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Mieko Yoshihama

Professor of Social Work

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.

Research Interests/Focus

Violence against women, community organizing and participatory action research in immigrant and marginalized communities, theatre-based prevention, mental health.

Contact Information

PhoneEmailRoomAddress
[email protected]

Education

Year Degree   School
1996 PhD Social Welfare University of California, Los Angeles
1986 MSW Social Welfare University of California, Los Angeles
1984 BA Literature and Linguistics Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan

News

Year Description
2022 Yoshihama, M., Fernández-Pacheco Sáez, J.L, Marques, E., & Patrão, A. (2022, October). PhotoVoice in social work research, practice, and education: Challenges and possibilities. Workshop presented at the Joint World Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development 2022 (SWESD2022, jointly organized by the International Association of Schools of Social Work and the International Council on Social Welfare), Seoul, Republic of Korea.
2022 Yoshihama, M. (2022, October). (Re)visioning gender (in)equity through PhotoVoice following a major disaster. Keynote lecture presented at the Third Global Congress on Gender & Sexuality Studies, Dubai, UAE.
2022 Yoshihama, M. & Yunomae, T. (2022, October). 11+ years of PhotoVoice with women following the triple disasters in Japan. Paper presented at 30 Years of Photovoice: Past, Present, and Future, First Virtual Conference About Photovoice organized by Photovoice Worldwide.
2022 Arquero de Alarcón, M., Pimentel Walker, A.P., Gonzalez Benson, O. & Yoshihama, M. (2022, October). Intersectional gender and climate justice perspectives to community-led urbanization in Sao Paulo’s South Periphery. Paper presented at 30 Years of Photovoice: Past, Present, and Future, First Virtual Conference About Photovoice organized by Photovoice Worldwide.
2022 Patrão, A., Marques, E., Fernández-Pacheco Sáez, J.L, & Yoshihama, M. (2022, October). Climate change and catastrophic wildfires in Portugal: PhotoVoice in disaster risk reduction. Paper presented at 30 Years of Photovoice: Past, Present, and Future, First Virtual Conference About Photovoice organized by Photovoice Worldwide.
2022 Yoshihama, M. (2022, May). (Re)Imagining future following a major disaster via PhotoVoice. Paper presented at the CombART 2022 - International Conference on Arts, Activism and Citizenship, University of Porto, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Porto, Portugal.
2022 Marques, E., Yoshihama, M., Patrão, A., & Fernández-Pacheco Sáez, J.L. (2022, May). PhotoVoice exposing multiple, intersectional marginalizations in a foreign “homeland.” Paper presented at the CombART 2022 - International Conference on Arts, Activism and Citizenship, Porto, Portugal.
2022 Patrão, A., Marques, E., Fernández-Pacheco Sáez, J.L, & Yoshihama, M., (2022, May). Extreme wildfires: a dystopia? Fire Photovoice as a tool for a utopian wildland fire management. Paper presented at the CombART 2022 - International Conference on Arts, Activism and Citizenship, Porto, Portugal
2021 Yoshihama, M., Gonzalez Benson, O., & Pimentel Walker, A.P. (2021, February). Participatory action research and multi-level perspectives to education pathways of Congolese refugee youth. Paper presented at the IV International Sociological Association (ISA) Forum of Sociology (Virtual)
2021 Pimentel Walker, A.P., Gonzalez Benson, O. & Yoshihama, M. (2021, February). Migrant-run CBOs: From coping and adapting to transforming communities. Paper presented at the IV ISA Forum of Sociology (Virtual).
2019 Gonzalez Benson, O. & Yoshihama, M. (2019). Post-resettlement refugee collectives in the United States: Processes of emergence and development. Sharing Society Project (Ed.), Sharing Society International Conference 2019 Proceedings. Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain): Sharing Society Project-The Impact of Collaborative Collective Actions in the Transformation of Contemporary Societies, University
2019 Social (de)construction of disaster: Collaborative knowledge development and action through photovoice. Sharing Society Project (Ed.), Sharing Society International Conference 2019 Proceedings. Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain): Sharing Society Project-The Impact of Collaborative Collective Actions in the Transformation of Contemporary Societies, University of the Basque Country
2007 Reed, B., Yoshihama, M., Peet, M., & Alvarez, A. R. G. (2007, November). Defining and measuring socially-just practice: Action research, construct development, and praxis. Paper presented at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, San Francisco.
2007 Choi, Y. J., & Yoshihama, M. (2007, January). Using Participatory Action research to develop socio-culturally relevant domestic violence prevention strategies. Paper presented at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting in San Francisco.
2007 Reed, B., Yoshihama, M., & Ortega, R. (2007, January). Using research methods to define and measure socially-just practice: action-research, construct development, and praxis. Roundtable presented at the Society for Social Work Research Conference, San Francisco, CA.
2007 Yoshihama, M., Siebold, W., & Horrocks, J. (2007, January). Women's experiences of intimate partner abuse and coping: A lifecourse perspective. Paper presented at the Society for Social Work Research Conference, San Francisco, CA.
2007 Yoshihama, M., Horrocks, J., & Kamano, S. (2007, March). Intimate partner violence and health in women in Yokohama, Japan. Paper presented at the National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence in San Francisco, CA.
2007 Choi, Y. J., & Yoshihama, M. (2007, May). Theater as a dissemination method and a tool for social change. Paper presented at the Third International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry in Chicago, IL.
2007 Ramakrishnan, A., Pandyan, N., & Yoshihama, M. (2007, October). Addressing intimate partner violence among Asian immigrants in the United States. Paper presented at the International Conference Violence Against Women: Diversifying Social Responses, Montreal, Canada.
2006 Yoshihama, M. (2006, June). Application of the Life History Calendar Method to understand women's experiences of intimate partner violence and well-being over the lifecourse. Paper presented at the Symposium on Using Calendar and Diary Methodologies in Life Events Research, Ann Arbor, MI.
2006 Yoshihama, M. (2006, September). Intimate partner violence against API women. Panel discussion presented at the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum Conference: Advancing APA Women's Rights - A Decade of Building Power, Justice and Community, Los Angeles, CA.
2006 Yoshihama, M., & Perilla, J. (2006, November). Issues in immigrant and other marginalized communities. Workshop presented at the Symposium on Domestic Violence, Trauma, and Mental Health, Chicago, IL.
2006 Yoshihama, M. (2006, September). From a wheel to a web: Partner's violence and reinforcing tactics in the Japanese socio-cultural context. Workshop presented at the NYU-NTU Joint Conference on Evidence-based Practices on Families, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
2006 Yoshihama, M. (2006, September). Understanding women's experiences of domestic violence: A lifecourse approach. Plenary presentation presented at the NYU-NTU Joint Conference on Evidence-based Practices on Families, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
2006 Yoshihama, M. (2006, January/February). Workshops on the Life History Calendar Method: Advanced. Presented at Ochanomizu University Frontiers of Gender Studies (F-GENS), Tokyo, Japan.
2005 Yoshihama, M. (2005, December). Group work. Presented at the Lutheran University Department of Social Work, Tokyo, Japan.
2004 Yoshihama, M. (2004, October). Ethical issues in research on violence against women. Pre-conference workshop presented at the Family Violence Prevention Fund National Conference on Health Care and Domestic Violence, Boston, MA.
2004 Yoshihama, M., Sudo, Y., & Yuzawa, N. (2004, October). Symposium on Violence Against Women. Presented at the Japan Social Work Association, Tokyo, Japan.
2004 Yoshihama, M., Horrocks, J., Kamano, S., & Dunkle, K. (2004, January). The link between intimate partner violence and childhood exposure to violence: A population-based study in Japan. Paper presented at the 8th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work Research, New Orleans, LA.
2004 Yoshihama, M., Horrocks, J., Hammock, A. C., & Siebold, W. (2004, January). Does domestic violence lead to receipt of welfare or are women on welfare at a higher risk of experiencing intimate partner violence?: A lifecourse analysis. Paper presented at the 8th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work Research, New Orleans, LA.
2004 Mowbray, C., Siefert, K., Ford, B., & Yoshihama, M. (2004, March). Poverty and mental health: What are the linkages? Poster presented at the Social Work Research: Building a Strong and Healthy Society (Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research (IASWR) tenth anniversary meeting), Washington DC.
2004 Yoshihama, M., Gillespie, B., Hammock, A. C., Belli, R., & Tolman, R. (2004, October). Application of the Life History Calendar Method to understand women's experiences of intimate partner violence over the lifecourse. Presented at the 2004 Nebraska Symposium on Survey Science, Exposures and Well-Being: Emerging Methodologies in Life Events Research, Omaha, NE.
2004 Yoshihama, M. (2004, December). Ending the silence: Domestic violence in Japanese society. Presented at the Symposium on Violence in Japanese Media and Society, Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations, Cambridge, MA.
2004 Yoshihama, M., & Dabby, C. (2004, May). Understanding women's experiences of violence over their lifecourse. Paper presented at the International Research and Action Conference, Innovations in Understanding Violence Against Women, Panel on Analyzing Subjective Experiences of Gender Violence across Sociocultural Contexts, Wellesley, MA.
2004 Yoshihama, M., & Dabby, C. (2004, May). Understanding subjective experiences embedded in their socio-cultural contexts. Paper presented at the International Research and Action Conference, Innovations in Understanding Violence Against Women, Panel on Analyzing Subjective Experiences of Gender Violence across Sociocultural Contexts, Wellesley, MA.
2004 Yoshihama, M., Horrocks, J., & Kamano, S. (2004, June). Injury and long-term health consequence of intimate partner violence: The case of Japan. Paper presented at the 7th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, Vienna, Austria.
2003 Yoshihama, M. (2003, February). Do 'active' coping strategies promote well-being?: An examination of battered women's coping strategies & psychological distress by immigration status. Presented at the University of Michigan Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture and Health.
2003 Yoshihama, M. (2003, January). Issues facing Asian Pacific Islander (API) women in addressing the mental health consequences of domestic violence. Paper presented at the Domestic Violence, Trauma, & Mental Health Meeting, Chicago, IL.
2003 Yoshihama, M., & Dabby, C. (2003, March). (En)gendering social justice: Ending violence against API women. Workshop presented at the Challenges and Triumphs: Collaborating for Social Justice in Asian Pacific Islander American Communities, Ann Arbor, MI.
2003 Yoshihama, M. (2003, April). Domestic violence in Asian Pacific Islander American communities. Paper presented on the Panel, Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Issues in Family and Domestic Violence Cases. First Michigan Conference on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Legal System, Detroit, MI.
2003 Yoshihama, M. (2003, October). Trauma & domestic violence in Asian Pacific Islander American communities. Presented in the Panel on Culture, Trauma & Domestic Violence: Current Research, Critical Issues at the International Society for Studies of Traumatic Stress Conference, Chicago, IL.
2003 Dunkle, K. L., Jewkes, R. K., Brown, H. C., Yoshihama, M., Gray, G. E., & McIntyre, J. A. (2003, May). Prevalence and patterns of gender-based violence and revictimization among women attending antenatal clinics in Soweto, South Africa. Paper presented at the Second South African Gender-Based Violence and Health Conference, Johannesburg, South Africa.
2003 Yoshihama, M., Gillespie, B., Hammock, A. C., Belli, R. F., & Tolman, R. M. (2003, July). Comparison of the Life History Calendar method and a conventional interview method in a study of the lifetime intimate partner abuse. Poster presented at the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition (SARMAC)Conference, Aberdeen, Scotland.
2003 Yoshihama, M., Horrocks, J., Siebold, W., Tolman, R. M., & Hammock, A. C. (2003, July). Patterns of intimate partner violence over the lifecourse: Assessing the timing and duration using the Life History Calendar method. Paper presented at the 8th International Family Violence Research Conference, Portsmouth, NH.
2002 Yoshihama, M., & Kamano, S. (2002, July). The prevalence and health consequences of domestic violence among women in Yokohama: Results of the WHO Multi-Country Study. Paper presented at the Symposium on Women's Health and Violence Against Women, Yokohama Women's Association, Yokohama, Japan.
2002 Kamano, S., & Yoshihama, M. (2002, November). Domestic violence: Exploring the association between partner social and economic violence and women's health. Paper presented at the Japanese Sociological Association Annual Conference, Osaka, Japan.
2002 Anderson, D., Saunders, D., Yoshihama, M., Sullivan, C., & Bybee, D. (2002, January). Levels of stress and coping as predictors of psychological well-being among women who have left violent relationships. Paper presented at the 6th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work Research, San Diego, CA.
2002 Yoshihama, M., & Horrocks, J. (2002, January). Partners' violence and posttraumatic stress among four generations of Japanese American women. Paper presented at the 6th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work Research, San Diego, CA.
2002 Yoshihama, M., & Horrocks, J. (2002, June). Emotional numbing symptoms among four generations of women of Japanese descent: Variations by generational positions. Paper presented at the National Institute of Mental Health Moving Forward: Building on Social Work Contributions to Mental Health Research, Rockville, MD.
2002 Yoshihama, M. (2002, August). Photovoice: A participatory action research (PAR) method. Presented at the Network to End Violence Against Immigrant Women 8th Annual Conference, Miami, FL.
2002 Yoshihama, M. (2002, December). New visions: Community alliance to end violence in Asian/Asian American communities. Presented at a workshop, A Single Bracelet does not Jingle: Organizing our Communities Against Violence Against Women, the California Wellness Foundation Conference on Violence Prevention, San Francisco, CA.
2001 Yoshihama, M. (2001, February). Domestic violence in immigrant communities. Guest lecture presented at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, Women's Global Health Forum.
2001 Yoshihama, M. (2001, March). Crossing many borders: Research on domestic violence. Guest lecture presented at the University of Michigan Institute for Research on Women and Gender.
2001 Yoshihama, M. (2001, April). Capturing herstory: the Life History Calendar method. Guest lecture presented at the University of Michigan Interdisciplinary Research Program on Violence Across the Lifespan.
2001 Yoshihama, M. (2001, July). Lecture on the application of the Life History Calendar method. Presented at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research Summer Institute in Survey Research Techniques.
2001 Yoshihama, M. (2001, January). The development and evaluation of the Life History Calendar of Domestic Violence. Paper presented at the 5th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work Research, Atlanta, GA.
2001 Sharma, A., & Yoshihama, M. (2001, October). Domestic violence in Asian Pacific Islander communities. Paper presented at the American Public Health Association Meeting, Atlanta, GA.
2001 Yoshihama, M., & Kamano, S. (2001, December). Women's health, social support, and domestic violence victimization in Japan. Paper presented at the International Society for Studies of Traumatic Stress Conference, New Orleans, LA.
2001 Yoshihama, M., & Horrocks, J. (2001, December). Victimization, social support, and posttraumatic stress symptoms among Japanese American women. Paper presented at the International Society for Studies of Traumatic Stress Conference, New Orleans, LA.
2001 Yoshihama, M., & Nakashima, J. (2001, February). Domestic violence and substance abuse in the Asian and Pacific Islander communities: Beginning a dialogue between two research and practice fields. Paper presented at the Task Force Meeting, Cultural Competence in Child Welfare Practice: A Collaboration Between Practitioners and Academicians, University of Texas at Austin, TX.
2001 Yoshihama, M. (2001, July). The application of the Life History Calendar Method to studying domestic violence over the lifecourse. Paper presented at the 7th International Family Violence Research Conference, Portsmouth, NH.
2001 Yoshihama, M. (2001, May). Women's responses to domestic violence: Adding immigration status into the equation of intersectionality. Paper presented at the Working Meeting of the University of Michigan Think Tank on Intersectionality, Ann Arbor, MI
1998 Yoshihama, M., & Yunomae, T. (1998, March). Preliminary results of a focus group research project on domestic violence. Paper presented at the 5th International Women's Day Meeting, Tokyo, Japan.

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