Barriers to Services for Rural and Urban Survivors of Rape

Abstract

A significant proportion of survivors of rape do not utilize formal services to cope with the aftermath of rape. Understanding victimization experiences in environments that differ on resources, such as rural versus urban areas, may be an important dimension to consider in understanding barriers. Thirty women (18 rural and 12 urban) were recruited from rape crisis centers to participate in focus groups. Study results suggest that (a) survivors of rape experience many barriers to service utilization, (b) there were some differences in barriers to service utilization that were mentioned only in rural areas and some that were mentioned only in urban areas that may suggest that community context is important to consider in understanding barriers to service use, and (c) barriers to health and mental health services overlap with barriers to criminal justice system services.

What is an empowerment approach to working with sexual assault survivors?

“…Obviously our study is limited by a small sample from a subset of centers in one metropolitan area, some of whom were former advocates with negative experiences that may have motivated them to participate. No rural advocates were included in this study, which is a limitation because rape crisis services are much more limited in rural areas (Martin, 2005) and both advocates' and victims' experiences may differ in rural areas (Logan, Evans, Stevenson, & Jordan, 2005). Clearly the small convenience sample of advocates studied presents biases that may not reflect what a random sampling of rape crisis center employees and former employees might report.…”

Toward a gendered Second Generation CPTED for preventing woman abuse in rural communities

“…What is to be done about the plight of many rural women described by DeKeseredy and his colleagues, Gagn é (1992) , Websdale (1995aWebsdale ( , b, 1998 , and other researchers (for example, Navin et al , 1993 ;Krishnan et al , 2001 ;Logan et al , 2004Logan et al , , 2005? Here, we contend that some key principles of Second Generation Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) can be modifi ed to help reduce violence against women.…”

Thinking Critically About Rural Gender Relations: Toward a Rural Masculinity Crisis/Male Peer Support Model of Separation/Divorce Sexual Assault

“…In addition to facing barriers to formal means of social support identified by Logan et al (2005) and others (Logan et al 2004), many rural survivors of separation/divorce sexual assault cannot rely on informal processes of social control. This is not to say, however, that the women suffered in total silence.…”