Rachel Voth Schrag and Leila Wood’s research, supported by an SSRC Covid-19 Rapid-Response Grant, focused on how the pandemic affected survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual harassment, and the work of advocacy and support organizations, in the United States. In “balancing safety from violence with safety from the virus” at a moment in which domestic and sexual violence intensified, key focal points for survivors and advocates included the constraints on emergency shelters and the shift to virtual services by support organizations. The authors argue that public support of both housing and technology is needed for survivors’ needs to be better addressed in the future.
Rachel Voth Schrag
Rachel Voth Schrag is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, School of Social Work. Her research focuses on secondary and tertiary prevention strategies for survivors of intimate partner violence, particularly community-based survivor centered services. On-going projects focus on campus-based advocacy with survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence, long-term outcomes for survivors of violence who engage with transitional housing programs, and the implementation of evidence-based practices in the violence against women service sector. Prior to entering the academy, she worked in direct practice roles in economic education and advocacy with survivors. Voth Schrag holds an MSW and PhD from Washington University in St. Louis and has been working in both research & practice capacities in the field of intimate partner violence intervention and prevention for 15 years.