Chair of Multicultural Studies on Violence Against Women: Race Ethnicity, Culture

Violence against women is pervasive in the United States and around the globe, crossing boundaries of race, ethnicity, class, caste, age --- crossing county, region, state, and nation. Despite its global scale, however, inadequate attention has been paid to the cultural context of these crimes and how to ensure that both the empirical study and the design of intervention and prevention programs are cognizant of those complexities. The Center believes these challenges merit the level of focus and expertise afforded by establishment of a Chair of Multicultural Studies on Violence Against Women.

The Chair of Multicultural Studies on Violence Against Women will engage in research and teaching; serve as a resource for other researchers across varied disciplines on how to include race and ethnicity in their empirical work; work with other universities across the nation to advance the body of knowledge on violence against women and its cultural contexts; and be an active participant in the Center’s work to translate research to the practice field where advocates and other professionals intervene daily to save the lives of women and children.

Funding for the multicultural endowment was launched in 2007 with a benefit dinner entitled, The Girlfriend’s Train: Moving the Nation Toward Ending Violence Against All Women. At the benefit dinner, Angela Y. Davis, renowned activist, shared reflections on multicultural evolvement in the U.S., and applauded the University of Kentucky for pioneering a multidisciplinary approach to addressing violence.

Upon completion of the fundraising for this endowed position, a national search will immediately begin.