Mercilene is a Specialist scientist in the SAMRC’s Gender and Health Research Unit and an honorary lecturer at the University of Witwatersrand’s School of Public Health. She has conducted research that includes epidemiology of gender-based violence in South Africa and other Southern African countries using national and population-based surveys, investigating intersections and structural pathways of childhood abuse, mental ill health and gender-based violence experience or perpetration in adulthood, criminal justice system responses to rape and developing an intervention for young women in higher education settings. Mercilene holds an MSc (Med) in Epidemiology and Biostatistics and a PhD in Public Health from the University of Witwatersrand.