Mary P. Koss

Mary P. Koss is an American clinical psychologst who is Regents' Professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. She is an expert in sexual violence research. She is best known for conducting the first national study on rape in the United States in 1987 and for developing the Sexual Experience Survey (SES), which remains widely used today to assess sexual aggression and victimization.

In 1987, Koss, along with her colleagues, Christine Gidycz and Nadine Wisniewski, published the first national study on rape. The study included the first presentation of the "one in four" statistic that created awareness of the extent of rape among college students, the development of a method for measuring rape, and coining terms such as "date rape" and "acquaintance rape".

Biography

Koss was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Koss's maternal grandparents (William and Marian Lyndon Bade) raised her and her four siblings for a period of time, while their mother rehabilitated from polio.

Koss defined the unacknowledged rape victims as women who have experienced the behaviors that define rape (oral, anal, or vaginal penetration against consent through force, bodily harm, or when incapacitated and unable to consent) but do not realize that their experience constitutes rape or chose not to view it that way. This is now a well-accepted finding reaffirmed by other investigators in national surveys repeated in the early 2000s and most recently reported in 2012. Koss has served as an invited speaker and guest lecturer around the world. In 1991, she testified as an expert witness at the U.S. Senate hearings that led to the first passage of Violence Against Women Act. Koss has since conducted multiple legislative testimonies, including expert witness testimonies to the U.S. Senate Veteran's Affairs Committee, U.S. News & World Report, Senator Cory Brooker on restorative justice, and US Advisory Commission on Child Abuse. Other legal testimony from Koss includes working with Congressional Briefing on Violence Against Women, and the Legislative Policy Brief released by the Evelyn Jacobs Ortner Center on Family Violence.

On the issue of male victims of rape, Koss has written: "Although consideration of male victims is within the scope of the legal statutes, it is important to restrict the term rape to instances where male victims were penetrated by offenders. It is inappropriate to consider as a rape victim a man who engages in unwanted sexual intercourse with a woman." (Koss 1993 pp 206–207). Elsewhere, she has argued that it is impossible for a woman to rape a man: "How would [a man being raped by a woman] happen… how would that happen by force or threat of force or when the victim is unable to consent? How does that happen?", adding that she would describe this as "unwanted contact".

Koss was offered a faculty position in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona in 1987 and later transferred to the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health in the Division of Health Promotion Sciences. "The RESTORE Program for Restorative Justice for Sex Crimes: Vision, Process and Outcomes" is published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

Honors and awards Koss has received over 20 awards and over 70 recognitions throughout her career. Along with her honors and awards, she has been a distinguished member of professional organizations such as the American Psychological Association. Koss also was the first recipient and namesake of the Mary P. Koss Profile in Courage Award from the One-in-Four Organization. This award will be given to another person annually. Her work has also influenced public policy, including her testimony during the drafting of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994, which has become a cornerstone of federal policy on gender-based violence. American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology 2022 Trailblazer Award: Celebrating the architects of our field on whose shoulders we stand, from the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (WHO-founded, based at the Medical Research Council, Johannesburg, South Africa) 2025 Kinsey Institute Award from Indiana University Stephen Schafer Award, National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) Distinguished Contribution to Women's Health, American Psychological Association, Committee on Women in Psychology Distinguished Service Award for the book, No Safe Haven, Male Violence Against Women at Home, at Work, and in the Community Heritage Award recognizing a substantial and outstanding body of work, American Psychological Association, Division 35 (Psychology of Women) Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy, American Psychological Association American Psychological Association Committee on Women in Psychology Leadership Award (Senior Career) Presidential Citation, American Psychological Association Visionary Award from End Violence Against Women International Distinguished Publication Award, Association for Women in Psychology Brother Peace Award, National Association of Men Against Sexism Distinguished Contribution to the Science of Psychology Award, Arizona Psychological Association Distinguished Scholarly Contribution to Research on Acquaintance Rape, Safe Schools Coalition Distinguished Contribution to Women's Health, American Psychological Association, Committee on Women in Psychology Heritage Award recognizing a substantial and outstanding body of work, American Psychological Association, Division 35 (Psychology of Women) Excellence in Teaching and Commitment to Public Health Faculty Award, Public Health Alliance, University of Arizona American Psychological Association Committee on Women in Psychology Leadership Award (Senior Career) Mel and Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health Research Prize Presidential Citation, American Psychological Association Visionary Award from End Violence Against Women International (7th Awardee) Mary P. Koss Profile in Courage Award, One-in-Four Organization American Psychological Association Award for Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology University of Minnesota Psychology Distinguished Alumni Award Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award (Marquis Who's Who) Lifetime Achievement in Violence Against Women Research and Advocacy, Institute for Trauma, Violence and Abuse Caroline Wood Sherif Award for Contributions to the Psychology of Women, American Psychological Association, Division 35

Selected publications

Books

Chapters in books

Journal articles

Pdf.

Pdf.

Pdf.

Pdf.

Pdf.

Reports

Koss, Mary P & White, Jacquelyn W. (May 2021). VAWA Reauthorization Presents an Opportunity for Bold Transformation. The Gender Policy Report. https://genderpolicyreport.umn.edu/vawa-reauthorization-presents-an-opportunity-for-bold-transformation/

Policy briefs

Koss, M.P., & Chisolm, K. (February 6, 2020). The Time Is Now: Restorative Justice for Sexual Misconduct. The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Mentions

Who's Who (Marquis) Biographee 1983 18th edition, Who's Who in American Women 1987 21st edition, Who's Who in the Midwest 1988 2nd edition, Who's Who in Emerging Leaders 1991 3rd edition, Who's Who in Emerging Leaders 1992 18th edition, Who's Who in American Women 1993 24th edition, Who's Who in the West 2000 55th edition, Who's Who in America 2003 6th edition, Who's Who in American Education 2000 55th edition, Who's Who in America 2006 9th edition, Who's Who in Science and Engineering 2006 26th edition, Who's Who in American Women 2008 27th edition, Who's Who in American Women 2013- 67th and continuous subsequent editions, Who's Who in America, confirmed through 2022