Shana L. Maier, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Criminal Justice Department and director of the Master's in Criminal Justice program at Widener University (Chester, PA). She received her B.S. and M.S. degrees from Saint Joseph’s University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Delaware. She began her career at Widener University in 2005. Her research interests include intimate partner violence, the treatment of rape victims by the criminal justice, medical and legal systems, the transformation of rape crisis centers, the experiences and struggles of rape victim advocates, and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners. Her most recent book (2014) focuses on police officers’ experiences responding to rape victims and investigating rape allegations. Her research on rape victim advocates has been published in Violence Against Women, Feminist Criminology, Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, and Women & Criminal Justice. Her article, “‘I have heard horrible stories...’Rape victim advocates’ perceptions of the revictimization of rape victims by the police and medical system” was nominated for best article of the year award by Violence Against Women in 2008. Her research on the experiences of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners has been published in Feminist Criminology, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, and Journal of Forensic Nursing. She also co-authored articles appearing in Deviant Behavior, Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, International Review of Victimology and Women’s Health and Urban Life. She is a co-author of the text Women, Men and Society (Pearson).
