Tracy L. Tamborra, Ph.D.

Education

Ph.D., City University of New York, 2008
M.S., University of New Haven, 2000
B.S., University of New Haven, 1996

About Tracy

Tracy Tamborra is a nationally recognized expert on domestic violence, sexual assault and abuse, and the effects of the criminal justice system on women, persons of color, and persons affected by poverty.

Dr. Tamborra has co-authored one book, Victimology: The Transformation into the 21st Century, and is currently completing her next book, The Truth about Rape in America: It’s Legal. In addition, she has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles in journals such as Feminist Criminology, Violence and Victims, Violence Against Women, and Journal of Studies in International Education. She has also contributed to such works as African Americans and Criminal Justice: An encyclopedia, and Jura Gentium, Rivista di filosofia del diritto internazionale e della politica globale. Finally, her written work has also resulted in the publication of editorials, including her most recent discussion titled, “White liberal parents are also responsible for George Floyd’s death”, which was featured in the New Haven Register.

Dr. Tamborra recently examined the safety of U.S. university students studying abroad. Her findings suggest that studying abroad is a safe experience and that rates of the most serious forms of victimization including physical assault and sexual assault are low. This research was highlighted in Inside Higher Ed. Dr. Tamborra hopes her research dispels myths that studying abroad presents greater than average victimization risks. Additionally, her publications include titles such as, "Poor, Urban, Battered Women Who Are Stalked: How Can We Include their Experiences?", "Verbally Coerced Sex: Does She Have to Say No?" and “African American Females and Domestic Violence.”

In 2016, she was selected as an expert contributor by the Crime & Justice Research Alliance, a collaborative partnership between the nation’s two leading criminal justice scholar associations. She is often asked to share her insight about violence against women and her critical perspective on the criminal justice system with the media. Her recent media contributions include interviews with NBC LX, Bustle, The Global News, and The Guardian.

Dr. Tamborra comes to academia after a career in social services. As former director of WomenRising, Inc., a domestic violence services agency in New Jersey, she developed and facilitated training sessions on topics related to domestic violence and sexual assault/abuse for law enforcement and prosecutors. She also developed and facilitated a training program at the University of New Haven for campus police, municipal police, University faculty, staff, and students to share best practices for responding to and preventing violence against women, by applying an intersectional lens.

Dr. Tamborra received her Ph.D. in criminal justice from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and her M.S. and B.S. degrees from the University of New Haven. She has received numerous awards including the University of New Haven Shero Award, The University of New Haven Full Time Faculty of the Year Award, and the Gail Burns-Smith Special Recognition Award from the Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services.

PUBLICATIONS (books/chapters)

Stanley, D., Pfeifer, H., Wasileski, G., & Tamborra, T.L. (2020). Prioritizing the Victim: The 21st Century Transformation of Victimology, 1st Edition. Kendall/Hunt Publishing.

Tamborra, T.L. (2014). African American females and domestic violence. African Americans and Criminal Justice: An Encyclopedia. Greenwood Press: CA.

PUBLICATIONS (peer reviewed journals)

Tamborra, T.L., Dutton, L.B., Narchet, F.M., & Cuevas, C. A. (2021 online). Women’s experience with sexual harassment and assault while studying abroad. Violence Against Women 0(0), 1 - 14. DOI: 10.1177/10778012211030945

Tamborra, T.L., Baker, AN., Jeffries, S., Tempio, M., & Campbell, E. (2020). Victimization experienced while studying abroad: An examination of rates and other relevant factors. Journal of Studies in International Education, 1028315319861 354.

Dutton, L. B., Tamborra, T.L., & Narchet, F. M. (2019). Domestic violence agency personnel’s experiences with and perceptions of the Lethality Assessment Program. Violence and Victims 33(3). 417-435.

Dutton, L. B., Tamborra, T.L., & Pittman, M. (2018). Police officers’ and victim advocates’ experiences with and perceptions of the Lethality Assessment Program. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 0887403417740187.

Tamborra, T.L. (2016). Quando le politiche e le leggi pensate per le aree residenziali sono applicate ai residenti delle aree urbane - Una critica delle leggi e delle ricerche in materia di stalking. Jura Gentium, Rivista di filosofia del diritto internazionale e della politica globale, ISSN 1826-8269.
https://www.juragentium.org/forum/violenzadonne/index.html
(Title translation: When politics and law developed for suburban residents are applied to urban residents: A critique of law and research on stalking.)

Muzzica, R., Tamborra, T.L. & Amarelli, G. (2015). Emerging cultural offenses in Italy: A challenge for criminal law. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 4, 141 – 153.

Raghavan, C., Cohen, S., & Tamborra, T.L. (2015). Development and Preliminary Validation of the Multidimensional Sexual Coercion Questionnaire. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 1-19. Doi: 10.1080/13552600.2014.917341

Tamborra, T.L., Terry, K., & Dutton, L. (2014). Verbally coerced sex: Does she have to say no? International Review of Victimology 20(2), 227 - 241.

Tamborra, T.L. (2012). Poor, urban, battered women who are stalked: How can we include their experiences? Feminist Criminology, 7(2), 112 - 129.

Tamborra, T.L. & Narchet, F. (2011). University Sexual Misconduct Policy: Prioritizing student-victim voices. Crime Prevention and Community Safety 13(1), 16-33.

PUBLICATIONS (journalistic)

Tamborra, T. (2020). White liberal parents are also responsible for George Floyd’s death. New Haven Register, June 4, 2020. https://www.nhregister.com/opinion/article/Opinion-White-liberal-parents-are-also-15316804.php

Tamborra, T. (2016). Should teachers be armed: Experts pick sides. Featured expert contributor: Wallet Hub. https://wallethub.com/blog/should-teachers-be-armed/30580/

Tamborra, T. (2016). Is Donald Trump a scapegoat for some of our personal frustrations? Op-Ed published by the New Haven Register, November 15, 2016.

Tamborra, T. (2010). Rape is too common to be shocking. Op-Ed published by the New Haven Register, March 4, 2010.

ACADEMIC PRESENTATIONS

Tamborra, T.L., Dutton, L.B, & Narchet, F.M. (2019). Sexual assault and harassment experienced by females studying abroad: How priming, pre-departure attitudes, and protective factors relate to reported rates of victimization. Presented at the 2019 American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

Tamborra, T. L., Baker, A.N., Jefrries, S. (2018). Victimization experienced while studying abroad: An examination of rates and other relevant factors. Presented at the 2018 American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA.

Tamborra, T.L. (2016) Round Table Chair: Managing hot topics in the classroom. Presented at the 2016 American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA.

**Dutton, L.B., Tamborra, T.L., & Pittman, M. (2016). Police officers’ experience with and perceptions of the Lethality Assessment Programs. Presented at the 2016 American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA.

Recent Conference Presentations

Tamborra, T. L., Baker, A.N., Jefrries, S. (2018). Victimization experienced while studying abroad: An examination of rates and other relevant factors. Presented at the 2018 American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA.

Dutton, L. B., Tamborra, T., & Pittman, M. (2016). Police officers’ experiences with and perceptions of the Lethality Assessment Program. American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA.

Dutton, L. B., Tamborra, T., & Pittman, M. (2016). Police officers’ and victim advocates’ experiences with and perceptions of the Lethality Assessment Program. International Family Violence and Child Victimization Conference, Portsmouth, NH.

Courses Taught
  • CJ 2206 Victims and Victimization
  • CJ 3311 Criminology
  • CJST 3340 Race, Class, and Gender Issues in Criminal Justice
  • CJ 4411 Victimology

News and In the Media

In the Media

Newsy: Weinstein To Face Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Other Accusers In L.A. Trial

Tracy Tamborra, professor of criminal justice, discusses Harvey Weinstein’s trial in California for sexual assault, including targeting well-known actors and models, and comments those who are socially, economically, or politically powerful seem to be given the creditability an average woman might not receive in order to get their day in court.