Staff experiences of working in a Sexual Assault Referral Centre: the impacts and emotional tolls of working with traumatised people

ABSTRACT

This study considers the impacts on staff of supporting people who have reported sexual violence and attend a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC). This paper focuses on the staff’s perspectives of the stresses and emotional tolls they experience including the coping mechanisms they utilise. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 staff, and a focus group was held with a further four staff of a SARC. The data were examined using thematic analysis. Findings indicated that staff experienced positive emotions connected to the meaningfulness of the work and team spirit as well as a range of unpleasant emotions. Staff also reported emotional numbing, in connection to the specificity, volume and sometimes unpredictable nature of the work. Coping mechanisms used by staff focused on the supportive connection to family, nature, and other team members; the value of clinical supervision; and the avoidance of topics related to work.

KEYWORDS:

• Vicarious trauma
• sexual assault
• coping mechanisms
• qualitative

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the staff who participated in the research and the managers of the SARC for allowing us to conduct the research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary Material

Supplementary material for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

This paper presents independent research funded by Canterbury Christ Church University and Middlesex University. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS or the Department of Health.