Each summer, the Public Policy Center’s Researcher-in-Residence Program fosters a unique environment for faculty and scientific staff to delve deeper into critical topics, providing the dedicated time and resources necessary to propel their work forward. This year’s program spotlights two compelling research projects which explore the experiences of disadvantaged populations and the potential for social and structural change. 

Understanding Sexual Violence in Carceral Institutions: Amber Joy Powell

Amber Joy Powell, assistant professor of sociology and criminology, is examining the sexual victimization of incarcerated people. Her work, titled “At the Intersection of Carceral & Sexual Citizenship: How Incarcerated Communities Mobilize Prison Rape Law,” seeks to understand sexual violence within detention, how carceral institutions, such as local jails and state and federal prisons, are responding to it, and—more broadly—the possibility for sexual safety and accountability in prison.  

An extension of her dissertation work, Powell's research has roots in her background as a sexual assault victim advocate. As she answered hotline calls and accompanied victims to forensic exams, Powell became interested in how individuals, especially youth, experienced sexual violence. Even more so, Powell became invested in the systemic responses to sexual victimization.  

“I did some work around the narratives that attorneys construct on what constitutes a ‘real’ victim, or the ways that the court system was discrediting victims,” Powell explained. “I did that work for several years and started to ask myself, well, who are the people in this anti-sexual violence movement who we’re not talking about? Who gets the least attention?”  

Those questions prompted her to consider the prison system and how incarcerated people’s experiences with sexual violence differ from those living in community environments, as well as the legislation that was meant to combat such trauma. PREA, or the Prison Rape Elimination Act, became a point of investigation for Powell and remains a central focus of her current research.  

Powell began accumulating PREA case records in 2020, sending out a Freedom of Information Act request to over a dozen departments of corrections. She was ultimately given access to 35 different PREA investigations to aid in her research—over 800 pages of case details and interviews that illustrated the benefits and pitfalls of the act. 

The interviews included within the investigations were the steppingstone to Powell’s next phase of research. She began to interview those who had a professional understanding of PREA, including coordinators, investigators, auditors, and others who were responsible for ensuring facilities remained compliant. Powell also spoke with those who provided support services within prisons, as well as previously incarcerated individuals who had experienced some form of sexual victimization while in detention.  

“What I mostly hear about PREA is that people are glad that there’s something,” Powell explained. “Most of the people I’ve interviewed have been involved in correctional work in some aspect for at least 20 years, so they can remember what it was like in the time before PREA. But then there’s also the idea that PREA doesn’t really have a lot of teeth behind it, and it’s really difficult to get a report substantiated in the first place.”  

As a Researcher-in-Residence at the PPC, Powell has continued to conduct life history interviews with previously incarcerated individuals to further her understanding of not only the experiences of those in prison, but everything that came before.  

“In most of these interviews, we’re actually talking about everything that led up to incarceration, and at the end of the interview we finally get to what was going on inside these facilities,” Powell said. “What that’s showed me is that in order to understand what’s going on within prisons, we have to understand all the cumulative violence that’s going on before.”  

During her time in the program, Powell has completed 19 interviews with the help of her team—graduate students Kendall Riley and Andrea Smith and undergraduates from the Summer Research Opportunities Program Adriana Novello and Lonni Garcia. Powell also intends to complete and submit a paper to Violence Against Women, a criminology journal, examining how the advocates she’s interviewed understand the abuse of girls in detention.  

While considering the scope and potential impact of her work, Powell expressed, “I think my research brings up interesting questions for this movement of anti-sexual violence about what sexual safety could look like beyond carceral systems, and if it’s possible to even have sexual safety in carceral systems.”  

Addressing Food and Housing Insecurity Among MSW Students: Megan Gilster 

Megan Gilster, associate professor in the School of Social Work, is focusing on a familiar demographic during her time in the Researcher-in-Residence program—Master of Social Work (MSW) students. After spending some time examining housing insecurity in the Iowa City area, Gilster launched a project focusing on MSW students during the 2018-2019 academic year, distributing a survey focused on students’ access to basic needs. Her intent was to uncover the current state of food and housing insecurity within the program, which has sites in Sioux City, Des Moines, and online.  

The results revealed that 45% of MSW students surveyed experienced food insecurity, while 45% experienced housing insecurity.  

“Ultimately, there were more students experiencing some kind of insecurity than not,” said Gilster. “I knew it was an issue, and I also knew that there was more to learn. That’s what my current project is really stemming from. I want to understand better if social work students are like other graduate students or if they’re a little bit different. So far, my work over the last couple of weeks is showing that they’re a little different.”  

The primary differences that Gilster has identified are the rate of debt reliance, food insecurity, and housing insecurity which are higher among MSW students. Factors that might explain this disparity are the 900 required practicum hours necessary to complete an MSW, as well as the added contexts of the student’s institution and place of residence, which could greatly impact the health and well-being of MSW students. 

Speaking to the future of the social work field, Gilster reflected, “We don't know how much of a barrier these kinds of insecurities are for people even just going back to graduate school. There’s a shortage of mental health providers, and social work is a growing field. We want to grow our programs, and we want to grow our programs in a way that produces social workers that are thriving and happy and healthy, and there is evidence that food or housing insecurity can have mental health, health, and academic impacts.”  

By the end of the five-week Researcher-in-Residence Program, Gilster hopes to complete a grant proposal to support a mixed methods study of student debt load, hardship, and mental health across multiple schools of social work in the Midwest. She also intends to write a conference abstract specific to the data analysis portion of her research.  

As a long-time partner of the PPC, Gilster is well acquainted with many of the services the center offers. However, she notes that her time in the summer program has provided her with additional valuable resources that have aided in her work’s progress.  

“I love the structure of weekly check-ins for accountability,” said Gilster. “I think external accountability is always super helpful for faculty, and the structure that’s been created here in the program is fabulous for really making sure that we get the work done that we’re trying to do.”  

The Summer Researcher-in-Residence Program concludes July 19th. To stay updated on Powell and Gilster’s progress, new developments at the center, and more, subscribe to our monthly newsletter. For more information on the center's research programs, click here.