scholarly journals Becoming a feminist methodologist while researching sexual violence support services

Author(s):  
ELEANOR WHITTINGDALE
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-108
Author(s):  
Jacey Magnussen ◽  
Irene Shankar

Faced with a growing demand for adequate policies and programs that meaningfully address sexual violence on campus, the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario and Manitoba have introduced legislation requiring all post-secondary institutions to institute a sexual assault policy. The remaining provinces and territories do not have similar legislation. In absence of such legislation, using the case study of Alberta, we examined how equipped post-secondary institutions in this province are to assist students in need. Utilizing publicly available data we examined: 1) whether Alberta’s post-secondary institutions have a sexual violence policy which is readily and easily accessible to the student; and 2) the ease with which students can access university resources and support services for sexual violence. The results indicate that most institutions do not have an accessible policy and support services for students in need. We are hopeful that this study can inform those designing and advocating for sexual violence policies on campus to institute measures to clarify institutions’ sexual violence policies, increase accessibility to those policies, create policies where they are missing, and work on clarifying the availability of resources for students on and off campus.


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-108
Author(s):  
Jacey Magnussen ◽  
Irene Shankar

Faced with a growing demand for adequate policies and programs that meaningfully address sexual violence on campus, the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario and Manitoba have introduced legislation requiring all post-secondary institutions to institute a sexual assault policy. The remaining provincesand territories do not have similar legislation. In absence of such legislation, using the case study of Alberta, we examined how equipped post-secondary institutions in this province are to assist students in need. Utilizing publicly available data we examined: 1) whether Alberta’s post-secondary institutions have a sexual violence policy which is readily and easily accessible to the student; and 2) the ease with which students can access university resources and support services for sexual violence. The results indicate that most institutions do not have an accessible policy and support services for students in need. We are hopeful that this study can inform those designing and advocating for sexual violence policies on campus to institute measures to clarify institutions’ sexual violence policies, increase accessibility to those policies, create policies where they are missing, and work on clarifying the availability of resources for students on and off campus.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
RaeAnn Elizabeth Anderson ◽  
Corey Flanders ◽  
Lesley A. Tarasoff

Bisexual people are at an increased vulnerability for sexual victimization in comparison to heterosexual people, as well as gay and lesbian people. As the majority of first sexual violence experiences happen prior to age 25 for bisexual women, young bisexual people are particularly vulnerable. Despite consistent evidence of this health disparity, little is known about what factors might increase young bisexual people’s risk for sexual victimization, or how they access support post-victimization. The current study addresses this gap through a mixed-method investigation of young bisexual people’s experiences of sexual violence with a sample of 245 bisexual people age 18-25. Quantitative results indicate that bisexual stigma significantly predicts a greater likelihood of reporting an experience of sexual violence. Qualitative findings support that while not all participants felt bisexual stigma re-lated to their experience of sexual violence, some felt negative bisexual stereotypes were substantial factors. Interview participants found connecting with other survivors, particularly LGBTQ+ and bi-sexual survivors, to be beneficial. Some participants encountered barriers to accessing support, such as discrimination in schools. Sexual violence researchers should consider bisexual stigma as an im-portant factor, and support services the potential positive impact of bisexual-specific survivor support.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Delle Donne ◽  
Joseph DeLuca ◽  
Pavel Pleskach ◽  
Christopher Bromson ◽  
Marcus P. Mosley ◽  
...  

Research on sexual violence and related support services access has mainly focused on female victims; there is still a remarkable lack of research on men who experience sexual violence. Research demonstrates that people who both self-identify as men and are members of sexual-orientation minority populations are at higher risk of sexual violence. They are also less likely to either report or seek support services related to such experiences. The present study is an exploratory one aimed at filling the gap in the literature and better understanding how men, both straight and gay as well as cisgender and transgender, conceptualize, understand, and seek help related to sexual violence. A sample of 32 men was recruited on-line and participated in either a one-on-one in-depth interview ( N = 19) or one of two focus group discussions ( N = 13). All interviews and groups were audiotaped, professionally transcribed and coded using NVivo 9 qualitative software. The present analysis focused on barriers to and facilitators of support service access. Emergent and cross-cutting themes were identified and presented, with an emphasis on understanding what factors may prevent disclosure of a sexual violence experience and facilitate seeking support services and/or professional help. Through this analysis, the research team aims to add knowledge to inform the development of tools to increase service access and receipt, for use by both researchers and service professionals. Although this study contributes to the understanding of the issue of men’s experiences of sexual violence, more research with diverse populations is needed.


GeroPsych ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirko Di Rosa ◽  
Christopher Kofahl ◽  
Kevin McKee ◽  
Barbara Bień ◽  
Giovanni Lamura ◽  
...  

This paper presents the EUROFAMCARE study findings, examining a typology of care situations for family carers of older people, and the interplay of carers with social and health services. Despite the complexity of family caregiving situations across Europe, our analyses determined the existence of seven “caregiving situations,” varying on a range of critical indicators. Our study also describes the availability and use of different support services for carers and care receivers, and carers’ preferences for the characteristics of support services. Our findings have relevance for policy initiatives in Europe, where limited resources need to be more equitably distributed and services should be targeted to caregiving situations reflecting the greatest need, and organized to reflect the preferences of family carers.


GeroPsych ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Oedekoven ◽  
Katja Amin-Kotb ◽  
Paul Gellert ◽  
Klaus Balke ◽  
Adelheid Kuhlmey ◽  
...  

Abstract. We investigated the association between the education of informal caregivers’ (IC) and their physical and mental burden. We hypothesized that better-educated IC would have more resources available to manage the care situation and as a result show lower perceived burden. We conducted a population survey of 6,087 German residents aged 18+ years, 966 of whom reported to be IC. Results show that IC felt more often mentally than physically burdened. In the multivariate analyses, higher-educated IC did not have lower odds of feeling physically burdened than lower-educated IC, though they did have increased odds of feeling mentally burdened. The higher perceived mental burden of higher-educated IC may be related to fear of loss of self-fulfilment and autonomy. Support services should consider the mental burden of higher-educated IC and tailor their interventions accordingly.


Crisis ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Kelly Mazzer ◽  
Megan O'Riordan ◽  
Alan Woodward ◽  
Debra Rickwood

Abstract. Background: Crisis support services play an important role in providing free, immediate access to support people in the community experiencing a personal crisis. Recently, services have expanded from telephone to digital modalities including online chat and text message services. This raises the question of what outcomes are being achieved for increasingly diverse service users across different modalities. Aims: This systematic review aimed to determine the expectations and outcomes of users of crisis support services across three modalities (telephone, online chat, and text message/SMS). Method: Online databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Psychological and Behavioural Sciences Collection) and gray literature were searched for studies measuring expectations and outcomes of crisis support services. Results: A total of 31 studies were included in the review, the majority of which were telephone-based. Similar expectations were found for telephone and online chat modalities, as well as consistently positive outcomes, measured by changes in emotional state, satisfaction, and referral plans. Limitations/Conclusion: There is a paucity of consistent outcome measures across and within modalities and limited research about users of text message/SMS services.


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