Candence D. Wills de Jesus
Assistant Professor of Criminology
Biography
Assistant Professor of Criminology Candence D. Wills de Jesus joined the Stonehill College community in 2023. She previously taught both Introduction to Criminal Justice and Human Trafficking at Northeastern University, as well as Critical Victimology at Suffolk University.
She earned a Ph.D.(c) ABD at Northeastern University, where she researched criminal justice responses to victims of violence, health outcomes of victimized Latinx populations, and domestic and international responses to human trafficking.
She received a Master of International Development from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at University of Pittsburgh, focusing on human security and state failure. While there, she worked with Dr. Müge Finkel as a graduate researcher in the inaugural year of the United Nations Gender Equality in Public Administration project and Dr. Chris Belasco on Countering Violent Extremism in the Ford Institute of Human Security.
As an undergraduate, she attended the University of Pittsburgh, where she received a B.A. in Communications: Rhetoric, minored in Theatre, Spanish and Political Science and interned at the Institute of Politics.
In 2019, she was awarded the Experiential Ph.D. to serve as a research fellow at the UNODC in Vienna, Austria where she aided in researching and writing the 2020 UN Global Trafficking in Persons Report. Her research interests continue to center around institutional responses to marginalized populations and victims of human trafficking. Her dissertation is entitled Relationship Between Sex Work Policies and Responses to Human Trafficking.
In her personal time, she enjoys being outside with her wife and two dogs (Margarita Jean and Mimosa Liv) and playing in any competitive sport.
Education
- Ph.D.(c) ABD, Northeastern University
- M.S., International Development, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh
- B.A., Communications: Rhetoric, University of Pittsburgh
Courses Taught
- Critical Introduction to Criminal Justice
- Criminological Theories
Publications
- Yohros, A., Geisler, I., Lockwood, S., Miller, E., Wills, C., Farrell, A., Cuevas, C. (2022). Examining Avoidance, Victimization Risk, and Perceptions of Community Safety in Latinx Communities. Crime and Delinquency.
- Sabina, C., Wills, C., Robles, G., & Cuevas, C. A. (2022). Victimization of sexual minority Latinx youth: results from a national survey. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221076168.
- Wills, C., Bates, K., Frost, N. A., & Monteiro, C. E. (2021). Barriers to help-seeking among correction officers: examining the influence of institutional culture and structure. Criminal Justice Studies. (released online ahead of print) doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/1478601X.2021.1997276
- Wills, C., Cuevas, C. A., & Sabina, C. (2021). The Role of the Victim-Offender Relationship on Psychological Distress among Latinx Women: A Betrayal Trauma Perspective. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. (released online ahead of print) doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000923
- Wills, C., (2022). Sexual Minorities and Human Trafficking: Vulnerabilities and Challenges Faced by an Overlooked Population. In M. C. Burke (Ed.). Human Trafficking: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 3rd Edition (pp. 201-216). Routledge.
- Marshall, I.M., Wills, C., & Marshall, C.E. (2020). Parents who hit, Troubled Families and Children’s Happiness: Do Gender and National Context make a Difference? In H. Kury & S. Redo (Eds.). Crime Prevention and Justice in 2030: UN and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (pp.199-230). Springer International Publishing.
- Farrell, A., Wills, C., & Nicolas, C. (2020). Police Engagement in Multidisciplinary Team Approaches to Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. In B. Fox, J. A. Reid, & A. J. Masys (Eds.). Science Informed Policing (pp. 195-214). Springer International Publishing.
- UNODC (Core Team: Kangaspunta, K., Sarrica, F., Serio, S., Whelan, K., Samson, J., & Wills, C.). 2021. Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020. (Sales No. E.20.IV.3). Vienna, Austria: United Nations publication.