Research Interests

healing, intersectionality, abolition feminism, sexual and relationship violence, yoga, critical qualitative methodologies, higher education

Biography

Dr. Nadeeka Karunaratne earned her Ph.D. in Education from UCLA, and her scholarship spans the disciplines of gender studies, ethnic studies, philosophy, social work, and psychology with her focus on sexual and relationship violence, healing, and interrupting harm. Her research works toward a future where minoritized student survivors of sexual and relationship violence receive necessary, spiritually-grounded, and culturally relevant support from their institutions. With a focus on healing-centered and trauma-informed methodologies, Dr. Karunaratne centers survivor knowledge, ancestral practices, and community-based approaches to justice and care.

Her pedagogical and research approaches are rooted in intersectional theories, radical healing frameworks, and abolition feminist perspectives. She is co-author of Thinking Like an Abolitionist to End Sexual Violence in Higher Education (Routledge). Across her work, she calls for an end to systems of violence by cultivating communities of care, spiritual resilience, and social transformation. Her research has been funded by the American Association for University Women. Dr. Karunaratne is also a trauma-informed yoga teacher and former student affairs practitioner with more than decade of experience supporting and advocating for minoritized students in higher education.

Education

Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

M.A., Michigan State University 

B.S., University of California, Berkeley

Publications

Book

Linder, C., Karunaratne, N., Grimes, N. S. (2024). Thinking like an abolitionist to end sexual violence in higher education. Routledge.

Articles

Karunaratne, N. (2025). An analysis of the dating violence disclosure experiences of women and femme college students of color using representational and political intersectionality. The Journal of Higher Education. Advanced online publication.

Karunaratne, N., & Aguilar Marquez, K. (2024). The role of spirituality in healing from sexual and relationship violence in higher education. Journal of Trauma Studies in Education, 3(3), 74-95.

Karunaratne, N. (2024). The influence of family and culture on South Asian student dating violence survivors’ college experiences. Journal of American College Health, 72(9), 3725-3733.

Karunaratne, N. (2023). Toward a methodology of healing: Promoting radical healing among student survivors through research. Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education, 16(1), 39-51.

Karunaratne, N. (2023). Fostering (re)connections: South Asian students healing from dating violence. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 16(2), 131-143.

Karunaratne, N., & Harris, J. C. (2022). Women of Color student survivors’ perceptions of campus sexual assault prevention programming. Violence Against Women, 28(15-16), 3801-3824.

Harris, J. C., Karunaratne, N., & Gutzwa, J. A. (2021). Effective modalities for healing from campus sexual assault: Centering the experiences of women of color undergraduate student survivors. Harvard Educational Review, 91(2), 248-272.

Boss, G. J., Karunaratne, N., Huang, C., Beavers, A., Pegram-Floyd, V., & Tullos, K. C. (2019). “It’s a double-edged sword”: A collaborative autoethnography of Women of Color higher education and student affairs administrators who teach in the college classroom. NASPA Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education, 12(2), 166-185.

Book Chapters

Karunaratne, N. (2024). Queer Women and Femme students of Color seeking help after surviving dating violence in college. In D. Mitchell, J. Marie, & P. Carver (Eds.), Intersectionality & higher education: Theory, research and praxis (4th ed.). Peter Lang.

Karunaratne, N. (2022). Creating environments of healing on campus: Lessons from Women of Color yoga instructors healing trauma. In L. Douglass, A. Threlkeld, & L. R. Merriweather (Eds.), Trauma in adult and higher education: Conversations and critical reflections (pp. 335-350). Information Age.

Harris, J. C., Cobian, K., & Karunaratne, N. (2020). Re-imagining the study of campus sexual assault. In L. W. Perna (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 35, pp. 1-47). Springer.