About the Consortium

Our Mission

The University of Arizona Consortium on Gender-Based Violence is a research and resource center that seeks to model and inspire a radical shift in the way we think about and address gender-based violence.

Our mission is to bring together interdisciplinary, cutting-edge interventions on gender-based violence in order to foster synergy between research, pedagogy, outreach, service, and student engagement both on and off campus. We serve as a research and resource center for UA faculty, students, and staff through:

• Seed funding for innovative research and programming
• Assessment and evaluation services to ensure best practice in campus policies & programs
• Partnerships on and off-campus to develop, implement, and evaluate science-based interventions to address gender-based violence
• Academic opportunities and resources for students, faculty, and staff

Research

We strive to generate and circulate innovative conversations and analysis through supporting cutting-edge research on gender-based violence by UA faculty, staff, and students. We also envision collaborating with campus partners to develop a research-to-practice model for violence prevention and response, as well as working with community partners to strengthen gender-based violence prevention efforts in greater Tucson.

• Arizona Safer Bars Alliance (ASBA): Though a 3 million dollar grant awarded by the Arizona Department of Health Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Consortium operates a research project to study a sexual assault prevention program in bars.
• Sexual Assault Resistance Program: Through a 2 million dollar grant funded by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, the Consortium is currently implementing and conducting research and evaluation on an acquaintance rape prevention program for college freshman.
• Evaluation with SIROW: The Consortium contracts the Southwest Institute for Research on Women (SIROW) to provide evaluation services for prevention and response programming on campus, as well as for our Innovation Fund projects.

Engagement

We work with faculty to integrate discussions of gender-based violence into the classroom through providing content expertise, curriculum development, and a new matching grant initiative through the Student Faculty Interaction program. We also help to create career pathways for students through internships and opportunities to engage and collaborate with experts in the field.

• Speakers Series: The Consortium hosts two fall events and one spring event as part of its new Speakers Series, which allows U of Arizona students, staff, and faculty to engage with renowned scholars, activists, and artists whose work focuses on understanding and eradicating gender-based violence. Our Fall 2019 Speakers Series events were A Fireside Chat with ‘me too.’ Movement founder Tarana Burke and A Reading by Writer and Activist Lacy M. Johnson. We will be announcing our Spring 2020 event soon.
   
• 2020 Special Issue and Contest: The Consortium is partnering with the Sonora Review, the oldest graduate student-run literary journal in the country, on a special online issue and nonfiction contest. The theme of the issue and contest is “Extinction,” and will explore the intersection of gender-based violence and various other forms of irreversible harm (against the planet, other species, and ourselves).
   
• We are collaborating to develop an online graduate certificate in gender-based violence studies, which will be run and housed within the University of Arizona's Human Rights Practice Program. The certificate will provide students with an advanced framework for understanding the root causes of gender-based violence, as well as training in applying this knowledge to advance the well-being, equality, and human rights of those most impacted. This will be the only certificate program in the United States that integrates and centralizes the study of femicide/feminicide, or the killing of women and girls because they are female. More information on this certificate program will be coming soon.

Incubating Projects

The Consortium provides seed funding for evidence-based campus programming as well as through our Innovation Fund. One of our most exciting accomplishments to date was the spearheading of the University of Arizona’s first Survivor Advocacy program. Learn more about our funding opportunities funding opportunities.