Mahri Irvine, Ph.D.

Adjunct Professorial Lecturer
American University, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program

Dr. Mahri Irvine is an educator and researcher who studies the cultural causes of gender-based violence; physical and psychological harms caused by violence; motivations and attitudes of perpetrators; and best practices for violence prevention and culture change. Formally trained in anthropology, Dr. Irvine values a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to research and teaching. Dr. Irvine’s research focuses on rape culture and sexual violence in the United States. Her first major research study examined the impact of sexual victimization on women’s pathways to crime and prison, and she has conducted numerous trainings about this topic for professionals in counseling, nursing, law enforcement, and advocacy. Dr. Irvine is the Director of Campus Initiatives for the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault, and runs a statewide Campus Consortium. Dr. Irvine is also an adjunct faculty member for the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at American University; she regularly designs and teaches classes about gender and violence. Dr. Irvine has worked in the anti-sexual violence movement for over sixteen years. She has over four years of experience working directly with survivors of gender-based violence, serving with a prison reentry organization in Washington, DC, the DC Rape Crisis Center in Washington, DC, and Rape Victim Advocates in Chicago. Dr. Irvine’s experiences working with rape survivors in Chicago profoundly affected her personal and professional outlook on the world, and launched her career as an anthropologist.