Clients' experiences with a specialized sexual assault service

Abstract

Introduction: Specialized services have been developed to meet the unique needs of survivors of sexual assault, and yet little research has been conducted to investigate clients' experiences with these services. An interpretive study was conducted to (1) understand the experience of women who were sexually assaulted and then cared for in an emergency setting by professionals associated with a specialized sexual assault service; (2) discover themes in the experiences of these women; and (3) discern implications of this experience for delivery of care to women who have been sexually assaulted.

Methods: Eight women who had been cared for at a specialized sexual assault service were interviewed 2 months later.

Results: Nine themes emerged from latent content analysis of the interviews.

Discussion: Conclusions drawn include the importance of holistic woman-centered care, the importance of having one caregiver focus on the client's emotional needs, the importance of touch, and the need for an effective, sensitive, and coordinated response by police and community services.