Lori K. Sudderth is Professor of Criminal Justice, Quinnipiac University, USA. She is a sociologist by training but most of her work has been in the area of criminal justice policy and practice. Specifically, she researches policies and practices in response to violence against women in the U.S. and internationally. She is particularly interested in the role of formal and informal communities, and the challenges of providing services and safety to victims of gendered violence in different contexts, such as geographic isolation, low anonymity, and extreme poverty.