Mckenzie Javorka
Biographic Data
| ID | 4083215 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mckenzie Javorka |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mckenzie |
| FAMILY NAME | Javorka |
| SIGNATURE | JAVORKA M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Michigan State University |
| ORCID | 0009-0000-6497-6190 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 20 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 20 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Is Delayed Justice Still Justice? Sexual Assault Survivors’ Experiences of Distributive, Retributive, and Restorative Outcomes in Cold Case Prosecutions
This study examined the experiences of sexual assault survivors whose cases were criminally prosecuted after their previously untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) were discovered and tested for DNA evidence. We conducted qualitative interviews with 32 survivors, the majority of whom identified as Black women, to examine how their perceptions of distributive, retributive, and restorative justice collectively shaped their overall experiences of just…
“This is what community care looks like
Community Health Workers (CHWs) play a critical role in advancing health equity by bridging the gap between health systems and the communities they serve. Although research on CHWs in the US has focused primarily on health outcomes and return on investment, less is known about CHWs' engagement in emotional labor and how they may be impacted by the emotional demands of their work. This ethnographic study examined how CHWs employed in one metropoli…
To See and Be Seen
Jurisdictions throughout the USA have begun addressing backlogs of previously untested sexual assault kits. Based on new forensic DNA testing, decades-old cold cases are now being re-opened, and survivors are being asked to assist in the prosecution of both stranger- and nonstranger-perpetrated sexual assaults. We qualitatively interviewed N = 32 sexual assault survivors who participated in cold case prosecutions. We conducted a thematic analysis…
The prosecution of sexual assault cases with forensic DNA evidence
Will you be there for me?” Social support from family and friends during cold case sexual assault prosecutions
If sexual assault survivors report the assault to the criminal legal system, they often need informal support from family and friends throughout the long and frequently retraumatizing process of investigation and prosecution. This study is part of a long‐term community‐based participatory action research project in a predominately Black/African American U.S. city that is facing extended delays in sexual assault prosecution because the police have…
Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion through consensus decision-making in the workplace
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose an explicit decision-making structure that aligns with the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Many academic and non-profit organizations aiming to advance workplace DEI maintain traditional hierarchies and decision-making structures that can impede DEI principles. Formal consensus decision-making (FCDM) is an alternative decision-making model that aligns with the values of DEI and may…
Community-based advocacy in “cold case” sexual assault prosecutions
Sexual assault survivors who report to the criminal legal system often need the assistance of victim advocates to navigate this complex and often retraumatizing system. In recent years, victim advocates have been called upon to assist more survivors in “cold case” sexual assault prosecutions. The term “cold case” refers to a criminal incident that is reopened years after it was initially reported, often because new evidence has become available. …
Exploring Survivors’ Decisions to Re-Engage With the Criminal Legal System in Cold Case Sexual Assault Investigations
Large stockpiles of unsubmitted sexual assault kits have been discovered across the United States and are disproportionately concentrated in predominantly Black communities. Recent testing of stockpiled sexual assault kits and reopening sexual assault “cold cases” for reinvestigation and prosecution created a second opportunity for justice through the criminal legal system for some sexual assault survivors. This study explored survivors’ decision…
Victim Notification Protocols for Untested Sexual Assault Kits
Current estimates suggest there are 300,000-400,000 untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) in police department storage facilities throughout the United States. As these kits are being discovered and then submitted for forensic DNA testing, legal system personnel may recontact victims. These "victim notifications" involve informing survivors their kits were previously untested, sharing the results of new DNA testing, and asking for their engagement …
Open science and data sharing in trauma research
Engaging participants in the archiving process is a feasible practice that is important and empowering for trauma survivors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Understanding Sexual Assault Survivors’ Perspectives on Archiving Qualitative Data
The open science movement has framed data sharing as necessary and achievable best practices for high-quality science. Feminist psychologists have complicated that narrative by questioning the purpose of data sharing across different paradigms, methodologies, and research populations. In these debates, the academic community has centered the needs and voices of researchers, and participants’ perspectives are largely missing from this literature. …
Sexual assault survivors' engagement with advocacy services during the Covid‐19 pandemic
Sexual assault advocates provide support to survivors as they navigate medical, legal, housing, and other complex systems. However, social distancing measures enacted in response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) forced changes to traditional advocacy services. The current study aimed to understand how the COVID‐19 pandemic transformed survivors' engagement with sexual assault advocacy services. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with…
This Isn't Just a Police Issue”
Sexual assault among college students is both a crime and a civil rights violation under U.S. federal Title IX policy, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational institutions. The current study sought to understand the extent to which the criminal justice system influences university Title IX proceedings, as well as potential consequences of this influence. For this study, we conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with a…
Partnering With Oppressive Institutions for Social Change
Community psychology is driven by the values of social justice, action, and accountability to oppressed groups, with a large body of literature devoted to understanding how to work in partnership with communities through participatory methodologies (e.g., community‐based participatory research, participatory action research). However, some community psychologists may work in partnership with oppressive institutions (e.g., the criminal justice sys…
Supporting sexual assault survivors with disabilities
National epidemiological data indicate that nearly 4 in 10 victims of recent sexual assaults have physical, cognitive/developmental, or mental health disabilities, which can make navigating postassault help seeking more challenging. To streamline services, many communities have created sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs for comprehensive health care, crisis intervention, medical forensic evidence collection, victim advocacy, and legal …
Widening the Lens
Varying prevalence rates of sexual violence across colleges and universities indicate the need to understand institutional factors underlying such variation; however, research often focuses exclusively on individual risk and protective factors, which both under theorizes and under explains the phenomenon of campus sexual assault. In this review, we propose that broadening to include campus- and contextual-level factors is necessary to fully expla…
A Trauma-Informed Approach to Sexual Violence Research Ethics and Open Science
The practice of ethics in social science research is a reflexive process of self-review to define a profession’s collective responsibility in the face of changing norms and expectations. In recent years, we have seen transformative changes in how society thinks about supporting sexual assault survivors, and how the scientific community thinks about our obligations to society. Decades of research on trauma and its impact has raised awareness about…
Stressors and drinking in sexual minority women
Sexual minority women are at elevated risk for exposure to stressors (both traumatic and discriminatory) and have higher rates of alcohol consumption and problems. The psychological mediation framework (Hatzenbuehler, 2009) suggests that both general (e.g., traumatic events to which minorities and nonminorities may be exposed) and minority-group-specific (e.g., discrimination) stressors contribute to psychopathology through mediators such as emot…
Campus-Level Variation in the Prevalence of Student Experiences of Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence
Objective: Sexual assault and intimate partner violence are problems on college campuses, yet few studies have examined campus-level factors that may be associated with their prevalence. This study examines campus-level factors that influence rates of sexual assault and intimate partner violence among college students. Method: Data are from 474 campuses that participated in the National College Health Assessment survey between 2011 and 2015. We u…
The Frequency, Nature, and Effects of Coerced Debt Among a National Sample of Women Seeking Help for Intimate Partner Violence
This study examines the frequency, nature, and effects of coerced debt, defined as non-consensual, credit-related transactions that occur in intimate relationships where one partner uses coercive control to dominate the other. The sample includes 1,823 women who called the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Results suggest that coerced debt, from both coercive and fraudulent transactions, is a common problem and is significantly related to contr…
The Frequency, Nature, and Effects of Coerced Debt Among a National Sample of Women Seeking Help for Intimate Partner Violence
This study examines the frequency, nature, and effects of coerced debt, defined as non-consensual, credit-related transactions that occur in intimate relationships where one partner uses coercive control to dominate the other. The sample includes 1,823 women who called the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Results suggest that coerced debt, from both coercive and fraudulent transactions, is a common problem and is significantly related to contr…
Understanding Sexual Assault Survivors’ Perspectives on Archiving Qualitative Data
The open science movement has framed data sharing as necessary and achievable best practices for high-quality science. Feminist psychologists have complicated that narrative by questioning the purpose of data sharing across different paradigms, methodologies, and research populations. In these debates, the academic community has centered the needs and voices of researchers, and participants’ perspectives are largely missing from this literature. …
Stressors and drinking in sexual minority women
Sexual minority women are at elevated risk for exposure to stressors (both traumatic and discriminatory) and have higher rates of alcohol consumption and problems. The psychological mediation framework (Hatzenbuehler, 2009) suggests that both general (e.g., traumatic events to which minorities and nonminorities may be exposed) and minority-group-specific (e.g., discrimination) stressors contribute to psychopathology through mediators such as emot…
Sexual assault survivors' engagement with advocacy services during the Covid‐19 pandemic
Sexual assault advocates provide support to survivors as they navigate medical, legal, housing, and other complex systems. However, social distancing measures enacted in response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) forced changes to traditional advocacy services. The current study aimed to understand how the COVID‐19 pandemic transformed survivors' engagement with sexual assault advocacy services. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with…
Partnering With Oppressive Institutions for Social Change
Community psychology is driven by the values of social justice, action, and accountability to oppressed groups, with a large body of literature devoted to understanding how to work in partnership with communities through participatory methodologies (e.g., community‐based participatory research, participatory action research). However, some community psychologists may work in partnership with oppressive institutions (e.g., the criminal justice sys…
Campus-Level Variation in the Prevalence of Student Experiences of Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence
Objective: Sexual assault and intimate partner violence are problems on college campuses, yet few studies have examined campus-level factors that may be associated with their prevalence. This study examines campus-level factors that influence rates of sexual assault and intimate partner violence among college students. Method: Data are from 474 campuses that participated in the National College Health Assessment survey between 2011 and 2015. We u…
The prosecution of sexual assault cases with forensic DNA evidence
Exploring Survivors’ Decisions to Re-Engage With the Criminal Legal System in Cold Case Sexual Assault Investigations
Large stockpiles of unsubmitted sexual assault kits have been discovered across the United States and are disproportionately concentrated in predominantly Black communities. Recent testing of stockpiled sexual assault kits and reopening sexual assault “cold cases” for reinvestigation and prosecution created a second opportunity for justice through the criminal legal system for some sexual assault survivors. This study explored survivors’ decision…
This Isn't Just a Police Issue”
Sexual assault among college students is both a crime and a civil rights violation under U.S. federal Title IX policy, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational institutions. The current study sought to understand the extent to which the criminal justice system influences university Title IX proceedings, as well as potential consequences of this influence. For this study, we conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with a…
A Trauma-Informed Approach to Sexual Violence Research Ethics and Open Science
The practice of ethics in social science research is a reflexive process of self-review to define a profession’s collective responsibility in the face of changing norms and expectations. In recent years, we have seen transformative changes in how society thinks about supporting sexual assault survivors, and how the scientific community thinks about our obligations to society. Decades of research on trauma and its impact has raised awareness about…
Stressors and drinking in sexual minority women
Sexual minority women are at elevated risk for exposure to stressors (both traumatic and discriminatory) and have higher rates of alcohol consumption and problems. The psychological mediation framework (Hatzenbuehler, 2009) suggests that both general (e.g., traumatic events to which minorities and nonminorities may be exposed) and minority-group-specific (e.g., discrimination) stressors contribute to psychopathology through mediators such as emot…
Campus-Level Variation in the Prevalence of Student Experiences of Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence
Objective: Sexual assault and intimate partner violence are problems on college campuses, yet few studies have examined campus-level factors that may be associated with their prevalence. This study examines campus-level factors that influence rates of sexual assault and intimate partner violence among college students. Method: Data are from 474 campuses that participated in the National College Health Assessment survey between 2011 and 2015. We u…
The Frequency, Nature, and Effects of Coerced Debt Among a National Sample of Women Seeking Help for Intimate Partner Violence
This study examines the frequency, nature, and effects of coerced debt, defined as non-consensual, credit-related transactions that occur in intimate relationships where one partner uses coercive control to dominate the other. The sample includes 1,823 women who called the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Results suggest that coerced debt, from both coercive and fraudulent transactions, is a common problem and is significantly related to contr…
Widening the Lens
Varying prevalence rates of sexual violence across colleges and universities indicate the need to understand institutional factors underlying such variation; however, research often focuses exclusively on individual risk and protective factors, which both under theorizes and under explains the phenomenon of campus sexual assault. In this review, we propose that broadening to include campus- and contextual-level factors is necessary to fully expla…
This Isn't Just a Police Issue”
Sexual assault among college students is both a crime and a civil rights violation under U.S. federal Title IX policy, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational institutions. The current study sought to understand the extent to which the criminal justice system influences university Title IX proceedings, as well as potential consequences of this influence. For this study, we conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with a…
Partnering With Oppressive Institutions for Social Change
Community psychology is driven by the values of social justice, action, and accountability to oppressed groups, with a large body of literature devoted to understanding how to work in partnership with communities through participatory methodologies (e.g., community‐based participatory research, participatory action research). However, some community psychologists may work in partnership with oppressive institutions (e.g., the criminal justice sys…
Supporting sexual assault survivors with disabilities
National epidemiological data indicate that nearly 4 in 10 victims of recent sexual assaults have physical, cognitive/developmental, or mental health disabilities, which can make navigating postassault help seeking more challenging. To streamline services, many communities have created sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs for comprehensive health care, crisis intervention, medical forensic evidence collection, victim advocacy, and legal …
Open science and data sharing in trauma research
Engaging participants in the archiving process is a feasible practice that is important and empowering for trauma survivors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Understanding Sexual Assault Survivors’ Perspectives on Archiving Qualitative Data
The open science movement has framed data sharing as necessary and achievable best practices for high-quality science. Feminist psychologists have complicated that narrative by questioning the purpose of data sharing across different paradigms, methodologies, and research populations. In these debates, the academic community has centered the needs and voices of researchers, and participants’ perspectives are largely missing from this literature. …
Sexual assault survivors' engagement with advocacy services during the Covid‐19 pandemic
Sexual assault advocates provide support to survivors as they navigate medical, legal, housing, and other complex systems. However, social distancing measures enacted in response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) forced changes to traditional advocacy services. The current study aimed to understand how the COVID‐19 pandemic transformed survivors' engagement with sexual assault advocacy services. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with…
Victim Notification Protocols for Untested Sexual Assault Kits
Current estimates suggest there are 300,000-400,000 untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) in police department storage facilities throughout the United States. As these kits are being discovered and then submitted for forensic DNA testing, legal system personnel may recontact victims. These "victim notifications" involve informing survivors their kits were previously untested, sharing the results of new DNA testing, and asking for their engagement …
Community-based advocacy in “cold case” sexual assault prosecutions
Sexual assault survivors who report to the criminal legal system often need the assistance of victim advocates to navigate this complex and often retraumatizing system. In recent years, victim advocates have been called upon to assist more survivors in “cold case” sexual assault prosecutions. The term “cold case” refers to a criminal incident that is reopened years after it was initially reported, often because new evidence has become available. …
Exploring Survivors’ Decisions to Re-Engage With the Criminal Legal System in Cold Case Sexual Assault Investigations
Large stockpiles of unsubmitted sexual assault kits have been discovered across the United States and are disproportionately concentrated in predominantly Black communities. Recent testing of stockpiled sexual assault kits and reopening sexual assault “cold cases” for reinvestigation and prosecution created a second opportunity for justice through the criminal legal system for some sexual assault survivors. This study explored survivors’ decision…
The prosecution of sexual assault cases with forensic DNA evidence
Will you be there for me?” Social support from family and friends during cold case sexual assault prosecutions
If sexual assault survivors report the assault to the criminal legal system, they often need informal support from family and friends throughout the long and frequently retraumatizing process of investigation and prosecution. This study is part of a long‐term community‐based participatory action research project in a predominately Black/African American U.S. city that is facing extended delays in sexual assault prosecution because the police have…
Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion through consensus decision-making in the workplace
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose an explicit decision-making structure that aligns with the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Many academic and non-profit organizations aiming to advance workplace DEI maintain traditional hierarchies and decision-making structures that can impede DEI principles. Formal consensus decision-making (FCDM) is an alternative decision-making model that aligns with the values of DEI and may…
Is Delayed Justice Still Justice? Sexual Assault Survivors’ Experiences of Distributive, Retributive, and Restorative Outcomes in Cold Case Prosecutions
This study examined the experiences of sexual assault survivors whose cases were criminally prosecuted after their previously untested sexual assault kits (SAKs) were discovered and tested for DNA evidence. We conducted qualitative interviews with 32 survivors, the majority of whom identified as Black women, to examine how their perceptions of distributive, retributive, and restorative justice collectively shaped their overall experiences of just…
“This is what community care looks like
Community Health Workers (CHWs) play a critical role in advancing health equity by bridging the gap between health systems and the communities they serve. Although research on CHWs in the US has focused primarily on health outcomes and return on investment, less is known about CHWs' engagement in emotional labor and how they may be impacted by the emotional demands of their work. This ethnographic study examined how CHWs employed in one metropoli…
To See and Be Seen
Jurisdictions throughout the USA have begun addressing backlogs of previously untested sexual assault kits. Based on new forensic DNA testing, decades-old cold cases are now being re-opened, and survivors are being asked to assist in the prosecution of both stranger- and nonstranger-perpetrated sexual assaults. We qualitatively interviewed N = 32 sexual assault survivors who participated in cold case prosecutions. We conducted a thematic analysis…
Psychology (14 works) · Poison control (13 works) · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies (13 works) · Medicine (12 works) · Suicide prevention (12 works) · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis (11 works) · Sexual assault (11 works) · Criminology (9 works) · Political science (9 works) · Human Factors and Ergonomics (7 works)