Signe Svallfors

Signe Svallfors' research focuses on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) including life-course transitions, family planning, access to health care, gender norms, and gender-based violence. Svallfors is particularly interested in how these matters are shaped by the social context in which individuals live, primarily in terms of armed conflict and other crises.

At Stanford, Svallfors is working on a two-year postdoctoral project to study women's demographic and health outcomes of local violence in Latin America, based on quantitative models of data from large-n nationally representative surveys and vital statistics. This project aims to improve our understanding of how contextual factors such as violence affect the lives of individuals living in those settings, as well as to investigate violence as a social determinant of women's health and gender equality.

Prior to joining the department of sociology at Stanford, Svallfors was a postdoctoral scholar with the global and sexual health research group at the department of global public health, Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Svallfors hold a PhD in sociological demography from the department of sociology, Stockholm University in Sweden.

King Center Supported Research

2022 - 2023 Academic Year | Global Development Research Funding

The Impact of Local Violence on Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health in Latin America

Deadly violence has drastically increased in Latin America, posing a substantial threat to health and development. This project investigates the impact of local violence on women’s sexual and reproductive health in multiple Latin American countries, based on statistical models using data from nationally representative surveys, homicide statistics, and events-based conflict datasets. Consultations with key stakeholders in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Mexico will increase the validity of conclusions, disseminate findings, and strengthen collaborations with local actors. The project will increase the current knowledge base and provide concrete, evidence-based policy recommendations regarding health and sustainable development in violence-affected populations.