Who am I

I am a sociologist, with an affiliation as a research professor at the Criminology Department of the German Police University in Münster (DHPOL), a graduate training institution offering a Master's course for future top management officers. Criminology's interest in family violence dates back to the late 1970s/early 1980, mostly in English speaking societies (in the United States, and e.g. Australia), and in the context of the women's movement. I have taught at universities in North America, Australia, Japan, Switzerland, and Germany.

When I started teaching criminology at the University of Melbourne, domestic violence became one of my topics. Reporting rates are low in most countries, and assaults in the house registered by law enforcement, but also victim studies' findings on this type of violence reveal significant differences between countries. Additionally, differences prevail among migrant and minority communities within one country. For more than three decades, I have continued research on domestic violence, cultural determinants, policing, and prevention. This has brought me into contact with researchers from other European countries. Over the years we formed a consortium to carry out the project on how to link police, medical practitioners and other important professions to prevent and mitigate high impact domestic violence.
Often when DV occurs, police officers arrive at the scene too late to de-escalate conflicts, or to prevent such violent encounters in the future. However, law enforcement together with other first line responders like family doctors, victim services, public health, and youth administration can co-operate in order to stop escalation, traumatization, and violent offending. And now here we are – starting of a project funded by EU H2020 framework.

I will be posting events and milestones throughout the length of project to provide you an overview of the progress of the project.

2018-05-01 by Joachim Kersten