Katherine has been involved in the world of interpersonal violence for over twenty years, working from multiple perspectives on the global problem of gender-based violence. From being a volunteer victim advocate to an EMT in urban Los Angeles, to a PhD in forensic psychology, Katherine has seen gender-based violence from every side.

She specializes in forms of violence that often go undetected: domestic violence dynamics, coercive control, nonfatal strangulation, psychological abuse. Her career centers on understanding how violence operates as a system of power — particularly forms of abuse that leave little visible evidence but carry profound psychological and physiological impact.

Her perspective is that our current system: a reactive, victim-focused system with little flexibility, is inadequate to meaningfully move the needle on care and prevention of harm.

What we need:

• Widespread prevention education that is focused on both potential victims and potential perpetrators.

• Standardized global education and awareness for healthcare workers.

• Better education around the psychology of intimate partner violence, producing a more trauma-informed approach.

• A more equitable and evenly distributed environment for funding, staffing, and maintaining treatment and prevention programs.