Lara B. Gerassi

Lara B. Gerassi’s research focuses on increasing the safety and security for individuals involved in or at risk of commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. To facilitate this, her work aims to:

1) improve the quality of the service delivery system (i.e. substance use treatment, residential services, mental health counseling);

2) strengthen organizations’ anti-oppressive and trauma-informed practices; and

3) understand the unique experiences based on one’s intersectional identities that require customized intervention and prevention strategies to reduce risk behaviors.

She is the lead author on a book entitled Sex Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Prevention, Advocacy, and Trauma-Informed Practice  and has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications as well as book chapters and contributions on gender-based violence and sexual risk behavior. Her direct practice work with survivors of violence and experiences earning her clinical license (LCSW) have served as an essential foundation to her research agenda.

Lara Gerassi’s Research Gate Page

Download Lara Gerassi’s Curriculum Vitae

Affiliations: Center for Research on Gender & Women; School of Social Work.