Quinn Cao

Quinn's scholarship focuses on sexual violence survivorship, with particular attention to how justice is conceptualized and negotiated. Informed by critical and interpretive theoretical traditions, their work interrogates how knowledge and reality are constructed, whose experiences of sexual harm are recognized and legitimized, and what forms of justice become imaginable as a result.

Their research experience includes work with the Phoenix Gender-Based Violence Lab at Temple University and research assistantships across multiple projects and institutions. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (VA), Quinn works specifically with individuals affected by sexual harm and interpersonal trauma.

Quinn holds a BA in English from the University of Virginia and an MSW from Virginia Commonwealth University. They have received the McPherson Award for Excellence from Bryn Mawr College, as well as the Elaine Rothenberg Social Work Award and the School of Social Work Service and Leadership Award, both from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Research and Scholarly Interests

• Epistemologies and ontologies of sexual violence and survivorship
• The construction of meaning and justice
• Clinical approaches to sexual harm and interpersonal trauma