This is part of a series of stories highlighting the expertise of St. Cloud State faculty and staff. In particular, profiles are generated from the experiences of faculty and staff who are listed in the SCSU Expert Guide. Our aim is to share examples of how faculty and staff research and expertise are making an impact on dialogue, policy, the agency operations and services, and or the quality of the SCSU student experience.
Katie Querna: Assistant Professor, Social Work
Katie Querna is an intersectional feminist gender researcher, specializing in a focus on socialized constructions of masculinity. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work at St. Cloud State.
Most of her work is focused on examining the cultural dynamic that places a significant value on a rigid form of masculinity that, at its core, is anti-feminine.
This involves the study of how men and boys are socialized, and whether they are equipped with the relational skills that are essential for building meaningful relationships and managing conflict in a way that doesn’t cause harm to themselves or others.
“There are these real social consequences tied to it,” Querna said. “Gender-based violence comes from constructing masculinity in a way that cuts men and boys off from their own bodies and their own emotions.”
Querna suggests that men and boys are at risk of being socialized into loneliness that can lead to outcomes like mental illness, substance abuse, and even extreme acts like mass shootings and sexual violence.
The UN Humans Right Council defines gender-based violence as, “Harmful acts directed at an individual based on their gender. It is rooted in gender inequality, the abuse of power and harmful norms.”
However, many harms of gender-based violence are often not defined under our federal legal system. It takes on forms of financial, psychological and emotional exploitations based on gender. Even when the legal system recognizes a crime such as rape, it is still underreported.
Estimates suggest that only about a quarter of rapes are ever reported, and less than one percent of defendants receive a felony conviction for rape. Even a guilty verdict doesn’t ensure that victim/survivors will feel healing or see it as a marker of justice.
So is there a better way than the legal system to seek reforms and healing for gender-based violence?
One avenue that has been explored is restorative justice. Criminologist Howard Zehr describes restorative justice is an umbrella concept that refers to a diverse set of practices that, “Involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific offense and to collectively identify and address harms, needs, and obligations, in order to heal and put things as right as possible.”
“It requires people’s voluntary consent to participate,” Querna said. “You have to be ready to show up and take accountability. A primary tenant of restorative work is individuals and community; we are harmed in relationship, we heal in relationship. We are lovingly working together to have accountability for the harm you have done and to heal, as best we can, the individuals and communities that have been involved.”
Querna recently reported her research findings on “Challenges and opportunities to using restorative justice frameworks for gender-based violence in the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota”.
Using restorative approaches in the context of gender-based violence has been contested given the implicit power dynamics existent in gendered harms. Querna teamed with Michele Braley, Executive Director of Seward Longfellow Restorative Justice, for this project. Braley and other practitioners had been receiving inquiries about using restorative approaches in situations of gender-based violence for multiple years.
They collected data using focus groups and individual interviews with practitioners working in gender-based violence, restorative justice or related fields. The 19 participants surveyed helped provide insight into how possible it was to use restorative justice in gender-based violence to promote healing.
“What’s working well is when people are embedded in community; when people are really skilled at recognizing how power and control can operate in these settings,” Querna said. “Things that aren’t working are not enough funding and inflexible funding. A lot of gender-based violence organizations are only funded to work with victim-survivors. It prevents them from doing any preventative work or restorative work. They can’t work with the people who caused harm because their funding doesn’t allow for it.”
Research findings also shine a light on the healing work that needs to be done in under-represented communities.
“There needs to be some real material investment in genuinely valuing the knowledge and experience of Black, Indigenous and people of color,” Querna added. “We also need to know a lot more how to work most effectively with queer and trans folks, especially given the complexities of power, gender, control and relationship. Part of restorative justice work is healing individuals and also communities.”
