These summaries were written by SVPEP staff and are based on original papers published within the last 2 years. The information available on this web site is provided as a public service and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the Arizona Department of Health Services, or the University of Arizona. To conduct an individual search or locate older articles use the Search Summary Database which includes over 600 articles related to sexual violence.

Averill, J. B., Padilla, A. O., & Clements, P. T. (2007). Frightened in isolation: Unique considerations for research of sexual assault and interpersonal violence in rural areas. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 3, 42-46. [Posted October 2007]

Key Points: Compared with urban areas, rural areas offer fewer resources and more barriers to care for sexual violence victims.

Summary: Characteristics of rural communities affecting victims’ ability to seek and access response services include lack of telephone service, public transportation, and privacy. Attitudes contributing to barriers include mistrust toward “outsider” interventions (e.g., law enforcement or social service agencies) and acceptance of traditional gender roles. Health and social services tend to be limited in rural areas, and victims must travel long distances to access them or wait a long time for emergency response. Victims may be less aware of services available to them. Existing victim and offender services are often managed by  volunteers from the community, and confidentiality may be compromised. To address these barriers, the authors suggest a collaborative approach involving partnerships between different organizations and agencies, and encourage practitioners to obtain training to improve their ability to work with rural communities.

Limitations: The article focuses on recommendations for forensic nurses.

Topics: underserved populations, victim services

Campbell, R. (2006). Rape survivors’ experiences with the legal and medical systems: Do rape victim advocates make a difference? Violence Against Women, 12, 30-45. [Posted December 2006]

Key Points: Survivors of sexual assault who were assisted by rape crisis center advocates received more medical and legal services, and were less distressed by their interactions with law enforcement and medical personnel.  

Summary: This study looked at women who were treated in emergency rooms after reporting rape. Two hospitals were included in the study: one had a policy of paging a rape crisis advocate when a victim arrived, and the other did not. Participants included 36 women who worked with rape victim advocates and 45 who did not. Survivors were asked about medical and legal services that were offered, secondary victimization behaviors by medical and law enforcement staff, and their emotional responses to the secondary victimization. Victims who worked with advocates had more police reports taken (59% vs. 41%) and were less likely to experience secondary victimization behaviors from medical and legal personnel. They were more likely to be offered emergency contraception (33% vs. 14%) and information about/treatment for STDs. They were less likely to blame themselves for the assault (54% vs. 82%) and less reluctant to seek further help (67% vs. 91%). The author recommended that rape crisis centers continue to work with medical and legal systems to streamline response systems and increase the use of advocate services.

Topics: rape crisis centers, secondary victimization, victim services

Hellman, C. & House, D. (2006). Volunteers serving victims of sexual assault. Journal of Social Psychology, 146, 117-123. [Posted October 2006]

Key Points: Sexual violence crisis hotline and hospital advocate volunteers were most satisfied with their work when they were emotionally attached to the agency and attended monthly meetings that they found helpful. Satisfied volunteers intended to stay in their positions. 

Summary: In this study, researchers looked at factors associated with volunteer satisfaction, commitment, and intent to continue volunteering. Twenty-eight sexual violence crisis hotline and hospital advocate volunteers filled out mail-in surveys. Satisfied volunteers were more likely to report intending to remain in their positions. Compared with less satisfied volunteers, satisfied volunteers reported higher levels of feelings of competence, social support, and emotional attachment to the agency. They also reported finding monthly agency meetings more valuable and had lower levels of exposure to victim blaming from other service providers. This is a very small sample, but it reaches the same conclusions as previous research. The authors recommended on-going training for volunteers, including skills-building to confront victim-blaming among other service providers. By addressing these issues, volunteers may be more satisfied, which may lead to better retention.

Topics: advocate self-care, rape crisis centers, victim services

Zweig, J., & Burt, M.R. (2007).  Predicting women’s perceptions of domestic violence and sexual assault agency helpfulness:  What matters to program clients?  Violence Against Women, 13, 1149-1178. [Posted July 2008]
 
Key Points: Women may rate the helpfulness of victim services based on the perceived level of interaction between community agencies.  

Summary:  Interviews with 1,509 women were conducted to asses if community agency interaction, staff behavior, and combination of services predict helpfulness of domestic violence and sexual assault agencies. Women reported that private non-profit victim service agencies were most helpful when there was positive staff behavior and when they felt a sense of control when working with staff.  Increased helpfulness was reported when victim services were perceived to have interacted with the legal system and other community agencies.  

Limitations:  Women were only interviewed once and so results do not examine the long-term impact on women’s health and safety.

Topics: community attitudes/responses, evaluation, victim services

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Updated 09/22/08