In this episode of Forensic Briefs, Dr. Emily Salisbury explores gender-responsive strategies within the criminal legal system. She discusses how trauma, relationships, economic marginalization, and gender norms shape women’s pathways into justice involvement. The conversation examines the risk-needs-responsivity model, gender-specific assessment tools, reproductive justice, and probation practices, highlighting how policy and practice changes can improve outcomes for justice-involved women and their families.

Dr. Emily Salisbury is an Associate Professor of Social Work and Director of the Utah Criminal Justice Center at the University of Utah. A nationally recognized applied criminologist, she is a founding scholar of gender-responsive correctional treatment and co-creator of the Women’s Risk Needs Assessment (WRNA). Her research and policy work focus on rehabilitation, decarceration, and reintegration of justice-involved women, with broad impact across correctional systems in the U.S. and internationally.