rape crisis center

Volunteers serving victims of sexual assault

Rape crisis volunteers who provide direct-care services to victims of sexual assault are a much-understudied group. Volunteers provide a crucial role in support of nonprofit rape crisis centers, and factors influencing their continued service are an important consideration for decision makers.

Identifying the potential for collaboration between women's shelters and sexual assault centres: Comparing and constrasting the service delivery needs of clients

Many women experience both sexual and domestic violence throughout their lifespan, but do the services of women's shelters and sexual assault centres reflect this reality? Stemming from a joint recommendation, this research project was conducted in partnership by the Alberta Association of Sexual Assault Centres and the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 24 service providers representing 19 Alberta women's shelters and sexual assault centres. The purpose of the study was to identify areas in which the needs of clients

That's not my problem: Convergence and divergence between self- and other-identified problems among homeless adolescents

Mental health symptoms, victimization experiences, and rates of substance use among homeless youth were assessed using typical clinical intake questions and standard questionnaires. Youth were also asked what they regarded as their primary problems. Results indicated that issues likely to concern health professionals, such as past victimization, high rates of substance use, and psychological symptoms, are often not regarded as problems by homeless youth.

An analysis of statewide sexual assault service providers

Barriers to Services for Rural and Urban Survivors of Rape

A significant proportion of survivors of rape do not utilize formal services to cope with the aftermath of rape. Understanding victimization experiences in environments that differ on resources, such as rural versus urban areas, may be an important dimension to consider in understanding barriers. Thirty women (18 rural and 12 urban) were recruited from rape crisis centers to participate in focus groups.

The Crime of Rape

Rape--it's an all too familiar event in many women's lives. But what is being done to prevent its occurrence? How do victims deal with the trauma of rape? How are local agencies dealing with the increasing number of victims? How effective are available treatment programs? From the causes of rape to its lingering effects, from disclosure to treatment, "The Rape Victim" offers the most complete examination to date on this most heinous crime.

Community services for rape survivors: enhancing psychological well-being or increasing trauma?

This research examined how contact with the legal, medical, and mental health systems affects rape survivors' psychological well-being. Although community services may be beneficial for some victims, there is increasing evidence that they can add trauma, rather than alleviate distress (termed secondary victimization). This study examined how secondary victimization affects rape survivors' posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. Adaptive and snowball sampling were used to recruit a sample of 102 rape survivors.

Preventing the second rape: Rape survivors' experiences with community service providers

Although prevention efforts aimed at eliminating the occurrence of sexual assault are clearly needed, it is also important to consider how we can prevent further trauma among those already victimized. Prior research suggests that rape survivors may experience victim-blaming treatment from system personnel (termed secondary victimization or the second rape). This research examined how postassault contact with community systems exacerbated rape victims' psychological and physical heath distress.

Rape Survivors' Experiences With the Legal and Medical Systems: Do Rape Victim Advocates Make a Difference?

This study used a naturalistic quasi-experimental design to examine whether rape survivors who had the assistance of rape victim advocates had more positive experiences with the legal and medical systems compared to those who did not work with advocates. Eighty-one survivors were interviewed in two urban hospitals about what services they received from legal and medical system personnel and how they were treated during these interactions.

Preventing vicarious trauma: What counselors should know when working with trauma survivors

Counselors in all settings work with clients who are survivors of trauma. Vicarious trauma, or counselors developing trauma reactions secondary to exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, is not uncommon. The purpose of this article is to describe vicarious trauma and summarize the recent research literature related to this construct. The Constructivist Self-Development Theory (CSDT) is applied to vicarious trauma, and the implications CSDT has for counselors in preventing and managing vicarious trauma are explored.

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