Victim Researcher Profile

Researcher Photo

Catherine Kaukinen

 EMAIL CATHERINE    
    

STATE

Florida

INSTITUTION

University of Central Florida

TITLE

Professor and Chair

EDUCATION

PhD

DISCIPLINE

Sociology and Criminology

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

More than 20 years

BIO

Catherine (Katie) Kaukinen, Ph.D., is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida. Dr. Catherine Kaukinen is a Sociologist who takes a cross-national and comparative perspective to examine broad interests related to Violence Against Women (VAW). Her research interests include intimate partner violence, risk and protective factors for violent victimization, the history of Title IX and Federal initiatives to address violence against college women, and the evaluation of campus-based violence against women prevention and intervention programs. She has received over $2.2 million in grants and contracts, with the majority of these sponsored programs as a principal investigator to support her work addressing VAW. Kaukinen has been funded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women, Canadian Embassy, Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC), and the CDOC Division of Adult Parole. Kaukinen’s funding from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) was used to develop and coordinate campus services and programs to reduce violence against women (VAW). These grants supported violence prevention, outreach, and awareness on five college campuses impacting over 35,000 students and have included the training of practitioners to address VAW, and the evaluation of campus-wide bystander education using an experimental design based on three data collections. The work she conducted at UCCS remains in place to this day, including the ROC (Respect on Campus) Program she created to address violence against women. This program coordinated campus, local law enforcement, and community programs to ensure (1) broad campus and community engagement, (2) reduction of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking, and (3) effective intervention. This included building a coordinated community response team (CCRT), the training of campus police / public safety, the training of disciplinary boards, and mandatory education for incoming students that is comprehensive, culturally relevant, and includes bystander strategies, messaging, and skill-building. She has also served as an expert witness for the Attorney General of Canada providing an affidavit and testimony on the 2012 passing of Bill C-19, which repealed the firearms registry for non-restricted firearms. Diversity, inclusion, equity, and globalization are central to Dr. Kaukinen’s scholarship, teaching, service, and community engagement. Her approach to higher education leadership, along with her role as a teaching faculty member and researcher is to recognize, value, and celebrate the unique perspectives and experiences of faculty, staff, and students across race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, and veteran status.

VICTIMIZATION FOCUS

Campus Sexual Assault, Other Campus Crime, Child Abuse and Sexual Abuse, Dating Violence (Teen), Domestic and Family Violence, Sexual Abuse or Violence (other than campus sexual assault), Stalking, Vicarious Trauma

SPECIAL POPULATIONS

Child victims

RESEARCH EXPERTISE

Data collection, Descriptive studies, Needs assessment, Program evaluation, Qualitative studies, Quantitative studies, Quasi-experimental studies, Randomized controlled trial, Training and/or technical assistance

VICTIM RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Data collection, Descriptive studies, Program evaluation, Quantitative studies, Quasi-experimental studies, Randomized controlled trial, Training and/or technical assistance