By Vice President for Research Lisa Cassis

This podcast features Claire Renzetti, the Judi Conway Patton Endowed Chair in the University of Kentucky Center for Research on Violence Against Women, and professor and chair of sociology in the UK College of Arts and Sciences.

Renzetti’s research focuses on violence against women, particularly violent victimization experiences of socially and economically marginalized groups of women, including women living in poverty and women in same-sex intimate partnerships. Her current research focuses on human trafficking, and services for trafficking victims. She also examines the effects of religiosity and religious self-regulation on intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization. Additionally, she is evaluating the potential benefits of a therapeutic horticulture program for residents of a battered women’s shelter.

Renzetti is an internationally recognized scholar on gender and crime issues, and her research and community engagement have received regional and national recognition. This includes the Saltzman Award for Contributions to Practice from the Women and Crime Division of the American Society of Criminology. The award recognizes a criminologist whose professional accomplishments have increased the quality of justice and the level of safety for women.

“Ultimately, I want to produce knowledge that’s useable to people in their everyday lives and improves their quality of life,” Renzetti says.