Gwenda is a Research Fellow with the Deakin Forensic Psychology Centre.
Gwenda's research focuses on tertiary prevention of sexual offending, and current projects cover three overlapping areas: rehabilitation models and treatment for sexual offending, community re-entry, and public/policy responses to sexual offending.
Awards and prizes
2010 Fulbright Senior Scholar Award
Visiting scholar award to support a United States based multi-site research project “Evaluation of sex offender treatment programme responsiveness to the Good Lives Model.”
2010 Kia Ora Foundation Travelling Scholarship in Science (New Zealand)
2008 MacDiarmid Young Scientists of the Year (New Zealand)
“Science and our Society” category award winner
2007 Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) Graduate Student Research Award
Awarded annually, and open internationally for graduate level researchers “who have produced some of the seminal work in this field” to “attract research excellence to the assessment and treatment of individuals perpetrating or affected by sexual abuse” (www.atsa.com).
2007 Fulbright Travel Award
2007 New Zealand Federation of Graduate Women Trust Award
Memberships
Member, Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA)
Member, Australian Psychological Society
Service to the University, discipline or community
Manuscript reviewer for Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Journal of Family Violence, The Journal of Sexual Aggression, and Legal and Criminological Psychology.
Member of the ATSA prevention committee and advocate for the prevention of sexual assault.
Media contributions
Conferences
Recent presentations –
Willis, G.M. (2011, May). The Good Lives Model in practice (invited talk). Department of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York City, USA.
Willis, G.M. (2011, April). Evaluation of sex offender treatment programme responsiveness to the Good Lives Model (invited talk). School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
Willis, G.M., Malinen, S., & Johnston, L. (2010, October). Dangerous predator released: the media’s impact on community attitudes towards sex offenders (poster). Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) 29th Annual Research and Treatment Conference, Phoenix, USA.
Willis, G.M. (2010, September). Community attitudes towards sex offenders. Department of Corrections National Training Event, Rotorua, New Zealand.
Willis, G.M. (2009, September). Community re-entry and good lives plans: experiences of child molesters. ATSA 28th Annual Research and Treatment Conference, Dallas, USA.
Willis, G.M. (2009, September). Poor community reintegration planning predicts child molester recidivism. National Corrections Psychologists’ Specialist Training, Rotorua, New Zealand.
Willis, G.M. (2009, March). Poor community reintegration planning predicts child molester recidivism. Australia and New Zealand Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abuse (ANZATSA) 5th Biennial Conference, Sydney, Australia.
Willis, G.M. (2008, September). You’re not welcome here: the importance of reintegration planning for sex offenders. University of Canterbury Postgraduate Showcase, University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
Willis, G.M. & Grace, R.C. (2008, August). The effect of poor community reintegration planning on sex offender recidivism: a validation and extension study. New Zealand Psychological Society (NZPsS) Annual Conference, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Willis, G.M., & Grace, R.C. (2007, November). The quality of community reintegration planning for child molesters: Effects on recidivism. ATSA 26th Annual Research and Treatment Conference, San Diego, USA.
