Zainab Hans

Dr. Hans is Research Investigator at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention. She has a PhD in Economics from Wayne State University and completed her postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention.

Dr. Hans’ research interests include intimate partner violence, homicide, child abuse, and firearm violence. Her work integrates economic theory with sophisticated statistical approaches to examine the impact of a range of socio-economic and policy level factors influencing firearm violence. Her research on the gender wage gap shows that increasing female wages relative to male wages can significantly reduce child sexual abuse, highlighting the broader social benefits of economic empowerment for women. Additionally, she has investigated how the interactions of COVID-19 with structural factors and pre-existing vulnerabilities in socio-economic status exacerbated exposure to firearm violence.

Her research aims to provide empirical evidence for crafting policies that mitigate violence and improve public safety. She is actively engaged in developing interventions with local law enforcement and securing funding to support evidence-based violence prevention strategies.