About

Briana Barocas is a Research Professor at NYU Silver and serves as the Co-Executive Director and Chief Research Officer at the Center on Violence and Recovery. Her research interests include trauma, resiliency, and recovery, with a focus on first responders, individuals and families affected by domestic violence, and survivors of 9/11. She has extensive experience in restorative justice applications to domestic violence crimes across communities in the United States and is a member of the European Forum for Restorative Justice’s Working Group on Gender-Based Violence and Restorative Justice. Dr. Barocas is the lead principal investigator of the Department of Justice's Office of Violence Against Women's Restorative Practices Pilot Program Evaluation and has received support from agencies such as the National Institute of Justice, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense. Her academic background includes a PhD in social policy and policy analysis from Columbia University, an MS in gender studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a BS in human development and family studies from Cornell University. Her work is dedicated to improving the lives of individuals, families, and communities through research and practice in trauma recovery, gender relations, and restorative justice.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Psychology
• Medicine
• Psychiatry
• Sociology
• Criminology
• Environmental health
• Clinical psychology
• Social psychology
• Demography
• Medical emergency
• Developmental psychology
• Geography
• Law

Selected publications

• A randomized controlled trial of a restorative justice intervention for domestic violence crimes in cases of intimate partner violence

  Journal of Experimental Criminology · 2026-05-18

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Restorative justice for domestic violence crimes: decision-making processes in a pilot program implementation in the United States

  Contemporary Justice Review · 2026-02-13

  articleCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• “We Are a Sounding Board”: The Role of Community Volunteers in a Restorative Justice Program

  Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology · 2025-03-30 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  ABSTRACT Incorporating community volunteers in restorative justice programmes is a prevalent practise that offers various benefits. However, despite these programmes' extensive reliance on volunteers, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding the roles they play. The aim of this study was to address this gap by examining how stakeholders and participants in Circles of Peace, a restorative justice programme for domestic violence, perceived the role of community volunteers. To underpin this examination, the Communities of Practise theoretical framework was used. Multiple interviews were conducted with 16 circle participants and stakeholders, in the form of individual interviews and in focus groups and were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Three themes emerged from the participants' narratives: (1) Representation roles; (2) Support and nurture roles; and (3) Reintegration roles. The findings suggest that volunteers in the Circles of Peace programme play multifaceted roles that extend beyond traditional support functions. These roles can potentially have a profound impact on the experiences of the circle participants, highlighting the practical implications of our research for the design and implementation of restorative justice programs.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Victimización en la Infancia, Percepción Actual de la Violencia Psicológica contra las Mujeres y Actitudes Sexistas en Parejas de Adolescentes en Acogimiento Residencial: Estudio Preliminar

  Revista Española de Investigación Criminológica · 2024-05-10 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Los menores que crecen en entornos familiares desfavorables también pueden sufrir victimizaciones en otros contextos distintos a la familia. Estas victimizaciones, junto con creencias sexistas, pueden subyacer al riesgo de involucrarse en la violencia en pareja, ya que podrían afectar a la tolerancia y percepción de conductas abusivas. El objetivo fue analizar la percepción de violencia psicológica contra las mujeres, las actitudes sexistas y la victimización en una muestra de 40 adolescentes (12-18 años; 66,7\% mujeres) que se encontraban en acogimiento residencial. Las y los adolescentes mostraron una percepción de violencia psicológica contra las mujeres entre moderada y considerable, presentando mayores niveles de actitudes sexistas benévolas. Hubo diferencias significativas en la percepción de violencia psicológica en función del nivel de victimización. Las polivíctimas presentaron una menor capacidad de percepción que las víctimas. Se resalta la necesidad de trabajar en la prevención de la violencia en pareja en adolescentes de alto riesgo desde los primeros signos de alerta, como es la dificultad para determinar qué conductas son o no violencia en pareja.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Reaching a Fuller Picture of the Perceived “Need” of Police and Contexts Surrounding Women’s Formal Reporting for Intimate Partner Violence

  Journal of Family Violence · 2024-08-08 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Restorative Justice for Domestic Violence: The Meaning of Community in Circles

  Victims & Offenders · 2024-02-12 · 5 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Although community involvement is a central ideal in restorative justice (RJ), its implementation in practice has scarcely been researched. This study used interpretive phenomenological analysis of interviews and focus groups to explore 16 circle participants' and stakeholders' perceptions of community in a domestic violence RJ program called circles of Peace. Three themes emerged: Importance of community involvement, Offenders' prospects of change when the community is involved, and circles as a community within a community. The discussion highlights the beneficial role of community in the restorative process, as well as limitations and practical implications of the study.

  PublisherDOI

• Restorative Justice Treatment for Domestic Violence Crimes: A Qualitative Study

  Criminal Justice and Behavior · 2023-10-13 · 4 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Domestic Violence Intervention Programs have become a key component in addressing domestic violence (DV) crimes. Recent research suggests that combining standard intervention programs with other approaches can improve overall effectiveness. The aim of this study was to examine the experiences of individuals court-mandated to treatment who completed either a standard intervention program or a restorative justice (RJ)-based hybrid intervention program combining a standard treatment program with RJ elements and Circles of Peace. Multiple interviews were conducted with participants ( N = 14) who completed one of the two programs. Qualitative data analysis was performed. Four major themes emerged: Communication and understanding, Changes in the nature of the violence, Changes in self-perception, and Program content and atmosphere experiences. The findings suggest that the hybrid intervention program may have a positive influence on the way participants perceive treatment effectiveness. Participants’ experiences may serve as a framework for improving approaches to DV treatment.

  PublisherDOI

• Restorative Justice Alternatives

  2022-05-27

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Domestic violence (DV), including violence among intimate partners (IPV), is a global public health phenomenon negatively affecting individuals, families, and communities. In the United States, every state now criminalizes DV and mandates offenders to complete a course of counseling typically in the form of psychoeducational groups known as batterer intervention programs (BIPs). Restorative justice has emerged as an alternative approach to traditional BIPs. It is practiced in different forms (e.g., peacemaking circles, victim-offender dialogues, and conferencing) and has been used across the world to address a variety of crimes and issues that call for healing. This chapter presents an overview of restorative justice theory and practice and its applications to addressing domestic violence crimes and, more specifically, intimate partner violence. It highlights research on the use of restorative justice for IPV cases and focuses on challenges and future considerations.

  PublisherDOI

• A Call for a New Paradigm: Perspectives of Court Personnel and Clinicians on Court-Mandated Treatment Approaches for Domestic Violence Crimes

  Journal of Family Violence · 2022 · 5 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Law
  PublisherDOI

• Social Work Research Using Electronic Health Records and Criminal Justice Data: Recommendations and Lessons Learned

  Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research · 2022-11-29 · 1 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Rei Shimizu

  New York University

  9 shared

• Linda G. Mills

  New York University

  7 shared

• Hila Avieli

  New York University

  7 shared

• Sejung Yang

  New York University

  6 shared

• Yangjin Park

  The University of Texas at Arlington

  3 shared

• Nancy J. Murakami

  Pacific University Oregon

  3 shared

• Stephanie A. Dopson

  Office of Readiness and Response

  3 shared

• Barak Ariel

  3 shared

Labs

• Center on Violence and RecoveryPI

Education

• Ph.D.

  Columbia University

  2005

Awards & honors

• 2024 Dr. Gordon Bazemore Research Award from the National As…