© Yolanda Merced-Graves used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Please join us for an event dedicated to launching the Raluca Iosif Intimate Partner Violence Research Award. Light refreshments will be served and music will be performed by Kamara Thomas.
October 11, 2016 4:00 – 6:00 PM
North Carolina Botanical Gardens, Reeves Auditorium
Please RSVP
Speakers:
- Rebecca Kohler, Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy & Development, IntraHealth International
- Constance Newman, Senior Team Leader, Gender Equality and Health, IntraHealth International
- Sabrina Garcia, Chapel Hill Police Department, Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Specialist
- Peggy Bentley, Associate Dean for Global Health, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
- Steve Marshall, Director, UNC Injury Prevention Research Center and Professor of Epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
- Beth Moracco, Director of the Master of Public Health Program for the Department of Health Behavior and Research Associate Professor, Department of Health Behavior, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
IntraHealth International is pleased to announce, in partnership with the University of North Carolina (UNC) Gillings School of Global Public Health and the Injury Prevention Research Center, this award. It serves as a tribute to Raluca Iosif, an IntraHealth colleague whose life was cut short by violence. The award will fund research focused on better understanding and preventing intimate partner violence and will be open to graduate students enrolled at the Gillings school.
More About the Award
IntraHealth International is pleased to announce, in partnership with the University of North Carolina (UNC) Gillings School of Global Public Health and the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center (IPRC) the launch of a new research award to advance understanding of the global problem of intimate partner violence, especially the little understood and under-researched human rights and public health-related aspects of the phenomenon. The award is made possible by the Raluca Iosif Memorial Fund established by IntraHealth.
Rigorous evidence on intimate partner violence forms the basis of effective advocacy and prevention, to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5.2, “Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres.” Currently, different definitions and classifications used for conceptualizing fatal intimate partner violence complicate the collection of information from various sources, resulting in documentation that is not comparable or actionable across communities, regions, and countries. Initially, recipients of the award will contribute to the academic research body of knowledge on the nature and extent of fatal intimate partner violence, including the definition, measurement and data sources; patterns in different settings and environments; who is at greatest risk; or how risk can be assessed, reduced and prevented, and governments’ obligations for protecting at-risk women.
Eligible candidates will be UNC Gillings doctoral or master’s students engaged in dissertation or thesis research focused on intimate partner violence. The annual selection process for this award will be overseen by an advisory committee from UNC. Student awardees will be mentored by IntraHealth and UNC technical leadership.
Upon completion of research, each student will present a public lecture to professional schools in the North Carolina Research Triangle Area, and will write a publication that contributes to the research base. The immediate outcomes of the Raluca Iosif Intimate Partner Violence Research Award research will be a stronger evidence base, standardized measurement and improved guidelines to strengthen the capacity of police, forensic, and health care personnel to assess, prevent, and respond effectively.
The longer-term impact of the award will be institutional commitment and priority given to intimate partner violence against women in global public health policy and practice, starting early in the professional education of global health practitioners.
The award is made possible by the Raluca Iosif Memorial Fund which was established by IntraHealth International in October 2015 to honor the legacy of IntraHealth’s former colleague, Raluca Iosif, who was killed in an act of fatal intimate partner violence in Durham, North Carolina, on October 6, 2015.
A dedicated member of IntraHealth’s program development unit, Raluca led initiatives that expanded IntraHealth’s work and global impact. Her sharp wit, bright spirit, and devotion to making health care available to more people in need were inspirational to IntraHealth staff and partners around the world.
This fund also was established to ensure that her deep commitment to global health, and to ending injustice, inequity, and violence against women, lives on. Contributions to the Raluca Iosif Memorial Fund can be made here.