- Title
- "Women of courage": comprehensive court preparation and support for women survivors of sexual assault
- Creator
- Zangger, Martina
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2015
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- This study’s aims were to investigate and address the needs, experiences and concerns of women survivors of sexual assault when they choose to take legal action in relation to sexual violence. Stage 1 of this study conducted in-depth interviews with nine survivors who had attended court in relation to sexual assault between 2010-2012. Analysis of in-depth interviews found that each of the participants reported being re-traumatised by the legal system, as well as having experienced various systemic difficulties and obstacles during the legal process, including lack of adequate support, information and court preparation, societal victim-blaming myths and attitudes and frequent legal delays. Stage 2 of this research involved conducting focus groups with 21 key stakeholders working with survivors of sexual assault. Thematic analysis of focus groups found that stakeholder concerns mirrored the difficulties survivors experienced. Stakeholder concerns included the issue of re-traumatisation of survivors by the legal process, as well as the issue of legal delays and survivor powerlessness, and frustrations regarding the societal myths and attitudes that continue to judge and blame those who experience sexual violence. Interview and focus group findings of the current study are consistent with Australian and international research, which has found that survivors who choose to take legal action after sexual assault are typically re-traumatised, disempowered and insufficiently informed, prepared and supported as they navigate the legal journey. The “Women of Courage” program was developed in response to the findings of the in-depth interviews and focus groups conducted in Stages 1 and 2 of this study. The Third Stage of this study entailed the development, facilitation and evaluation of a pilot group court preparation and support intervention, “Women of Courage,” for women in the process of taking legal action in response to sexual violence. The eight-week group program aimed to address and ameliorate the issue of survivor re-traumatisation and powerlessness, offering a holistic approach to supporting participants during the legal journey. This was achieved through the provision of comprehensive psycho-education and information on all aspects of the legal process, as well as through the delivery of evidence-based resilience-enhancing skills and strategies including mindfulness training, distress tolerance and emotion regulation skills. This innovative, evidence-based pilot program was conducted at a Sexual Assault Service in regional New South Wales and offered a setting in which participants felt safe and supported and had the opportunity to learn relevant skills required for navigating the legal process. The program also offered longer-term social and emotional support to participants who identified themselves as experiencing social isolation and lack of emotional support. Long-term support included the provision of ongoing counselling with a one-on-one counsellor following the completion of the group intervention, ensuring that the gains made by participants could be maintained. Participants of the “Women of Courage” program and group facilitators participated in in-depth evaluation interviews following the conclusion of the group intervention. Results indicate that participants felt empowered by the group program, with participants and facilitators stating that group participants developed important skills, inner resources and strengths preparing them for the legal process, as well as having experienced a reduction in the social and emotional isolation so frequently experienced by survivors of sexual assault. Although care was taken to minimise the limitations of this study, a number of limitations must be noted. These include the confines of qualitative research, the women-only focus of this study, the issue of participant attrition from the group intervention, problems regarding group programs for traumatised client groups and the issue of addressing in-group challenges. Future aims of this research include conducting and evaluating this cost-neutral program across several NSW Sexual Assault Services, with larger sample sizes and the use of both qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods.
- Subject
- sexual assault; sexual violence; legal system; law
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1295902
- Identifier
- uon:19150
- Rights
- Copyright 2015 Martina Zangger
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 701 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |