Mieko Yoshihama

Professor Yoshihama's research interests are violence against women, immigrants, mental health, and community organizing. Combining research and social action at local, state, national, and international levels over the last 25 years, Dr. Yoshihama focuses on the prevention of gender-based violence and promotion of the safety and wellbeing of marginalized populations and communities. Dr. Yoshihama’s research in both the U.S. and Japan is diverse methodologically, spanning from participatory action research to surveys with complex sampling design, from epidemiologic investigation to intervention/prevention research, including a nationwide survey in Japan, a study of Japanese American women in Los Angeles, and Life History Calendar studies of battered women in Michigan, Tokyo, and San Francisco. In Michigan, she directs participatory action research projects aimed at organizing and mobilizing local community members to promote collective action to prevent domestic violence. One recent project involves developing, implementing, and evaluating a broad communications campaign in a local Indian community. In addition to serving on the steering committee of the Asian & Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence, Dr. Yoshihama serves on advisory committees of various organizations dedicated to ending domestic violence.