Monika Schröttle has a background in political science and interdisciplinary violence research in women´s and gender studies. She focuses on the empirical analysis of violence in gender relations. Her doctoral thesis at the University of Giessen focused on the relationships between politics and violence in gender relations and here in particular on the extent, causes, and socio-political background of violence against women in intimate relationships in the former East Germany. Schröttle is working at the Research Unit Gender Studies, University of Gießen and is currently also leading research projects for the Institute for empirical sociological research at the University of Nürnberg. She is an expert in violence against women and violence prevalence research. Furthermore she works on migration, disabilities and social inequalities. In 2012 Monika Schröttle has built up a new international (European) research network on gender and violence and has developed a monitoring concept for the long-time observation of gendered violence, its consequences and the state reactions for the German ministry of women´s and family affairs. She published numerous scientific articles, books and studies; the most recent is a representative survey on violence against disabled women in Germany.