Ratajczak, who received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Kentucky, became interested in studying victimization while earning her undergraduate degree. She was very involved in university activism, specifically with the Title IX Office and how campuses handled sexual assaults. Originally an English major, Dr. Ratajczak found herself interested in stories about women, a lot of which dealt with experiences of sexual violence. These stories sparked her interest in continuing to understand circumstances of victimization, with a goal of shedding light on experiences that have affected many women around the world. At first, Ratajczak set out to be an advocate for victims but quickly found that she could make a remarkable impact by researching and teaching in the area as well.
Dr. Ratajczak's internal grant will focus on the types of interpersonal victimization across rural and urban areas, the resources offered to victims based on geographic location and what happens after the victimization in these places. Her interest in this project began once she noticed a gap in research on victimization in rural areas.
She hopes to shed light on rural community resources and influence how the government provides funds to these communities saying, “I want to get a lot of good information from the victims first to present to organizations who might want to expand their services into rural spaces and to also take these findings and show them to our state government that provides funds that help serve different communities.”
This internal grant of $4,880 will fund a graduate student to help with the research and will also use the funds to compensate the survivors sharing their stories for the study. Her research will help underserved communities and has the opportunity to affect policy.
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