302 Rowell Hall
106 Carrigan Drive
Burlington, VT 05405
United States
- Ph.D., University of New Hampshire, Social Psychology (with Cognate in College Teaching)
- M.A., University of New Hampshire, Social Psychology
- B.A., Mount Holyoke College, Psychology
BIO
Dr. Demers is an applied social psychologist who spent several years as an assistant professor in a community psychology doctoral program before joining UVM’s Public Health Sciences faculty. In the years between her undergraduate and graduate educations, Dr. Demers also worked at several nonprofit organizations and completed a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA.
Dr. Demers’ interdisciplinary, mixed-methods research broadly focuses on interpersonal violence (i.e., sexual violence, intimate partner violence, & stalking) to inform new prevention methods and improved response services for victims. She is especially interested in examining how social media and other technologies present unique challenges and opportunities for prevention and collective action to address systemic inequities for victims. Some of her current interests and related projects include decisions to disclose victimization experiences online, especially as a form of activism; victim community-building, allyship, and bystander helping behaviors on social media; the impact of media coverage of high-profile cases of interpersonal violence; and how the marginalization of various social identities (e.g., the ubiquity of fatphobia) intersect to affect victim experiences. Dr. Demers will begin re-establishing her lab from her previous institution – the Social Action, Violence, & Inequities (SAVI) Research Group – at UVM over the school year. Students interested in potential research opportunities related to interpersonal violence should email her directly.
Dr. Demers is also the Director of the new Preventing Interpersonal Violence via Outreach and Training (PIVOT) Peer Educator Program. Undergraduate students participating in the program are trained to serve as campus leaders dedicated to building a UVM community free from sexual and other forms of interpersonal violence. Peer educators organize events, create social awareness campaigns, and run workshops on various topics (e.g., bystander intervention, consent education, healthy relationships) that give UVM students the knowledge and tools to help prevent violence on and off campus. The PIVOT program is a student-driven initiative founded on activism and social justice. As such, it aims to empower all UVM students to help create the environment where they live and learn. Peer educator training also uses an intersectional approach in which trainees learn about the structural, cultural, and social contexts that uphold violence and differentially impact the experiences of survivors of various identities and backgrounds. Learn more about becoming a PIVOT Peer Educator >>
Awards and Achievements
- 2024: Edith Hendley Award, University of Vermont Women & Gender Equity Center
- 2022: Tilford Diversity Fellowship, ‘Intersectional Fat Studies’ course proposal
- 2022: ‘Faculty Member of the Year’ award, WSU Psychology Department
Area(s) of expertise
Sexual violence, dating/domestic violence, disclosure decisions, bystander intervention, social media, social movements, weight stigma, intersectionality.
Bio
Dr. Demers is an applied social psychologist who spent several years as an assistant professor in a community psychology doctoral program before joining UVM’s Public Health Sciences faculty. In the years between her undergraduate and graduate educations, Dr. Demers also worked at several nonprofit organizations and completed a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA.
Dr. Demers’ interdisciplinary, mixed-methods research broadly focuses on interpersonal violence (i.e., sexual violence, intimate partner violence, & stalking) to inform new prevention methods and improved response services for victims. She is especially interested in examining how social media and other technologies present unique challenges and opportunities for prevention and collective action to address systemic inequities for victims. Some of her current interests and related projects include decisions to disclose victimization experiences online, especially as a form of activism; victim community-building, allyship, and bystander helping behaviors on social media; the impact of media coverage of high-profile cases of interpersonal violence; and how the marginalization of various social identities (e.g., the ubiquity of fatphobia) intersect to affect victim experiences. Dr. Demers will begin re-establishing her lab from her previous institution – the Social Action, Violence, & Inequities (SAVI) Research Group – at UVM over the school year. Students interested in potential research opportunities related to interpersonal violence should email her directly.
Dr. Demers is also the Director of the new Preventing Interpersonal Violence via Outreach and Training (PIVOT) Peer Educator Program. Undergraduate students participating in the program are trained to serve as campus leaders dedicated to building a UVM community free from sexual and other forms of interpersonal violence. Peer educators organize events, create social awareness campaigns, and run workshops on various topics (e.g., bystander intervention, consent education, healthy relationships) that give UVM students the knowledge and tools to help prevent violence on and off campus. The PIVOT program is a student-driven initiative founded on activism and social justice. As such, it aims to empower all UVM students to help create the environment where they live and learn. Peer educator training also uses an intersectional approach in which trainees learn about the structural, cultural, and social contexts that uphold violence and differentially impact the experiences of survivors of various identities and backgrounds. Learn more about becoming a PIVOT Peer Educator >>
Awards and Achievements
- 2024: Edith Hendley Award, University of Vermont Women & Gender Equity Center
- 2022: Tilford Diversity Fellowship, ‘Intersectional Fat Studies’ course proposal
- 2022: ‘Faculty Member of the Year’ award, WSU Psychology Department
Areas of Expertise
Sexual violence, dating/domestic violence, disclosure decisions, bystander intervention, social media, social movements, weight stigma, intersectionality.
ASSOCIATIONS AND AFFILIATIONS
- 2018-Present: Faculty Fellow, Prevention Innovations Research Center, Durham, NH
- 2019-2023: Board Member, Kansas Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence
- 2019-2023: Faculty Advisor, WSU Sexual Health Advocacy, Resources, and Education (SHARE) of Planned Parenthood student group
PUBLICATIONS
- Demers, J. M., Gregus, S. J., & Petts, R. A. (2022). New Communities, new relationships: Reflections from junior faculty engaging in community-based research. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(17-18), NP14938-NP14969.
- Potter, S. J., Moschella, E. A., Demers, J. M., & Lynch, M. (2021). Shifting the prevention paradigm: Using mobile technology to provide sexual violence prevention and response. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 40(8), 1-22.
- Potter, S. J., Demers, J. M., Flanagan, M., Seidman, M., & Moschella, E. A. (2020). Can video games help prevent violence? An evaluation of games promoting bystander intervention to combat sexual violence on college campuses. Psychology of Violence, 11(2), 199-208.
- Bovill, H., McMahon, S., Demers, J. M., Banyard, V. L., Carrasco, V., & Keep, L. (2020). How does student activism drive cultural campus change in the UK and US regarding sexual violence on campus? Critical Social Policy, 41(2), 165-187.
- Rizzo, A. J., Demers, J. M., Howard, M., & Banyard, V.L. (2020). Perceptions of campus authorities: Institutional response, fairness, and bystander action. Journal of American College Health, 69(8), 851-859.
- Demers, J. M., Ward, S., Walsh, W., Banyard, V. L., Cohn, E., Edwards, K. M., & Moynihan, M. M. (2018). Disclosure on campus: Students’ decisions to tell others about intimate partner violence, stalking, and unwanted sexual experiences. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, & Trauma, 27(1), 54-75.
- Bogen, K. W., Demers, J. M., Goldstein, C. M., Hogan, F., Orchowski, L. M., & Shields, M. C. (2018). Reflections on the campaign, election and presidency of Donald J. Trump from Survivors of sexual violence. In L. Findley & M. W. Johnson (Eds), Trumpism: The Politics of Gender in a Post-Propitious America (pp. 149-168). Newcastle, England: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
- Demers, J. M., Roberts, A., Bennett, S., & Banyard, V. L. (2017). Victim motivations for disclosing unwanted sexual experiences and partner abuse. Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, 32(3), 327-343.
- Banyard, V. L., Demers, J. M., Cohn, E., Edwards, K. M., Moynihan, M. M., Walsh, W., & Ward, S. (2017). Academic correlates of unwanted sexual contact, intercourse, stalking and intimate partner violence: An understudied but important consequence for college students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(21-22), 4375-4392.
- Potter, S. J., Edwards, K. M., Banyard, V. L., Stapleton, J. G., Demers, J. M., & Moynihan, M. M. (2016). Conveying campus sexual misconduct policy information to college and university students: Results from a 7-campus study. Journal of American College Health, 64(6), 438-447.
- Demers, J. M., Banyard, V. L., & Pepin, E. N. (2015). Unwanted sexual experiences: The impact on women's transition to college. Violence and Gender, 2(4), 209-213.
- Potter, S. J., Banyard, V. L., Stapleton, J. G., Demers, J. M., Edwards, K. M., & Moynihan, M. M. (2015). It’s not just the what but the how. Informing students about campus policies and resources: How they get the message matters. Report prepared for the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire.