2 Experts Available for Timely Analysis on Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
This week, a bipartisan group of senators reached a deal to renew the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). For reporters covering this bill, the following researchers are available to provide expert analysis and commentary.
Sutton's research focuses on understanding intimate partner violence, reproductive coercion, and maternal health/mortality through an intersectional feminist framework.
Quote: "VAWA provides survivors of gender-based violence with access to vital services so that they can find safety, support, and connection within community. Reauthorizing VAWA sends a message that we as a country care about those who are harmed and aim to hold those who cause harm accountable."
Torres' research focuses on the relationship between the state and gender based violence. Overarching themes in Torres' writings include the role of sexual violence in genocide, how state and institutional policy enable different forms of sexual violence, and how the harms of sexual violence are conceptualized cross-culturally.
Quote: "VAWA has the potential to alleviate a form of violence that shapes the everyday lives of women at home and the workplace. And we must address it! Violence against women not only causes social suffering, furthers vulnerabilities and inequities, but also, as we have seen in this pandemic, has inescapable public health costs."