Brooklynn Hitchens, Assistant Professor, Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Maryland
Title: ‘In and Out ‘the Mix’: How Street-Identified Black Women and Girls (De)Escalate Gun Violence in Trauma Deserts
Abstract: Using mixed-methods data and Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR) methodology, Dr. Hitchens examines the social ecology of gun violence among street-identified Black women and girls—or how a range of contextual factors increases their risk for experiencing and perpetrating violent harm. Street-identified Black women and girls comprise a distinctive, hard-to-reach subset of the broader urban, Black population that is often in closer proximity to criminal justice contact, violence, and other forms of illegal activity. This talk unravels how these women negotiate violent encounters in trauma deserts where poor access to trauma care increases mortality rates and community tensions in low-income Black neighborhoods. Dr. Hitchens demonstrates how their social proximity to street life is a site of resilience or survival in oppressive conditions, and ultimately shapes their cultural worldviews and victimization risk. She also discusses best practices for scholars and practitioners on managing the social value of our research and obligations to study participants through community-engaged and emancipatory methods.
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