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Della Giustina, Jo-Ann

An assistant professor at Bridgewater State College (Massachusetts), Dr. Della Giustina teaches courses in gender and crime, homicide, criminal law and procedure, domestic violence, restorative justice, and Inside-Out classes at Old Colony Correctional Center. She received her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from City University of New York (John Jay College) with a specialization in women and crime and her J.D. degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law. As an attorney, Dr. Della Giustina was an Assistant Cook County (Illinois) Public Defender and a law clerk to Illinois Appellate Court Justice David Cerda. She is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts, New York and Illinois, has published several book chapters and journal articles, and is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World.

Why Women are Beaten and Killed. Sociological Predictors of Femicide
2010 0-7734-3607-3
This study explores the patterns of femicide in 106 medium and large U.S. cities through the examination of the inequalities of race, gender, and economics.

Author's Abstract
The higher women climb in society, the more likely a woman will become a victim of fatal violence against women (femicide). This study explores the patterns of femicide in medium and large U.S. cities through the examination of the macro-structural inequalities of race, gender, and poverty, which contribute to femicide rates. Using path analysis, this study shows a complex view of femicide grounded in the feminist intersectionality perspective that women’s lives are shaped by the interlocking oppressions of gender, race, and class. The results describe how intersectional discrimination predicts high femicide rates for both black women and white women, but when gender, race, and class are examined separately, there are significant differences. As women gain gendered status, both black women and white women are more likely to be murdered, which can be explained by a backlash against the advances women have made in society. Moreover, black women are more likely to be murdered in a city with greater racial discrimination and white women are more likely to be murdered in a city with a lower economic status than other cities.