“We’re Essential Because You’re Essential”: How Louisiana Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Organizations Adapted Outreach Efforts and Health Messaging during COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Within weeks of the World Health Organization declaring the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic, domestic violence and sexual assault incidents increased. To adhere to new health protocols, social service providers were encouraged to move outreach efforts to virtual formats. We draw on 21 in-depth interviews with Louisiana organizations working in violence against women to examine how they 1) transitioned to online outreach efforts and 2) adapted their messaging to the COVID-19 context. We found that organizations who successfully moved to virtual efforts credited their success to thinking creatively and properly matching educational activities to digital media platforms, while those who struggled pointed to obstacles such as digital media fatigue and funding limitations (RQ1). We also identified three changes to message framing (RQ2): 1) Empathy and reassurance, especially, reiterating that centers “are there” for victims 2) Addressing racial justice issues, and 3) describing COVID-19 protocols and conducting lockdown-focused education efforts.

KEYWORDS:

• Sexual assault
• domestic violence
• health messaging
• violence against women
• public health crisis

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fanny Ramirez

Fanny Ramirez is an Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University where she holds a joint appointment with the Manship School of Mass Communication and LSU’s interdisciplinary Center for Computation and Technology. Her research examines the use of information communication technologies in sexual violence and criminal justice contexts with an eye toward issues of inequality, discrimination, and privacy.

Rockia Harris

Rockia Harris is a doctoral student in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University. Her research explores how race, gender, and activism are communicated through entertainment, news media, and cultural experiences.