Dr. Betty Jo Barrett

Scholarly interests/areas of expertise

• Gender based violence in heterosexual and 2SLGBTQ+ relationships
• Human-animal bond
• Criminal justice
• Critical, feminist, anti-oppressive, and anti-racist social work
• Trauma informed practice
• Knowledge translation and mobilization
• Scholarship of teaching and learning

Educational background

• PhD, MSSW University of Wisconsin, Madison
• BSW Virginia Commonwealth University

Courses Taught

Undergraduate

• Meeting Human Needs Through Social Welfare
• Issues and Perspectives in Social Welfare
• Social Work and Diversity
• Social Work and Violence
• Feminist Social Work Practice

Graduate

• Social Work Research: Practice Evaluation
• Social Work Values, Ethics, and Anti-Oppressive Practice
• Social Justice and Social Change 

Biography

Dr. Betty Jo Barrett is a Professor of Social Work at the University of Windsor.  She is the Co-Director of the Health Research Centre for the Study of Violence Against Women and a founding member of the Animal and Interpersonal Abuse Research Group. Her research interrogates gender-based violence, with a specific focus on intimate partner violence in heterosexual and 2SLGBTQ+ relationships and survivors’ interactions with formal and informal sources of support. Her recent scholarship examines the nexus of violence against humans and non-human animals in the context of intimate partner violence.  She is also an instructor in the Walls to Bridges Program, which brings together university students with incarcerated students for co-learning and community building as peers in university credit courses taught inside carceral spaces.

Select Recent Publications 

Fitzgerald, A., Barrett, B.J., Gray, A., & Cheung, C. (in press).  The co-occurrence of animal abuse and intimate partner violence among a nationally representative sample: Evidence of “the link” in the general population. Violence and Victims.

Kcomt, L., Gorey, K. M., Barrett, B. J., Levin, D., Grant, J., & McCabe, S. E. (2021). Unmet healthcare need due to cost concerns among U.S. transgender and gender-expansive adults: Results from a national survey. Health & Social Work, 46(4), 250-259. doi: 10.1093/hsw/hlab029. PMID: 34617997

Barrett, B.J., Peirone, A., Cheung, C., & Habibov, N. (2021). Pathways to police contact for spousal violence survivors: The role of individual and neighborhood factors in survivors’ reporting behaviors.  Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(1-2), 632-662. doi.org/10.1177/0886260517729400

Barrett, B.J., Fitzgerald, A., Stevenson, R. & Cheung, C. (2020).  Animal abuse as a risk marker of more frequent and severe forms of intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,35(23-34), 5131-5156. doi.org/10.1177/0886260517719542

Archer-Kuhn, B., Samson, P. Damianakis, T., Barrett, B.J., Matin, S., & Ahern, C. (2020). Transformative learning in field education: Students bridging the theory/practice gap. The British Journal of Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcaa082 [Advanced on-line publication]

Fitzgerald, A., Barrett, B.J., & Gray, A.. (2021).  The co-occurrence of animal abuse and intimate partner violence among a nationally representative sample: Evidence of “the link” in the general population. Violence and Victims, 36(6), 770-792. Doi:10.1891/VV-D-19-00047

Barrett, B.J., Peirone, A. & Cheung, C. (2020). Help seeking experiences of survivors of intimate partner violence in Canada: The role of gender, violence severity, and social belonging. Journal of Family Violence, 35(1), 15-28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-019-00086-8

Damianakis, T., Barrett, B.J., Archer-Kuhn, B., Samson, P., Matin, S., & Ahern, C. (2020). Transformative learning in graduate education: Masters of Social Work students experiences of personal and professional learning. Studies in Higher Education, 45(9), 2011-2029. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1650735

Gray, A., Barrett, B.J., Fitzgerald, A., & Peirone, A. (2019). Fleeing with Fido: An analysis of what Canadian domestic violence shelters are communicating via their websites about leaving an abusive relationship when pets are involved. Journal of Family Violence, 34(4), 287-298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-018-0023-z

Barrett, B.J., Peirone, A., & Cheung, C. (2019).  Spousal violence and evaluations of police performance in Canada:  Does police contact matter? Journal of Family Violence, 34(3), 199-211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-018-0017-x

Fitzgerald, A., Barrett, B.J., Stevenson, R., & Cheung, C. (2019).  Animal maltreatment in the context of intimate partner violence:  A manifestation of power and control? Violence against Women,25(15), 1806-1828. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801218824993

Barrett, B.J., Fitzgerald, A., Peirone, A., & Cheung, C. (2018). Help-seeking among abused women with pets:  Evidence from a Canadian sample. Violence and Victims, 33(4), 604-626. doi: 10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-17-00072

Stevenson, R., Fitzgerald, A., & Barrett, B.J. (2018).  Keeping pets safe in the context of intimate partner violence:  Insights from domestic violence shelter staff in Canada. Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, 33(2), 236-252. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109917747613

Kondrat, D. C., Sullivan, W. P., Wilkins, B., Barrett, B. J., & Beerbower, E. (2018). The mediating effect of social support on the relationship between the impact of experienced stigma and mental health. Stigma and Health, 3(4), 305-314. https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000103

Barrett, B.J., Fitzgerald, A., & Cheung, C. (2021). Domestic violence, companion animal abuse, and help seeking:  The mediating role of fear of lethal violence. Women & Criminal Justice. DOI: 10.1080/08974454.2021.2004970 [Advanced on-line publication]

Select Recent SSHRC Grants 

2019, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Insight Grant Program. Where Vulnerability and Victimization Intersect but Escape Routes Do Not: The Co-Occurrence of Animal Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence in Canada.  PI: Fitzgerald, A.; Co-PI: Barrett, B.J., Fritz, P., & McPhee, D.; Collaborator: Stevenson, R.; $194,438

2019, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Partnership Engage Program.  Facilitating Safe Housing for Women and Pets Fleeing Abusive Relationships.  PI: Barrett, B.J.; Co-PI: Fritz, P. Fitzgerald, A., & Stevenson, R.; $24,956 (project total with matching funds $42,257).

2019, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Connection Grant Program. Bringing Together Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence Sectors: Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice. PI: Fritz, P.; Co-PI Barrett, B.J., Collier, C., & Senn, C.; $24,627 (project total with matching funds $45,507)

2018, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Connection Grant Program. Animals and Us:  Research, Policy, and Practice. PI:  Barrett, B.J.; Co-PI: Fitzgerald, A., & Fritz, P.; $24,941 (project total with matching funds $46,535)

2023-2025, New Frontiers in Research Fund. Community-Based Responses to Gender-Based Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic:  What Works? PI:  Mohanty, J; Co-PI:  Barrett, B.J., Alberton, A., John-Langba, J., & Chokkanathan, S.; Co-Applicants: Khalema, E. & Hertzog, J.; $490,549.

2022, Human and Animal Bond Research Institute, Addressing Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Human-Animal Interaction Grant Program. Wellbeing at the Nexus of Animal Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence:  A Study of Canadian Adults. PI: Stevenson, R.; Co-PI: Fritz, P., & Gray, A.; Collaborators:  Barrett, B.J., & Fitzgerald, A.; $39,827 (USD)

2022, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Insight Development Grant Program.  Anticipated Violence and Queer Lives:  Apprehensions and Anxieties as Part of Queer Subjectivities.  PI:  Hrynyk, N.; Co-PI:  Orr, C.; Collaborators:  Barrett, B.J. & Senn, C.; $67,161