Campus Service Use Among Students With Disabilities Who Have Experienced Sexual Violence: A Conceptual Model

Abstract

Students with disabilities are one student group with elevated risk of sexual violence. Although they would benefit from streamlined access to campus support, little is known about their patterns of campus service use. This qualitative analysis includes data from semi-structured interviews with 51 students with disabilities who experienced sexual violence focused on service use across campus. The resultant conceptual model shows that greater accessibility is associated with positive experiences, and lower accessibility is associated with negative experiences. Students with disabilities who experienced or expected negative reactions (e.g., judgment) were less likely to use services and were less satisfied. Advocacy and support in connecting students with disability or sexual violence services was associated with positive experiences and increased accessibility. These findings highlight key facilitators and barriers to campus service use for students with disabilities with sexual violence histories and suggest key intervention points for increasing accessibility, reducing stigma, and improving student experiences with campus providers, staff, and faculty.

“Having One Person Tell Me I Didn’t Do the Wrong Thing”: The Impact of Support on the Post-Sexual Assault Exam Experience

“…The participants who had sustained support throughout their post-exam experiences continued with the criminal justice system and began to evolve from their experiences. Previous SA literature has found positive support can promote future help-seeking and positive mental health outcomes following SA (Liang et al, 2005;Richter et al, 2021;Ullman, 1996Ullman, , 2007. In this study, family and advocacy served as important support systems.…”

“…However, having positive social support, both formal and informal, following a SA can help decrease mental health symptoms (Dworkin et al, 2018: Ullman & Peter-Hagene, 2016, improve coping (Orchowski et al, 2013), and provide needed validation and further assistance to individuals (Kirkner et al, 2021). Yet many individuals report negative support following a SA which may worsen symptoms such as PTSD and depression (DeCou et al, 2017), leading to cessation of further disclosure or support seeking (Ahrens, 2006;Liang et al, 2005;Richter et al, 2021;Ullman, 1996Ullman, , 2007, and increase maladaptive coping mechanisms such as risky alcohol or substance misuse (McQueen et al, 2021;Ullman et al, 2018). To mitigate the harmful sequelae of trauma, it is important to understand differences in post-SA support pathways to help better connect survivors with positive support.…”

“…Access to SANE led-exams is also limited as many communities across the United States, especially rural areas, have no or few SANEs available due to factors including lack of funding for specialized training and administrative support as well as strains on the nursing workforce ( United States Government Accountability Office [GAO], 2016 ). To help combat the shortage of trained SANES, providing SA exams via telehealth with trained SANEs has been a model of care increasing across the country ( Miyamoto, Thiede, Dorn et al, 2021 ; Miyamoto, Thiede, Wright et al, 2022; Shaw et al, 2022 ; Walsh et al, 2019 ). Telehealth models of care show promise in ensuring individuals have equitable access to trained SA providers regardless of where they live ( Miyamoto, Thiede, Dorn et al, 2021 ; Miyamoto, Thiede, Wright et al, 2022; Shaw et al, 2022 ; Walsh et al, 2019 ).…”

“…To help combat the shortage of trained SANES, providing SA exams via telehealth with trained SANEs has been a model of care increasing across the country ( Miyamoto, Thiede, Dorn et al, 2021 ; Miyamoto, Thiede, Wright et al, 2022; Shaw et al, 2022 ; Walsh et al, 2019 ). Telehealth models of care show promise in ensuring individuals have equitable access to trained SA providers regardless of where they live ( Miyamoto, Thiede, Dorn et al, 2021 ; Miyamoto, Thiede, Wright et al, 2022; Shaw et al, 2022 ; Walsh et al, 2019 ). Similarly, the telehealth model may also ensure that the SANE can provide adequate discharge planning including connection with local resources and follow-up care.…”