ERIC Number: ED659218
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 239
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3836-2875-1
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Student Sexual Assault Advocacy: A Qualitative Inquiry into the Provision of Peer Support
Arielle Tooch
ProQuest LLC, Psy.D. Dissertation, Alliant International University
This study explored the experiences of peer advocates, college students who take on peer victim advocate roles to provide outreach and support services around campus sexual assault. the purpose of this study is to explore the meaning peer advocates make from their roles. Studies have documented the risks that victim advocates face, including secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, and burnout. With peer advocacy programs growing in popularity across university campuses, research must be conducted to determine what risk factors peer advocates face due to their being both advocates and college students. This study used a qualitative methodology and consisted of semi-structured interviews in which 12 participants were interviewed on their experiences providing peer advocacy services on their college campuses. All participants were current college students and were trained to provide support services to student survivors and created and implemented outreach services on topics related to campus sexual assault prevention and sex education. The results from the study yielded nine themes and one subtheme: Creating a Trauma-Informed Climate, Comprehensive Sex Education as Violence Prevention, Relatability, Institutional Dissatisfaction, Pressure to Get it Right, Dialogue Facilitates Change, Persuasive Speech, Success is not Quantified, Perspective-taking, and Blurred Identities. Results found that peer advocates serve a unique role in fostering trauma-informed climates and providing sex education for sexual assault prevention on campus. Motivated by their relatability as students and dissatisfaction from institutional responses, students reported becoming peer advocates to support students survivors and improve conversations around campus sexual assault. Results also illustrated that peer advocacy impacted how peer advocates perceived campus culture and integrated their advocate identities into their personal lives as college students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Sexual Abuse, Advocacy, Peer Relationship, Social Support Groups, Student Experience, College Students, Victims, Risk, Prevention, Sex Education, Trauma, Student Motivation
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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