Cassandra Young, PhD

Affiliation: Sam Houston State University

Dr. Cassandra Mary Frances Young (formerly Gonzalez) is an assistant professor in the department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Sam Houston State University. Dr. Gonzalez has an MA in Sociology and a PhD in Ethic Studies with a focus on criminal justice from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Dr. Gonzalez’s research focuses on sex trafficking within the Black community, specifically victim experiences with the criminal legal system as victims and/or offenders. Her current scholarship examines the experiences of Black women and girl survivors of trafficking with disclosing their exploitation to police officers and prosecutors. Dr. Gonzalez’s expertise is in gender-based violence, race and justice, victimology, and human trafficking. Her research has been published in Qualitative Criminology, Race and Justice, and Crime & Delinquency.

Research Interests:

  • Criminalization

  • Race/Racism

  • Qualitative methods

  • Court experiences

  • Intimate partner violence and human trafficking

  • Incarceration