Victim Researcher Profile

Researcher Photo

Wendy Walsh

 EMAIL WENDY    
    

STATE

New Hampshire

INSTITUTION

Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire

TITLE

Research Associate Professor

EDUCATION

PhD

DISCIPLINE

Sociology

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

More than 20 years

BIO

Much of my work focuses on evaluating the multidisciplinary response to child abuse. In the early 2000s, I was one of the co-investigators on the most comprehensive multi-site evaluation of Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs). This study, conducted in ten communities throughout the United States, led to the publication of numerous papers on access to services, satisfaction with services, and the criminal justice response to child abuse. The study received international attention and is considered one of the seminal studies in the field. Results have provided the basis for education, training, and refinement of standards for CACs by the National Children's Alliance, the member agency of CACs. Since the multi-site evaluation was completed, my work has continued to focus on improving the system response to child abuse. Other projects include working with CACs to assess and improve case tracking, engagement with children's mental health services, and working with the National Children's Alliance Outcome Measure System to assess caregiver satisfaction and receipt of services and multidisciplinary team members' experience with CACs. I regularly present at the National Children's Alliance yearly Leadership Conference and am a member of their Research Advisory Council. In addition, my work focuses on improving the system response to emerging types of victimization such as Internet crimes against children, child pornography victims, statutory rape victims, and sextortion victims (those who receive threats to expose sexual images to coerce victims to provide additional pictures, sex or other favors). I have worked with CACs to improve their responses to these types of crimes and have been involved with numerous projects collecting data from law enforcement agencies and their response to these types of victimizations. I am especially interested in effective ways for communities to provide services to victims in underserved areas. I am currently evaluating the National Sexual Assault Telemedicine Center. This center, funded by the Office for Victims of Crime, was created in 2012 to use telemedicine technology to care for adolescent and adult victims of acute sexual assault. This pilot project is serving 6 hospitals in 3 states, including military, tribal, and rural sites. Interim evaluation results support the conclusion that telenursing consultation in forensic sexual assault medical examinations is a promising intervention. I am also involved with an initiative to improve the medical response to abused and neglected children in rural areas. I have also worked on numerous projects as part of a group of University of New Hampshire faculty concerned about unwanted sexual experiences on college campus.

VICTIMIZATION FOCUS

Campus Sexual Assault, Other Campus Crime, Child Abuse and Sexual Abuse, Computer/Internet Crimes, Dating Violence (Teen), Sexual Abuse or Violence (other than campus sexual assault), Stalking

SPECIAL POPULATIONS

American Indian and Alaska Native (tribal) victims, Child victims, Male victims generally, Rural victims

RESEARCH EXPERTISE

Community-based participatory research, Data collection, Descriptive studies, Needs assessment, Qualitative studies, Quantitative studies, Quasi-experimental studies

VICTIM RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Community-based participatory research, Data collection, Descriptive studies, Needs assessment, Program evaluation, Qualitative studies, Quantitative studies, Quasi-experimental studies