DOV Awards

This award will be given to a scholar who has made a significant contribution in the area of victimology over the course of their lifetime. This may be in terms of scholarship or teaching.

Nominations must include:

1. One letter of support (1 to 3 pages)
   • In the letter, the nominator must provide an explanation and evidence for why the nominee’s lifetime achievements are significant contributions to the discipline of victimology.
2. An up-to-date CV for the nominee

This award will be given to the author(s) of a book published in the previous five years that has had a major impact on the field of victimology and/or serves to highlight a key issue in the field.

Nominations must include:

1. One letter of support (1 to 2 pages)
   • In the letter, the nominator must provide an explanation of why the book should be considered as a key text in the discipline of victimology.
2. A description of the book and its relevance to the field of victimology

2025 – Dr. Nicole Rader

Teaching Fear: How We Learn to Fear Crime and Why It Matters

2024 – Dr. Anna Gjika

When Rape Goes Viral: Youth and Sexual Assault in the Digital Age

2023 – Dr. James Ptacek

Feeling Trapped: Social Class and Violence Against Women

2022 – Dr. Walter DeKeseredy

Woman Abuse in Rural Places

2021 – Dr. Aimee Wodda & Dr. Vanessa R. Panfil

Sex-Positive Criminology

2020 – Dr. Kerstin Braun

Victim Participation Rights: Variation Across Criminal Justice Systems

2019 – Dr. Shelly Clevenger, Dr. Jordana N. Navarro, Dr. Catherine D. Marcum, Dr. George E. Higgins

Understanding Victimology: An Active Learning Approach

2018 – Dr. Bonnie Fisher, Dr. Brad Reyns, & Dr. John Sloan

Introduction to Victimology: Contemporary Theory, Research, and Practice

2017 – Dr. Walter S. DeKeseredy, Dr. Molly Dragiewicz, & Dr. Martin D. Schwartz

Abusive Endings: Separation and Divorce Violence Against Women

This award will be given to a scholar who has made a significant contribution in the area of victimology in the past 2 years (e.g., peer-reviewed publications or books published in the review period).

Nominations must include:

1. One letter of support (1 to 3 pages)
   • In the letter, the nominator must provide an explanation and evidence for why the nominee’s research has made significant contributions to the discipline of victimology.
2. An up-to-date CV for the nominee 

2020 – Dr. Valerie Anderson

2019 – Dr. Chad Posick

2018 – Dr. Eryn O’Neal

2017 – Dr. Brittany E. Hayes

2016 – Dr. Jillian Turanovic

2015 – Dr. Lisa Muftic

2014 – Dr. Christina Mancini

2013 – Dr. Min Xie

This award will be given to a teacher who shows excellence in teaching victimology and/or victimology related courses taught during the past two academic years.

Nomination must include:

1. One letter of support (1 to 3 pages)
   • In the letter, the nominator must provide explanation and evidence for why the nominee’s teaching is excellent.
2. Evidence of teaching excellence
   • Evidence of teaching excellence could include (but is not limited to) letters from students or examples of assignments.

Past Winners:

2025 – Dr. Kathleen Ratajczak

2024 – Dr. Yasemin Irvin-Erickson

2023 – Dr. Lisa Carter

2022 – Dr. Valerie R. Anderson

2021 – Dr. Breanna Boppre

2020 – Dr. Eryn O’Neal

2019 – Dr. L. Susan Williams

2018 – Dr. Jordana Navarro

2017 – Dr. Colby Valentine

2016 – Dr. Shelly Clevenger

2015 – Dr. Deanna Button

2014 – Dr. Alison Marganski

2013 – Dr. Carrie L. Cook

This award will be given to a practitioner or activist who has made a significant impact on the lives of victims or those who work with victims.

Nominations must include:

1. One letter of support (1 to 2 pages)
   • In the letter, the nominator must provide an explanation as to how this practitioner has made a difference in the lives of victims.
2. Examples of impact on the lives of victims or those who work with victims.
   • Examples of impact can include (but are not limited to) papers/publications, reports, expert testimony, organizational leadership, statements from victims, etc.

Past Winners:

2025 – Dr. Linda Dynel

2024 – Dr. Stephanie Bonnes

2023 – Ka’Lyn Coghill

2022 – Valaura Imus-Nahsonhoya

2021 – Heather Martin

2020 – Monica Naranjo

2019 – Gregg Martinez: Another Way

2013 – Dr. Rebecca Hayes

Two awards will be given to graduate students who have written an exceptional, published or unpublished, paper on a victimology-related topic that was written or published during the past year. Faculty co-authors are allowed; however, the graduate student must be the lead/first author and any faculty co-authors must be in an advisory role only.

Graduate student award recipients will receive $300 each. If there are multiple student co-authors on a selected paper, the $300 will be split evenly among them.

Nominations must include:

1. One letter of support (1 to 2 pages)
   • In the letter, the nominator must provide a statement explaining why they believe the paper makes a contribution to the discipline of victimology.
2. A PDF of the paper

2022 

Michelle N. Eliasson

A qualitative examination of Swedish police officers’ perceptions of victim culpability

Alexis Marcoux Rouleau

Lessons from insiders: Embracing subjectivity as objectivity in victimology

2021

Kaitlyn Hoover

The relationship between family member incarceration, criminal offending, and victimization

Symone S. Pate

Learning from child welfare case narratives: A directed content analysis of indicators for human trafficking

2020

Mackenzie Kushner

Betrayal trauma and gender: An examination of the victim–offender overlap

Julie Kuper

Adjustment problems in early adulthood among victims of childhood physical abuse: A focus on adolescent risk and protective factors

Katherine Meeker (Honorable Mention)

Policing and prosecuting sexual assault: An examination of arrest and initial filing decisions in cases involving adolescent complainants

2019 

Cristal N. Hernandez

The victimization of college students and perceptions of campus safety: A test of Routine Activity Theory

2018

Jennifer Medel

Court-reported protection order violations

Stylianos Syropoulos

The creation and validation of the Perceived Safety Scale 

2017 

Stephanie Bonnes

The bureaucratic harassment of U.S. servicewomen 

2016 

Karyn Sporer

Aggressive children with mental illness: A conceptual model of family-level outcomes

2015 

Lisa Fedina, Jennifer Homes, & Bethany Backes

Campus sexual assault: A systematic review of prevalence research from 2000-2015

2014 

Laura Siller

Individual level determinants, social disorganization theory, and intimate partner violence

2013

Kaitlin Boyle & Ashleigh McKinzie

Resolving the deflection of unwanted sexual experience

Two awards ($500 each) will be given to help graduate students with travel expenses for the 2025 ASC Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

To be eligible to apply, applicants must:

• Be current graduate students at institutions of higher education within the United States
• Have a research focus on victimology
• Submit evidence of conference participation (e.g., abstract acceptance, award, roundtable)
• Be a current member of the DOV

Applications must include:

• Evidence of 2025 ASC Annual Meeting participation (e.g., abstract acceptance, award, roundtable)
• A 500-word personal statement about the importance of the award and how it will support the student’s career path, especially in the field of victimology
• Current CV/resume

Applications containing all materials listed above will be assessed by the DOV Awards Committee based on merit and need as described in the personal statement.

The awards will be given during the DOV award ceremony in November, so applicants are expected to attend.

Past Winners:

2025 – Alvi Ali and Makayla Burden

2024 – Godwin Egbe and Maria Paula Mendoza