Abstract

This qualitative systematic review aimed to recognize what adult cisgender female survivors of sexual violence said about their experiences with formal support providers upon disclosure and their recommendations to enhance the disclosure process. Using a deductive content analysis of nice qualitative studies, the researcher identified and explored supportive and unsupportive formal support providers’ behaviors. Results indicated that supportive experiences typically involved aspects of both emotional support and tangible aid. Unsupportive experiences mainly focused on how providers responded to and negatively treated cisgender female survivors during the entirety of the investigation process. Also, cultural factors, such as race, gender, ethnicity, and age, impacted how providers and services were experienced. A majority of survivors’ recommendations pertained to providing education, resources, and training to members of the community to normalize the experience of sexual violence and increase awareness of available services. A valuable inductive finding was that many of the survivors discussed how their experiences led to the development of posttraumatic growth, leading them to engage in advocacy, activism, and protecting other survivors. Our findings provided valuable implications for using supportive interventions and program development in clinical practice and offered helpful directions for future research.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Sexual abuse victims; Supportive psychotherapy-- Sexual abuse victims; Sex crimes

Date of Award

2024

School Affiliation

Graduate School of Education and Psychology

Department/Program

Psychology

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctorate

Faculty Advisor

Susan Hall

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