study from our Justice and Gender-Based Violence Research Initiative highlights the striking number of sexual assault cases that never lead to an arrest or trial.
- Presentations & Convenings: Sexual Assault Case Attrition
Linda Williams, Ph.D., WCW senior research scientist and director of the Justice and Gender-Based Violence Research Initiative, presented with Melissa Morabito, Ph.D., associate professor at University Massachusetts annual report 2018 Lowell (UMass-Lowell), and April Pattavina, Ph.D., WCW senior scholar and professor at UMass-Lowell, 鈥淪exual Assault Case attrition: Key findings from the UML-WCW NIJfunded Research鈥� at the American Society of Criminology (ASC) Annual Meeting
Dr. Linda Williams is an expert contributor on a podcast about how often cases of sexual violence are reported to police and do not go to trial.
Dr. Linda Williams discusses the ways that perceived lack of credibility influences justice system outcomes for survivors of sexual violence.
Dr. Linda Williams explains why victims of sexual violence don't always come forward right away.
- New Findings, Publications, Presentations: Gender-Based Violence
Drs. Linda Williams and Nan Stein share findings on the prosecution of sexual violence and sexual harassment in schools, respectively.
Linda Williams of WCW is cited as a reference in this article about harassment in the workplace.- Testimony: Domestic Violence as a Public Health Issue
October 30, 2017
Linda Williams, Ph.D., offered a written testimony for a public hearing on domestic violence as a public health issue hosted by the Joint Committee on Public Health and Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators.
- Q&A with April Pattavina, Ph.D. and Linda M. Williams, Ph.D.
Research & Action Report, Fall/Winter 2015
By April Pattavina, Ph.D. and Linda M. Williams, Ph.D.
The Justice and Gender-Based Violence Research Initiative
The Justice and Gender-Based Violence Research Initiative, led by Co-Directors Linda M. Williams, Ph.D., and April Pattavina, Ph.D., senior research scientists, was recently launched at the 妻友社区 (WCW). Longtime followers of the Centers may recognize Williams, who was director of research at the Stone Center at WCW from 1996 to 2005. In that role, she led the Navy Family Study, a comprehensive approach to understanding the factors that affect successful and unsuccessful outcomes for Navy families involved with the family advocacy office, as well as the outcomes for adults and children exposed to domestic violence, child physical abuse, or child sexual abuse. Williams co-directed the National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center and continued her research on the long-term consequences and memories of child sexual abuse. Pattavina comes to WCW from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, where she collaborated with Williams and colleague Melissa S. Morabito, Ph.D., associate professor, on the national multi-site study of sexual assault case attrition through the criminal justice system that is described in the following interview. She brings an interest in applying advances in information and computer technology to the study of social problems. She has been invited to give presentations and workshops on the use of administrative data for policy analysis and received an award from The Boston Foundation for using data to drive community change.
- WCW Researcher Presents Her Work in Australia
Research & Action Report Fall/Winter 2004
Linda Williams, Ph.D. traveled to Brisbane, Australia, in September to present a paper, co-authored with Veronica Herrera, at the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) 15th International Congress.
- Rome Anti-Violence Center
Research & Action Report Spring/Summer 2005
In December 2004, Linda Williams, Ph.D. and Nan Stein, Ed.D. met with Orietta Gargano, executive director of the Rome Anti-Violence Center in Italy, to discuss collaborative efforts to stop violence against women and girls in the United States and Italy.
- Gender-Based Violence in South Africa
Research & Action Report Fall/Winter 2005
Nan Stein, Ed.D., Jasmine Waddell, Ph.D. and Linda Williams, Ph.D. presented at the third South African Gender-Based Violence and Health Conference, designed to bring together researchers, clinicians, program managers, and policy-makers to discuss topics such as HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, vulnerable children, barrier methods, contraception, gender, and gender-based violence among others.
- Global Connections, Spring/Summer 2017
妻友社区-Cabo Verde Convening
The Centre for Research and Training in (CIGEF) and the 妻友社区 (WCW) held a joint conference, Gender, Social Justice, and Women鈥檚 Empowerment, in Cabo Verde in February. Vanessa Britto, M.D., 妻友社区 College Medical Director; LaShawnda Lindsay, Ph.D., WCW research scientist; Layli Maparyan, Ph.D., the Katherine Stone Kaufmann 鈥�67 Executive Director of WCW; and Linda M. Williams, Ph.D., WCW senior research scientist, were among the presenters. Attended by government officials, UN officers, academics, students, and representatives of numerous community organizations and NGOs, the conference symbolized the cementing of a partnership that has been growing since 2013. 鈥淥ur joint conference reflected an important effort to work across the language barrier to share research and best practices related to issues facing women and girls worldwide,鈥� Maparyan said. 鈥淩esearchers, practitioners, and policymakers from Cabo Verde, the U.S., and other countries came together to learn together, converse about strategies, and build new working relationships.鈥� - Where are We Now: Justice and Gender-Based Violence Research Initiative
In fall 2015, the 妻友社区 (WCW) launched the Justice and Gender- Based Violence Research (JGBVR) Initiative to build on its work advancing the role that research plays in improving the lives of women and girls, families and communities. Led by Senior Research Scientist Linda M. Williams, Ph.D., and an interdisciplinary group of collaborators, the JGBVR team conducts and disseminates research that meaningfully addresses the causes and consequences of gender-based violence and the social, health, and justice system responses to violent crime and victimization. To do this work, the initiative builds relationships with partners in the community, the criminal justice system, governmental and non-governmental organizations, international partners, and other researchers and institutes. Nine months later, the team has made great strides in linking its high-quality, gender-informed research with real action to improve the lives of women and girls in all roles of the criminal justice system鈥攙ictims, offenders, workers, and policymakers.
- Recovered Memories of Child Sexual Abuse 鈥� It Is Possible (Web Commentary)
February 7, 2005
Linda Williams, Ph.D., explains that memories of child sexual abuse are not always continuous.
- Uncovering Links Between Childhood Abuse and Delinquency in Girls
According to National estimates, every year more than 700,000 adolescent girls are arrested and brought into the juvenile-justice system. In fact, today, adolescent girls comprise about 28% of all juvenile arrests. Have girls become increasingly more violent in recent years? Is the violent behavior of girls different from that of boys? Do girls need different criminal-justice-system responses to help them cope with the problems they face? And, since many of these girls have experienced abuse in childhood, is there a link between childhood abuse and adolescent delinquency?
- WCW To Host Conference on Violence Against Women
April 6, 2004
