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

Massey, Kristina; Horvath, Miranda A. H.; Essafi, Shanaz; Majeed‐Ariss, Rabiya

doi:10.1080/14789949.2019.1605615

Cited by 16 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Wright et al (2006) and Powell et al (2013) in their small studies of police officers working with child abuse victims argue that listening to the accounts of victims of child abuse is not a significant stressor. Updated research within this crucial and growing area of policing is a recommendation for future study as this finding contradicts studies from other fields such as Martin (2005) and Massey et al (2019). It could be argued that secondary trauma and PTSD are just the price a person pays for choosing to be a police officer; however, statistics collected in other countries show the seriousness of this issue.…”

Section: Cumulative Exposure To Traumamentioning

confidence: 90%

“…The understanding that the working environment is the most important factor in protecting against trauma (Maguen et al, 2009) suggests that organisational changes that demonstrate compassion and care for staff could help to reduce the impact of the trauma experienced in the line of duty. Evidence from workers at a Sexual Assault Referral Centre shows that opportunities to 'vent' to fellow colleagues, discuss the work and impact of it and time between cases to detoxify from what they have heard, all help to reduce the impact of the trauma (Massey et al, 2019). Psychological approaches have been identified as being beneficial in promoting a resilient police workforce and maintaining operational effectiveness (Gray and Rydon-Grange, 2019).…”

Section: Recommendations -The Way Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is also some evidence that the development of compassion fatigue may be further complicated by a lack of organisational support within the workplace (Massey et al, 2019;Schauben and Frazier, 1995;Turgoose et al, 2017). The four significant factors which seem to increase the likelihood of developing compassion fatigue are poor self-care, previous trauma, lack of satisfaction within the workplace and lack of control in the workplace (Radey and Figley, 2007).…”

Section: Compassion Fatiguementioning

confidence: 99%

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The ‘cost’ of caring in policing: From burnout to PTSD in police officers in England and Wales

Foley

Massey

2020

The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles

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This article looks at secondary trauma of police officers caused by working with traumatised victims, examining what is the true ‘cost of caring’ for police officers in England and Wales. It will discuss common work-related ‘stressors’ in policing and review the concepts commonly associated with secondary trauma such as ‘burnout’, ‘vicarious trauma’, ‘compassion fatigue’, ‘secondary traumatic stress’ and their impact. It will conclude with some recommendations and highlight the serious lack of literature on this topic, making secondary trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder in policing an under researched area, particularly in relation to the effects of cumulative trauma in policing.

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Section: Cumulative Exposure To Traumamentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Recommendations -The Way Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Compassion Fatiguementioning

confidence: 99%

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The ‘cost’ of caring in policing: From burnout to PTSD in police officers in England and Wales

Foley

Massey

2020

The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles

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“…If appropriate support is not available, officers in specialist units may be more susceptible to stress, burnout, anxiety, vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, or other detriments to wellbeing seen in other areas of policing, such as those policing indecent child images (Perez et al, 2010) or involved in child protection (Anderson, 2000). Other professionals working with RASSO show evidence of similar detriments, for instance, frontline staff at a Sexual Assault Referral Centre reported emotional numbing in relation to the volume, unpredictability, and specific nature of the work (Massey et al, 2019).…”

Section: What Should Our Measures Of Success Be?mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Literature Review of Specialist Policing of Rape and Serious Sexual Offences

et al. 2022

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The policing of rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) is increasingly under scrutiny, with rising reporting rates, high attrition rates, and ever-decreasing charge and conviction rates. Internationally there appear to be common inadequacies in RASSO investigations. Given these issues, policing specialism may be an effective tool to improve the investigation of RASSO. This article systematically draws together the existing literature from around the world on the use of a specialist approach to tackling RASSO. A systematic literature review was conducted, and 18 papers were included for analysis based on the inclusion/exclusion criteria. From these documents, five key themes were found: investigation procedures and processes; victim care; specialist training, knowledge and skills; officer wellbeing and capacity; and policing outcomes. The review highlighted that the specialist policing of RASSO can improve the investigative process on several levels: improving the efficacy of the individual components of the investigation; better engagement with victims; better officer wellbeing; and overall improved policing outcomes. Further research is required into the specific mechanisms that results in improvements into the investigative process, the set-up of such specialist units, as well as how training in this area can be as effective as possible.

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“…However, in Denkinger et al's (2018) study receiving supervision was not related to VT, suggesting that quality of supervision is paramount. Several studies supported the idea of a change from quantity to quality supervision, with it being most effective if it was needs based and in the format desired by the professionals (Brend et al, 2020;Massey et al, 2019). Ideally, formal supervision would be done regularly with a qualified external person both in one-to-one and group-based format (Taylor et al, 2019).…”

Section: Organizational Factors Organizational Factors and Work Environment Appear To Have A Greater Influence Than Individual Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impacts of Working With Victims of Sexual Violence: A Rapid Evidence Assessment

Crivatu

Horvath

Massey

2021

Trauma, Violence, & Abuse

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Aim: Supporting clients who have experienced trauma can lead to trauma symptoms in those working with them; workers in the sexual violence field are at heightened risks of these. This article collated and critically appraised papers, published from 2017 onward, in the area of people assisting victims of sexual violence. It explores the impacts and effects the work has on them, their coping and self-care mechanisms, and organizational support offered to them. Design: A question-based rapid evidence assessment with a triangulated weight of evidence approach was used. Academic and nonacademic databases were searched. Twenty-five papers were included for analysis based on the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Results: Most studies were of medium to high methodological quality. Negative impacts included trauma symptoms, disrupted social relationships, behavioral changes, and emotional and psychological distress. Ability to manage negative impacts was influenced by overall organizational support, availability of training, supervision and guidance, workloads and caseload characteristics, individual characteristics, and their coping and self-care mechanisms. Positive impacts included empowering feelings, improved relationships, compassion satisfaction, and posttraumatic growth. Conclusions: Impacts are significant. Support at work and in personal life increases staff’s ability to cope and find meaning in their role. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

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

Abstract: This is a repository copy of Staff experiences of working in a Sexual Assault Referral Centre: the impacts and emotional tolls of working with traumatised people.

Cited by 16 publications

References 41 publications

The ‘cost’ of caring in policing: From burnout to PTSD in police officers in England and Wales

The ‘cost’ of caring in policing: From burnout to PTSD in police officers in England and Wales

A Systematic Literature Review of Specialist Policing of Rape and Serious Sexual Offences

The Impacts of Working With Victims of Sexual Violence: A Rapid Evidence Assessment

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