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The “Researching Violence: A Series Addressing Research Challenges, Strategies, and Practices” series of the UK Center for Research on Violence Against Women launches Thursday. 

The series’ goal is to present information to the public on violence that women face, and how to approach and prevent such occurrences. The faculty at CRVAW focus on research to specific topics mentioned in the series, improving the quality of life for women, and furthermore preventing violence. 

“We have a lot of expertise, a lot of talent here. I thought we might want to do a different kind of series, one that will challenge the assumptions (the audience) already has about violence and women,” said Diane Follingstad, director of the Center for Research on Violence Against Women. 

The highly motivated group hopes to share their experience in groups in Kentucky and beyond the region. CRVAW is a diverse group of women colleagues at UK. The five members of the group have accumulated in total over 160 years of research.

“The first topic in itself should be intriguing,” Follingstad said. “The series will offer more sophisticated information that is practical and useful on the topics discussed.”

The series will take place over the next two years with two presentations per semester.

Follingstad will be giving the first lecture, titled “Measuring Intimate Partner Violence: Problematic Assumptions and Downright Fallacies.” The lecture will take place Thursday at 4 p.m. in the James Hardymon Theater, located in the UK Marksbury Building. The event is free and open to the public. 

The CRVAW is also in charge of the C.A.T.S Survey (Campus Attitude Toward Safety). The Survey and more information about CRVAW can be found at http://www.research.uky.edu/crvaw/index.html.