Research
The Global Center for Women and Justice is committed to collaborative research with faculty, student, and community partners that serves to expand our shared knowledge base and strengthen our community.
2025-2026 Research
Olive Crest/CDSS CSEC Pilot Evaluation
Dr. Brenda Navarrete led GCWJ's evaluation of a CDSS-funded initiative building a trauma-informed continuum of care for youth affected by commercial sexual exploitation across four Southern California counties, from 2023 through June 2026. Her mixed-methods study drew on service and placement data, standardized assessments, stakeholder focus groups, lived-experience consultations, and youth feedback, culminating in a 26-page final report submitted to CDSS that interprets outcomes within the realities of trauma, exploitation, and nonlinear healing.
Safe Communities; Safe Kids
Funded by the Samueli Foundation, GCWJ's Safe Communities; Safe Kids program applies its research on exploitation and prevention to train Vanguard University student Peer Educators, who deliver trauma-informed lessons on human trafficking, healthy relationships, online safety, and grooming to Orange County schools and community groups. Ongoing program evaluation by Program Director Jamie Macintosh shapes the curriculum as it grows. Over its first two years, the Peer Educator team expanded from 10 to 20 students, reaching 2,113 students through 158 lessons and training 48 educators across schools, youth groups, and Boys & Girls Club sites.
GCWJ Templeton-Nottingham Research
The Templeton-Nottingham Grant, led by the University of Nottingham's Rights Lab, examines how religious belief and psychology shape faith-based responses to human trafficking. GCWJ leads the Romania and Costa Rica case studies, bringing trauma-informed expertise and helping design the study's qualitative framework. In 2026, GCWJ researchers Dr. Sandra Morgan, Stephanie Taylor, and Dr. Brenda Navarrete conducted fieldwork in Bucharest and Costa Rica, engaging government, faith, and NGO leaders. GCWJ will contribute to cross-country analysis and help translate findings into a Cambridge University Press book, policy briefs, and training resources.
PACT Sacramento 2025
At the 2025 PACT statewide convening, themed "REIGNITE: Build Connections & Imagine Possibilities," GCWJ's Derek Marsh, Jamie Macintosh, and Dr. Sandie Morgan joined Paul Chang (Department of Labor), Lisa Delamater (Orange County Child Welfare), and survivor leader Carissa Phelps for the Closing Plenary, “The Power of Effective Partnership and Collaboration.” The session challenged attendees to identify who is missing from anti-trafficking efforts, spotlighting law enforcement, labor trafficking, child welfare, and survivor perspectives, alongside GCWJ's continued focus on prevention. The team returns in 2026 to lead in-depth workshops.
Research Courses
Students integrate Standpoint theory into research that reflects the intersection of our diverse experiences.
Anti Human Trafficking Task Forces
GCWJ collaborates with task forces in action research based on their in-field expertise and training.
Conferences
Our highly trained staff and expert practitioners attend, speak and learn at national and international conferences in the fields of women’s issues and exploitation.
Library
The Elizabeth-Leonard Memorial collection in our VU Library supports academic inquiry into the experiences of women and families across the globe.
Global Partnership
Partnering with the Ministry of Higher Education to build capacity for women in leadership.