VCU School of Social Work

Helping establish healthy family environments

“People deserve to be treated with respect, deserve to be safe and deserve to be in healthy families. When something happens that affects their safety, it affects their ability to live healthy lives and have control over their own lives. That issue then becomes a real passion for me because I believe that people should not be controlled by other people, they shouldn’t live their lives in fear.

“I found the domestic violence field was very much in line with the way I approach working with people. As a parent and grandparent, I know what I want to see for my child and grandchild and that makes me even more committed to the work I’m doing. You want them to be the most well-adjusted, happy, secure people and violence breaks all those things. It breaks the secure world of a child, it breaks the happiness, and it affects the well-being of everybody, including the person who is doing the battering.

“I know how important healthy families are and I just think all people should live in violence free, healthy, happy environments.”

Education

• Ph.D. – University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
• Graduate certificate in Women’s Studies – University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
• M.S.W. – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
• B.A. – State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, N.Y.

Research interests

• Abuse of persons with disabilities
• Domestic violence and criminal justice systems’ responses
• Homophobia and heterosexism on college campuses
• Social work students’ attitudes towards lesbians and gay men
• Gay and lesbian adoptive families

Courses taught

• Social Work and Social Justice
• Social Work Practice with Individuals, Families and Groups I
• Social Work Practice with Individuals, Families and Groups II
• Lesbian and Bisexual Women
• Social Work and Oppressed Groups
• Field liaison

Selected publications

• McAllister, C.A., Harold, R.D., Ahmedani, B.K. & Cramer, E.P. (2009). Targeted mentoring: An evaluation of a program. Journal of Social Work Education. 45(1), 89-104.

• Cramer, E.P. & Plummer, S. (2009). People of color with disabilities: Intersectionality as a framework for analyzing intimate partner violence in social, historical and political contexts.
  Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 18(2), 162-181.

• Cramer, E.P. (2009). Considerations in choosing an LGBTTQ-focused scholarship agenda in social work. In W. Meezan & J.I. Martin (Eds). Handbook of research with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations (pp. 402-412). New York: Routledge.

• Cramer, E.P. (Ed.). (2002). Addressing homophobia and heterosexism on college campuses. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press.

• Cramer, E.P., & Clark, P. (2006). The cut out domestic violence program in Virginia. Family Violence & Sexual Assault Bulletin, 22(3/4), 5-12.

• Matthews, J.D., & Cramer, E.P. (2006) Envisaging the adoption process to strengthen gay- and lesbian-headed families: Recommendations for adoption professionals. Child Welfare, 85(2), 317-340.

• Cramer, E.P. (2004). Unintended consequences of constructing criminal justice as a dominant paradigm in understanding and intervening in intimate partner violence. Women’s Studies Quarterly, 32(3/4), 164-180.

Professional affiliations

• Council on Social Work Education
• Equality Virginia
• National Association of Social Workers
• National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
• Society for Social Work and Research