Faculty and Staff

Julia O’Connor, PhD, MSW, MPH, is an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida in the School of Social Work and a member of the Violence Against Women faculty cluster with a secondary appointment in the College of Medicine, Department of Population Health Sciences. Julia’s research interests stem from a professional career with survivors of sexual and domestic violence. In the course of this career, she held various positions, including case manager and women’s advocate in numerous organizations and as a felony-level legal advocate. Additionally, she has extensive experience designing, implementing, and analyzing data on interpersonal violence. Julia’s research interests focus on violence against women namely primary prevention – stopping violent behaviors before they occur – including exploring attitudes and beliefs related to perpetrating violence against women as well as bystander interventions. Other research areas include understanding institutional measures, indicators, and responses to violence; marginalized populations experiences of violence; and understanding the impact of violence on survivors. Julia has served in AmeriCorps (Kent County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, WA, 2001-2002), the Peace Corps (Uganda, 2004-2006), and Peace Corps Response (Guyana, 2013-2014).