- Title
- Male counsellors and feminist practice in New South Wales sexual assault services: perspective of female counsellors and service users
- Creator
- Hopkins, Julie
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- Historically, sexual assault services (SASs) (in New South Wales Health, unless otherwise specified) have adopted a feminist perspective and routinely employed female counsellors working with survivors of sexual assault. The rationale for this stemmed from a gendered understanding of sexual assault, as most victims were women and most perpetrators were male. With no previous studies specifically on male counsellors working with adult female service users in SASs, there was little to guide their entry into this female-dominated domain. To maintain efficient and effective service delivery for female service users within SASs, the study explored two broad areas: the inclusion of and therapy with a male counsellor and ongoing relevance of feminist practice.It sought to provide an opportunity for female service users to add their voices to the conversation about the inclusion of male counsellors in SASs by exploring their unique experiences of, and perspectives on, therapy with male counsellors. In addition, the study enabled female counsellors to share their views on the possible impact of the routine inclusion of male counsellors on, and the currency of feminist practice within, government SASs. The researcher used a qualitative, narrative-based, phenomenological feminist research approach to hear the women’s narratives and gain an understanding of their experience, from their perspective. She conducted in-depth interviews with service users (n=10) and sole counsellors in a service (n=5) and focus groups (n=3) with counselling teams (n=12 focus group participants in three focus groups, n=7, 2, and 3 respectively) using an interview guide. In all, 17 counsellors participated in interviews and focus groups. All the participants came from rural and regional areas. The findings showed that counsellors were more concerned about male counsellors in this therapeutic space than service users, who did not share their safety concerns. The counsellors reiterated the importance of a feminist-informed approach. Most saw choice as core to overcoming power imbalances and enabling survivors to exercise control in counselling. The counsellors noted the restricted options for gender choice in rural and regional SASs and the cultural inappropriateness of male counsellors working with First Nations female sexual assault survivors. Further, counsellors and service users thought male counsellors should not work with female survivors in the acute phase. Some service users felt more comfortable talking to female counsellors about intimacy and sexual issues though not all felt comfortable with their approach. Overall, the counsellor-client relational connection and quality of the therapeutic relationship was more important than the counsellor’s gender or feminism. The study concluded that feminism continued to inform SAS practice, despite the shift to trauma-informed care. The counsellors experienced a lack of managerial support and thought managers should be knowledgeable about trauma and complex trauma and support them in responding effectively with up-to-date interventions. The study also showed the continued relevance of an inclusive structurally informed Health response that extended analysis of sexual assault beyond gender to class, race, and culture. The provision of inclusive services would position Health at the forefront in challenging the systemic issues perpetuating violence against women.
- Subject
- sexual assault; counselling; male counsellors; feminist practise; feminism
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1435592
- Identifier
- uon:39763
- Rights
- Copyright 2021 Julie Hopkins
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 4 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 205 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |