Gena Dufour

Originally from Powerview-Pine Falls, Manitoba, Dr. Gena Dufour is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the College of Community and Global Health, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba, and at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba. She is also a Visiting Fellow at St. John’s College. 

Gena holds a Ph.D. in Applied Social Psychology, specializing in Community and Health Psychology, from the University of Windsor (Windsor, Ontario). She also holds a Master of Science in Applied Forensic Psychology from Saint Mary’s University (Halifax, Nova Scotia), and a Bachelor of Arts in Honours Psychology from the University of Winnipeg (Winnipeg, Manitoba). As an applied psychologist, her research explores the ways victims of gender-based violence interact with larger systems and institutions on a day-to-day basis. She studies the complex ways in which policies, processes, and protocols can impact recovery after victimization. Gena focuses primarily on sexual assault and intimate partner violence in community, legal, health, and educational contexts and uses mixed-methods approaches to research design and data analysis. 

Gena primarily uses a framework called Institutional Betrayal to make sense of victims’ experiences. This framework explains how institutional actions or inactions can cause additional harm to people who have experienced violence. Her research extends this framework by examining how expectations about institutional responses may themselves shape victims’ experiences and decisions. 

• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Applied Social Psychology, the University of Windsor, 2026

• Master of Applied Science (M.Sc.) in Forensic Psychology, Saint Mary’s University, 2021

• Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Honours Psychology, 2019

Dufour, G. K., Ternes, M., & Stinson, V. (2026). Who is accessing the justice process? A cluster analysis of factors related to victim impact statement delivery in sexual assault cases. Victims and Offenders (Online First). https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2026.2699740 

Dufour, G. K. (2026). Development, reliability, and initial validation of the Fear of Institutional Betrayal Questionnaire. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 50(3), 320-342. https://doi.org/10.1177/03616843261449772 

Balint, S., Dufour, G. K., Adair, J., & Mou, N. L. (2026). Nurturing empowered scholars: A student perspective on contemporary feminist mentorship. Feminism & Psychology, 36(1) 56–66. https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535251327863 

Dufour, G. K., Lowe, K., Monaghan, J., Ternes, M., & Stinson, V. (2025). Public perceptions of Clare’s Law: Insights on the usability and perceived effectiveness of a domestic violence disclosure framework. The Journal of Family Violence, (Online First) 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-025-01026-5 

Mou, N. L., Dufour, G. K., & Jackson, D. L. (2025). Structural equation modelling in male sexual violence against women research: Best practices in statistical reporting and interpretation. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 32(2), 444–465. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2025.2471770 

Dufour, G. K, Yun, S. H., & Fiorini, L. (2024). Using an online measurement data management platform to improve survey response rates in a community sexual assault centre. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 22(2). 189-206. https://doi.org/10.1080/26408066.2024.2446935 

Balint, S., & Dufour, G. K. (2024).Student perceptions of the names of women’s and gender studies programs: Considerations for administrators and decision-makers. The Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education 18(2). 160-178. https://doi.org/10.1080/26379112.2024.2427414 

Dufour, G. K. (2024). The insidiousness of institutional betrayal: An ecological systematic review of campus sexual violence response literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 25(5), 3903-3922.https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380241265382 

Dufour, G. K., Senn, C. Y., & Jeffrey, N. K. (2023). Self-reports of sexual violence outside of survey reference periods: Implications for measurement. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 38(21-22), 11475-11500. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605231182383 

Balint, S., & Dufour, G. K. (2023). Can you get a job with that? Student endorsement of misconceptions and stereotypes about Women’s and Gender Studies. Women’s Studies International Forum, 99(July), 102791-102798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2023.102791 

Dufour, G. K, Ternes, M., & Stinson, V. (2023). The relationship between victim impact statements and judicial decision-making: An archival analysis of sentencing outcomes. Law and Human Behavior, 47(4), 484–498. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000535