Nicole Bedera

Nicole Bedera is a sociologist studying how sexual violence is much bigger than the people involved in a sexual assault. Her work focuses on how social structures, organizations, and culture create a world where violence is predictable and ordinary. By identifying how violence is produced, she can identify interventions to make our society safer.

Over the past decade, Nicole has studied sexual violence in a variety of contexts, including college campuses and LGBTQ communities. Her work has been published in leading academic journals and featured in The New York Times, NPR, Time Magazine, Slate, and Teen Vogue. She is also a fellow at the Institute for Research on Male Supremacism and an Affiliated Educator at the Center for Institutional Courage. In 2023, Nicole co-founded Beyond Compliance Consulting with Dr. Jacqueline Cruz to put the research into action.

Her doctoral research focused on college sexual violence with specific focus on how university organizations shape the experience of sexual violence victimization and perpetration, as well as the role of masculinity and sexual identity in sexual assault. Nicole's research has influenced consent programming across the country, including for Planned Parenthood. Her expertise on issues of sexual violence have helped the general public make sense of politically contentious moments, such as the Kavanaugh hearing, the incarceration of Harvey Weinstein, and the DeVos administration's federal guidance on Title IX. Apart from her research, Nicole has previously worked as a victim advocate and served on the board of directors at the Rape Recovery Center.

Nicole's first book, On the Wrong Side: How Universities Protect Perpetrators and Betray Survivors of Sexual Violence, was published by University of California Press in late 2024.

Sub-specialities:
College sexual assault; young men's sexual violence perpetration; organizational responses to sexual violence (e.g., victim advocacy, Title IX offices, other university organizations); LGBTQ+ experiences of sexual assault; consent-seeking