Lisa Avalos
Professor of Law Louisiana State University
- Baton Rouge LA
Lisa Avalos is an expert in criminal law and procedure, with an emphasis on sexual offenses and gender-based violence
Areas of Expertise
Biography
Her teaching and research interests are in the areas of criminal law and procedure, with an emphasis on sexual offenses and gender-based violence. Professor Avalos’s articles have been published in the University of Illinois Law Review, Connecticut Law Review, Case Western Reserve Law Review, Brooklyn Law Review, Nevada Law Journal, Michigan Journal of Gender & Law, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Fordham International Law Journal, and others.
Prior to entering academia, Professor Avalos worked as an associate at McDermott Will & Emery in New York City and at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg in Chicago. Prior to attending law school, she was an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa.
Research Focus
Sexual Assault Law & Gender-Based Violence Policing
Prof. Avalos’s research focuses on sexual assault law and policy, victims’ rights, and the policing of gender-based violence in the U.S. and abroad. She uses doctrinal and comparative legal analysis, policy evaluation, and survivor-centered research to examine “false reporting” practices, institutional accountability, and reforms that improve justice outcomes.
Education
Northwestern University
B.A.
Psychology
Northwestern University
M.A.
Sociology
Northwestern University
Ph.D.
Sociology
1995
New York University School of Law
J.D.
2006
Accomplishments
LSU International Scholar Research/Arts & Performance Grant, Louisiana State University
2019
Exemplary Placement Scholarship Award, LSU Law Center
2022
Joanne Archambault Visionary Award
2023
Media Appearances
Rape victims seeking help become suspects in false reporting claims, documentary finds
Detroit Free Press online
2023-09-05
Despite high-profile efforts in the past few years to stop sexual violence against women, reported rape cases nationwide are being twisted by police, who turn the investigations on their head by accusing the women who reported sexual assault of making up their claims.
That's the premise of a recent, 95-minute Netflix documentary, "Victim/Suspect," and research by law professor Lisa Avalos, who is featured in the film and has shared her findings in various publications, including the Michigan Journal of Gender & Law, and in an interview with the Free Press.
'Minute by minute, it's a changing situation,' law professor on Louisiana judge's abortion ruling
Reuters online
2022-06-27
"So her temporary restraining order essentially means that abortions can, at least for now, abortions can resume in Louisiana until the hearing on July 8th," said Lisa Avalos, Associate Professor at Louisiana State University's Law Center. "That is, of course, provided that no higher court, that no state at the state appellate court or the Louisiana Supreme Court intervenes in the case and lifts the stay."
Sex crimes: Police can do better
Sandusky Register online
2022-06-02
Imagine being sexually assaulted and then reporting it to police. Initially the police appear to take you seriously, but then the investigation stalls. You find yourself being interrogated by police and even pressured to retract your complaint.
Unbelievable Isn't the Only True Story of a Victim Who Was Charged for Reporting Their Rape
Esquire online
2019-09-14
According to Louisiana State University law professor Lisa Avalos, who’s extensively researched such cases, incidents like these can stem from a cultural tendency towards disbelieving assault victims, widespread misunderstanding of how trauma affects survivors, and the challenging nature of rape investigations.
Sex on Trial review – a story of nightmarish twists and turns
The Guardian online
2019-05-06
Others will as surely side with Professor Lisa Avalos, an expert on sexual violence, who sees an interview shaped entirely round Cotto’s desire to prove Yovino is lying, rather than a desire to seek the truth, and her eventual reluctant agreement with him as a result of bewilderment and intimidation.
Rape victims to be spared ordeal of cross-examination in court
The Guardian online
2017-03-19
Avalos, an expert on gender-based violence, said: “The overwhelming problem here is rape, it is not false allegations of rape. Studies have shown the majority of false allegations of rape involve unnamed perpetrators so the concerns some organisations have about reputational damage to identifiable individuals are substantially overstated.”
Articles
Prosecuting Rape Victims While Rapists Run Free: The Consequences of Police Failure to Investigate Sex Crimes in Britain and the United States
Michigan Journal of Gender & Law2016-06-01
A comparative analysis of the human rights violations that occur when disbelieved rape complainants are prosecuted for allegedly false reports of rape. Examines the systemic flaws in rape investigation that give rise to such violations, and offers proposals for change.
Policing Rape Complainants: When Reporting Rape Becomes a Crime
Journal of Gender, Race and Justice2017-06-05
Rape is one of the most under-reported crimes that there is, and victims often say that they do not report because they are afraid they will not be believed. The worst case scenario for a rape victim is to be disbelieved by police and then charged with false reporting. Unfortunately, prosecutions of rape victims occur regularly, with some victims even serving time in prison. This Article analyzes the why these cases occur and pays particular attention to poor the police investigatory practices that underlie the charging decisions in such cases.
The Chilling Effect: the Politics of Charging Rape Complainants With False Reporting
Brooklyn Law Review2018-06-01
Little attention has been paid to the worst case scenario that confronts the most unfortunate rape victims of all – being disbelieved by police and then charged with false reporting. Very little research has examined this phenomenon as a systemic problem and how it is linked to the broader problem of failing to investigate and prosecute sexual assault. This article bridges that gap.
Reversing the Decriminalization of Sexual Violence
Nevada Law Journal2020-10-01
Sexual violence has largely been decriminalized in the United States through disbelief of victims, apathy on the part of law enforcement officers, and inaction on the part of institutions. Indeed, these mechanisms are so effective at burying the problem that most people are not aware of the extent of unprosecuted sexual violence, the woefully deficient law enforcement response, and the need for sweeping reform.
Seeking Consent and the Law of Sexual Assault
University of Illinois Law Review2023-05-18
This article focuses on two neglected aspects of rape law. First, its tendency to presume sexual consent across a range of social contexts, overlooking the fact that much social life is predicated on a presumption against sexual contact. Second, its tendency to ignore a critical empirical fact: that an overwhelmingly large number of sexual assaults occur during the first-ever sexual contact between the specific parties involved—what I term “First Encounters.”
