“I’m Going to be Successful Someday”: Women’s Personal Projects to Improve Their Lives, and Implications for Clarifying the Nature of Agency in Criminological Theories of Desistance

Women’s agency to construct prosocial lives remains understudied in criminology. This qualitative inquiry explores the nature and outcomes of women’s personal projects, which reflect their agency. In up to five interviews, 401 women on probation and parole explained efforts to improve their lives. Psychological theory on personal projects guided analysis that revealed information on project meaning and facilitators and barriers to project pursuit. Women shared a motivation to avoid trouble and establish prosocial lives. Outcomes were improved by social support and prosocial opportunities. Findings have implications for defining and analyzing agency in desistance research and for correctional responses to women.

Can Respectful Employees Create Equitable Institutions? Promoting a Culture of Respect in the Higher Education Workplace

This paper describes challenges to changing the culture around yellow zone sexual harassment in the higher education workplace. The yellow zone comprises harassment that is often undetected or misunderstood but nonetheless is harmful. Based on a random sample, we surveyed 4554 staff and faculty at a large Midwestern university after they completed a mandatory online training module, assessing perceptions of sexual harassment, reactions to the training, and workplace personal experiences. Findings are that a majority of respondents know where to report incidents and that the training improved knowledge about sexual and gender-based harassment. However, almost half reported problematic workplace experiences.

Did They Move on? An Outcome Evaluation of the Gender-Responsive Program, Girls...Moving On

The current study is an outcome evaluation of the gender-responsive program, Girls...Moving On (GMO). Outcomes for treatment ( n = 135) and control group ( n = 135) participants reflected mixed findings, with no significant reductions in recidivism, which may have been due to problems with implementation. Nevertheless, girls who completed the program had significantly larger reductions in risk scores and increases in strength scores compare to non-completers, but little to no differences in recidivism. Additionally, GMO completers showed improvements in self-efficacy scores. Several implications and considerations regarding the outcomes are discussed to guide future gender-responsive programs for system-impacted girls.

Campus Sexual Violence and Title IX: What is the Role of Restorative Justice Now?

Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) have used restorative justice (RJ) to address sexual misconduct on college campuses under Title IX. In 2020, Title IX guidance was codified. The application of RJ under the new policy may create procedural and distributive justice issues. This article (1) defines the new policy; (2) explores suitability of RJ to sexual misconduct and specifically yellow zone behavior under the new policy; (3) discusses justice for the various stakeholders under the guise of advantages and disadvantages; and (4) makes recommendations to strengthen the choice of either implementing or not implementing restorative justice.

Women in Power? Examining Gender and Promotion in Policing Through an Organizational Perspective

Women bring important strengths to the field of policing, such as communication skills, the ability to lead teams, as well as the ability to coach and nurture subordinates. Despite these contributions, the rate of women entering policing has stagnated in recent years, and the percentage of women in supervisory, command, and leadership positions remains low. To explain this, we use an organizational structure perspective to explore how characteristics of police agencies (e.g., department size, officer demographics, and formalization) may influence the promotion of women to leadership positions. We make suggestions regarding hiring and retention and provide recommendations for further research.

Sexual Harassment of Students at Institutions of Higher Education: Variations in Students’ Experiences, Knowledge, and Perceptions Across Institutions

Attention to sexual misconduct has focused on acquaintance rape, leaving a need for research on less highly recognizable forms of harm. We estimated institution of higher education (IHE)-specific prevalence of yellow zone sexual harassment (SH) among students at 27 IHEs. We then examined SH and perceived risk of sexual assault/misconduct, knowledge regarding policies/resources, and perceptions of sexual misconduct response. Between 37.1% and 55.7% of students experienced SH. Harassed students were much more likely than non-harassed students to feel at risk for sexual misconduct and to have negative views of sexual misconduct response. Implications for research, policy, and prevention/response are discussed.

A Test of General Strain Theory: Explaining Intimate Partner Violence and Alcohol Use Among Black Women

Using a sample of 291 Black women and a longitudinal study, we explore how general strain theory can broaden our understanding of Black women’s alcohol use and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. Results demonstrated that racial discrimination, past IPV and sexual victimization, and family member’s victimization heightened depression, which increased heavy alcohol use. Discrimination and family victimization also elevated anger, leading to greater IPV perpetration. Results further revealed that depression and anger interacted to influence IPV. Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers must continue to pursue culturally sensitive practices to effectively address this unique constellation of strains and advocate for the needs of Black women.

A Comparison of Women’s Motivations to Enter the Police Profession in the Caribbean

Absent from the criminological literature on policing in the Caribbean are studies on female’s motivations to become police officers, studies using female police recruits and studies using a comparative approach. As a result of this gap, data were gathered from female police recruits in Jamaica ( N = 37) and Trinidad and Tobago ( N = 60) in July 2017 via a standardised, self-administered questionnaire in order to determine their motivations for entry into policing. The main motivation for female’s entry into policing in both jurisdictions was job security. Revenge and the desire for power and authority were the least cited motivations for entry into the police profession in both jurisdictions. The importance of females as police officers, study limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.

Severe and Pervasive? Consequences of Sexual Harassment for Graduate Students and their Title IX Report Outcomes

Sexual harassment of graduate students is prevalent, yet little is known about their experiences reporting sexual harassment to their university. We conducted interviews with 32 graduate students who reported sexual harassment to Title IX to understand how survivors’ experiences of harassment align with report outcomes. Nearly all participants experienced severe, education-limiting consequences of the harassment and reported to ensure safety and restore educational access. Most reports were deemed unactionable and findings of responsibility were rare, demonstrating a disconnect between survivors’ experiences and Title IX outcomes. Our analysis suggests that Title IX practitioners rely on notions of “severity” rather than harassment consequences.