Augusta University
Kelly JasperAUGUSTA, Ga. – The film 50 Shades of Grey opened in theaters Friday amid controversy and boycotts of its violent sex scenes and power dynamics. Dr. Allison Foley, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Social Work at Georgia Regents University, is available for interviews about the new film and whether it legitimizes sexual violence common in domestic abuse.
Foley, Chair of GRU’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month planning committee, can speak on topics including:
- Warning signs of intimate partner violence
- Whether films like 50 Shades of Grey normalize violence against women
- Resources for women and men in dangerous relationships
Foley studies and teaches about gender, crime and victimization, social deviance, and corrections. After earning a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Oklahoma State University, she worked for the Payne County Drug Court in Stillwater, Okla. While receiving her doctorate in sociology from the University of Colorado at Boulder, she worked for the Blueprints for Violence Prevention Initiative. She is involved in an ongoing project evaluating a gender-based violence prevention program for elementary school-aged boys. This research will publish in the next issue of the journal Masculinities and Social Change.
Foley has also been published in the Journal of Criminal Justice, Violence Against Women, Sociology Compass; is a member of the American Society of Criminology; and is involved in GRU’s Correctional Health Research Program.
To schedule an interview with Foley, contact Kelly Jasper at 706-513-0719.
Milledge Austin
Kevin Faigle
