scholarly journals Safety Rituals: How Women Cope with the Fear of Sexual Violence

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana Silva ◽  
David Wright
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Analysis Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Use Of Time ◽  
Safety Strategies ◽  
Inductive Analysis

In this study we focus on how women's fear of sexual violence shapes their views on sexual assault and influences their use of safety strategies as well as how those safety strategies may restrict their use of time and space. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 5 participants who also journaled for one week on the topic of sexual violence. Data were analyzed through an inductive analysis approach. These women think about sexual violence as a widespread problem that affects them disproportionately more than it affects men; they engage in precautionary behaviors in a ritualistic manner; and their fear of sexual assault is restrictive. Safety rituals seem to help these women feel powerful, in control, and less anxious.

scholarly journals Moaning and Eye Contact: Men's Use of Ambiguous Signals in Attributions of Consent to their Sexual Partners

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Bedera
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Eye Contact ◽  
Sexual Partners ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Social Cues ◽  
Sexual Consent ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Undergraduate Men ◽  
Affirmative Consent

In recent years, there has been increasing pressure on men to take a proactive role in preventing sexual violence. On college campuses, this pressure has been formalized into affirmative consent policies that require all students to actively seek consent from their sexual partners through unambiguous verbal or physical signals. This study uses data from 25 semi-structured interviews to explore how undergraduate men make sense of sexual consent after cultural and organizational pressure to be more proactive in preventing sexual assault. Participants answered questions about their recent sexual experiences and their attitudes toward campus sexual consent policies. Findings indicate that while participants understand and condone key elements of sexual consent, they do not consistently apply reliable strategies to ensure that their sexual interactions are consensual. Instead, they use ambiguous social cues that are common in both consensual and nonconsensual sexual interactions, which reinforce the cultural notion that consent is unclear.

scholarly journals "We’re Still Here, We’re Still Fighting.” The Experiences Of Rural Survivors Accessing Sexual Assault Evidence Kits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katelyn Bosveld
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Qualitative Research Study

This qualitative research study explores the experiences survivors of sexual violence across rural Ontario accessing Sexual Assault Evidence Kits, as told by service providers from Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Treatment Centres. Using a narrative thematic analysis, semi-structured interviews were completed and subsequently analyzed from an intersectional feminist perspective. The purpose of this approach was to identify themes that occurred across multiple interviews in order to understand the barriers that exist for survivors and solutions proposed by service providers in the field. Factors such as transportation, including reliance on police for transportation, are explored, as are the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic which arose partway through the research process. Additionally, implications for social work practice and service providers to survivors of sexual violence, strengths and limitations, and areas for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals "We’re Still Here, We’re Still Fighting.” The Experiences Of Rural Survivors Accessing Sexual Assault Evidence Kits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katelyn Bosveld
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Qualitative Research Study

This qualitative research study explores the experiences survivors of sexual violence across rural Ontario accessing Sexual Assault Evidence Kits, as told by service providers from Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Treatment Centres. Using a narrative thematic analysis, semi-structured interviews were completed and subsequently analyzed from an intersectional feminist perspective. The purpose of this approach was to identify themes that occurred across multiple interviews in order to understand the barriers that exist for survivors and solutions proposed by service providers in the field. Factors such as transportation, including reliance on police for transportation, are explored, as are the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic which arose partway through the research process. Additionally, implications for social work practice and service providers to survivors of sexual violence, strengths and limitations, and areas for future research are discussed.

The Right to Bodily Integrity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Brysk
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Bodily Integrity ◽  
Global Pattern ◽  
Popular Resistance ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Right

In Chapter 7, we profile the global pattern of sexual violence. We will consider conflict rape and transitional justice response in Peru and Colombia, along with the plight of women displaced by conflict from Syria and Central America, and limited international policy response. State-sponsored sexual violence and popular resistance to reclaim public space will be chronicled in Egypt as well as Mexico. We will track intensifying public sexual assault amid social crisis in Turkey, South Africa, and India, which has been met by a wide range of public protest, legal reform, and policy change. For a contrasting experience of the privatization of sexual assault in developed democracies, we will trace campus, workplace, and military rape in the United States.

Between sexual assault and compassion: The experience of living with a spouse’s dementia-related hypersexuality—A narrative case-study

Dementia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 147130122110320
Author(s):  
Dovrat Harel ◽  
Tova Band-Winterstein ◽  
Hadass Goldblatt
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Intimate Relationship ◽  
Older Woman ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Narrative Case Study ◽  
As If

Background Hypersexuality is one of the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. This symptom can lead to poor quality of life for the person who lives with dementia, as well as for his or her caregiver, who might be exposed to sexual assault. Aim This study aimed to highlight the experience of an older woman living and coping with a spouse who exhibits dementia-related hypersexuality. Method A narrative case-study of a single case was designed, composed of four semi-structured interviews conducted over a 10-month period. The data were analyzed through thematic, structural, and performance analysis. Findings Four phases were revealed, depicting the experience of being a partner and caregiver of a spouse with dementia-related hypersexuality: a) “I need help”: A distress call; b) “It depends how long I agree to go on with it”: Living with the ambiguous reality of dementia-related hypersexual behavior within an ongoing intimate relationship; c) “It’s as if I’m hugging someone who’s no longer alive”: The transition from the previous couplehood identity to a new couplehood identity; and d) “I am just taking care of him as if he is a child”: A compassionate couplehood identity construction. Conclusions Living with a partner with dementia-related hypersexuality is a distressing experience for the caregiver-spouse. Yet, positive memories from a long intimate relationship can lead to the creation of a compassionate identity, which supports the caregiving process, and creates a sense of acceptance and meaning making. This, in turn, enables a positive aging experience. These finding have some practical implications for supporting and intervening in such cases.

Mandatory Reporting and Adolescent Sexual Assault

2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802110302
Author(s):  
Caroline Bailey ◽  
Jessica Shaw ◽  
Abril Harris
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mandatory Reporting ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Long Term Consequences ◽  
The Impact

Adolescents experience alarmingly high rates of sexual violence, higher than any other age-group. This is concerning as sexual violence can have detrimental effects on teens’ personal and relational well-being, causing long-term consequences for the survivor. Still, adolescents are hesitant to report the assault or seek out services and resources. When an adolescent survivor does seek out services, they may interact with a provider who is a mandatory reporter. This scoping review sought to synthesize the current U.S.-based research on the role, challenges, and impact of mandatory reporting (MR) in the context of adolescent sexual assault. Database searches using key words related to MR, sexual assault, and adolescence identified 29 peer-reviewed articles. However, none of these articles reported on empirical investigations of the phenomenon of interest and instead consisted of case studies, commentaries, and position papers. The scoping review was expanded to provide a lay of the land of what we know about the intersection of adolescent sexual assault and MR. Results of the review indicate that though implemented broadly, MR policies vary between individuals, organizations, and states and have historically been challenging to implement due to this variation, conflicts with other laws, tension between these policies and providers’ values, and other factors. Based on the available literature, the impact of MR in the context of adolescent sexual assault is unknown. There is a critical need for research and evaluation on the implementation and impact of MR policies, especially in the context of adolescents and sexual violence.

scholarly journals [De]-Centering the Victim: Police Perceptions of Victims of Sexual Violence through a Comparative Lens of Evidence Collection and Processing

2021 ◽  
pp. 155708512110319
Author(s):  
Deborah White ◽  
Lesley McMillan
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Evidence Collection ◽  
Police Perceptions

Police are central to the statutory response to sexual violence, shaping the direction an investigation may take. Evidence provided by victims is also key to the processing of sexual assault cases. From a 2013 comparative qualitative study involving interviews with police officers in one province in Canada ( n = 11) and one region in Scotland ( n = 10) who investigate such cases, we discovered striking unanticipated differences between the two groups in terms of how they perceived victims and the evidence they provide. This paper presents a thematic analysis of these data and considers possible implications and explanations.

The U.S. Marine Corps’ Response to Intimate Partner Sexual Violence: An Analysis of the Family Advocacy Program and the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program

2020 ◽  
pp. 0095327X2097439
Author(s):  
Stephanie Bonnes ◽  
Jeffrey H. Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Marine Corps ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Sexual Assault Prevention ◽  
Family Advocacy ◽  
Advocacy Program ◽  
Assault Prevention ◽  
The U.S

In this article, we show how the U.S. military treats domestic violence and sexual assault as distinct forms of abuse, which has particular consequences for victims of intimate partner sexual violence. We explore how a specific U.S. military branch, the Marine Corps, complicates these issues further by providing services to intimate partner sexual violence victims from two different programs. Analyzing military orders and documents related to Family Advocacy Program and Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program, interviews with eight military prosecutors, and the experiences of one military lawyer, we examine program and interactional-level factors that shape victim services, advocacy, and processes. We find that there are program differences in specialized services, coordinated services, and potential breaches of confidentiality related to victim’s cases. We recommend that the Marine Corps recognize the intersections of sexual violence and domestic violence and offer more tailored services to victims of intimate partner sexual violence.

Capturing sexual assault data: An information system designed by forensic clinicians and healthcare researchers

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Aqif Mukhtar ◽  
Debbie A Smith ◽  
Maureen A Phillips ◽  
Maire C Kelly ◽  
Renate R Zilkens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Data Management ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Management System ◽  
Data Management System ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
High Quality ◽  
High Quality Data

Background: The Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC) in Perth, Western Australia provides free 24-hour medical, forensic, and counseling services to persons aged over 13 years following sexual assault. Objective: The aim of this research was to design a data management system that maintains accurate quality information on all sexual assault cases referred to SARC, facilitating audit and peer-reviewed research. Methods: The work to develop SARC Medical Services Clinical Information System (SARC-MSCIS) took place during 2007–2009 as a collaboration between SARC and Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia. Patient demographics, assault details, including injury documentation, and counseling sessions were identified as core data sections. A user authentication system was set up for data security. Data quality checks were incorporated to ensure high-quality data. Results: An SARC-MSCIS was developed containing three core data sections having 427 data elements to capture patient’s data. Development of the SARC-MSCIS has resulted in comprehensive capacity to support sexual assault research. Four additional projects are underway to explore both the public health and criminal justice considerations in responding to sexual violence. The data showed that 1,933 sexual assault episodes had occurred among 1881 patients between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2015. Sexual assault patients knew the assailant as a friend, carer, acquaintance, relative, partner, or ex-partner in 70% of cases, with 16% assailants being a stranger to the patient. Conclusion: This project has resulted in the development of a high-quality data management system to maintain information for medical and forensic services offered by SARC. This system has also proven to be a reliable resource enabling research in the area of sexual violence.

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