Departmental Affiliations
Michele Decker, ScD, leads research at the cutting edge of gender equity, and gender-based violence prevention and response, in close partnership with practitioners and communities most affected.
Contact Info
Research Interests
Women’s health; gender; disparities; sexual and reproductive health; intimate partner violence; sexual assault; gender-based violence; sex workers; sex trafficking; adolescent health; maternal and child health; public health and human rights
Experiences & Accomplishments
Michele R. Decker, ScD, MPH, is a Professor in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She holds an endowed Bloomberg Professorship of American Health, and leads the Initiative's Violence Steering Committee. She directs the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Women's Health and Gender Equity. A social epidemiologist by training, Decker's applied research portfolio addresses the epidemiology, social determinants, health impact, and prevention of gender-based violence (GBV) and other gender inequities in diverse global settings, in concert with practitioners and communities most affected, and with diverse extramural support (CDC, NIH, NIJ, OWH). Decker's work includes evaluation of innovative GBV prevention and response strategies including housing supports, clinic-based interventions and tech-based solutions, as well as research in partnership with communities to document violence and understand and mitigate its impact. She blends large-scale quantitative investigations with qualitative methods. She is the founding instructor of the GBV course here at JHSPH.
Select Publications
Selected publications on empowerment, violence and other social determinants of women's health
Decker MR, Grace KT, Holliday CN, Bevilacqua KG, Kaur A, Miller J. Safe and stable housing for intimate partner violence survivors, Maryland, 2019-2020. Am J Public Health. 2022 Apr 14:e1-e6. PMID: 35420894.
Decker MR, Bevilacqua K, Wood SN, Ngare GW, Thiongo M, Byrne ME, Williams A, Devoto B, Glass N, Heise L, Gichangi P. Gender-based violence during COVID-19 among adolescent girls and young women in Nairobi, Kenya: a mixed-methods prospective study over 18 months. BMJ Glob Health. 2022 Feb;7(2):e007807. PMID: 35210310; PMCID: PMC8882641.
Decker MR, Wood SN, Hameeduddin Z, Kennedy SR, Perrin N, Tallam C, Akumu I, Wanjiru I, Asira B, Frankel A, Omondi B, Case J, Clough A, Otieno R, Mwiti M, Glass N. Safety decision-making and planning mobile app for intimate partner violence prevention and response: randomised controlled trial in Kenya. BMJ Glob Health. 2020 Jul;5(7). PMID: 32675229
Decker MR, Wilcox HC, Holliday CN, Webster DW.An Integrated Public Health Approach to Interpersonal Violence and Suicide Prevention and Response. Public Health Rep. 2018 Nov/Dec;133(1_suppl):65S-79S.
Decker MR, Benning L, Weber KM, Sherman SG, Adedimeji A, Wilson TE, Cohen J, Plankey M, Cohen M, Golub ET. Physical and sexual violence predictors: 20 years of the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) Cohort. Am J Prev Med. 2016;51(5):731-742
Decker MR, Crago AL, Chu SK, Sherman SG, Seshu MS, Buthelezi K, Dhaliwal M, Beyrer C.Human rights violations against sex workers: burden and effect on HIV. Lancet. 2015 Jan 10;385(9963):186-99.