FIELDWORK

Shannon Drysdale Walsh has over 22 months of field research experience in Latin America. While primarily working in the capital cities within Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, she also conducted research in El Salvador, Honduras, and some more rural areas.

Her research utilizes a multiple-methods approach to identifying, measuring, and explaining variation in state response to violence against women. Shannon has conducted a survey of experts as well as in-depth interviews with over 250 representatives of the state, civil society, international organizations, and victims of violence in five Central American countries. These helped to identify key opportunities and obstacles to constructing new institutions and transforming state practices to address women victims of violence.

She also gathered longitudinal statistical data from the police, courts, prosecutors offices, and civil society organizations, enabling a direct comparison of citizen demand for services and conviction rates over time. Additionally, she was granted access to court archives, with cases that provide richly detailed examples of institutional advances and setbacks. Other data collected includes an original cross-national dataset on women's institutions in seventeen Latin American countries from 1995-2005.

Shannon Drysdale Walsh has shared her work with colleagues and students in Latin America. She guest lectured for courses at the Universidad de Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala. She also presented research papers at the Meso-American Gender and Feminist Studies Encuentro (Guatemala), the International Conference on Women and Science (Guatemala), will present at the Guatemala Scholars Network conference in July 2015 (in Guatemala), and regularly presents at the Latin American Studies Association annual meetings.

Shannon is grateful for all of the encouragement and assistance of several individuals and families who have made this field research enjoyable and productive. She is also thankful for the support of several host institutions and funding sources.