Crime Victim Service Providers’ Needs and Barriers: Rurality and “High Need”

Abstract

The crime victims' rights movement has led to the development of advocacy, rights, and services for crime victims. A growing body of research has examined victim service provision using victim/client samples and complementary research has utilized service provider samples. The latter have focused on crime victim service providers' (VSPs) perceptions regarding clients' needs and barriers, as well as perceptions of service provision, needs, and barriers pertaining to their agency's operations. Although relatively small, the body of provider-focused victim services research has commonly considered the influence of rurality on service provision. The present study adds to this body of research by examining reported needs and barriers of VSPs (N = 94) in a Mountain West state, considering the influence of rurality and concentrated need. Three research questions informed the descriptive analyses: (a) What are the most commonly identified needs and barriers for providers in the state? (b) Are there differences in identified needs and barriers between rural and urban providers? (c) Do certain agencies report more needs and barriers than others, and if so, what are the differences?

Understanding Intimate Partner Violence Service Delivery for Latinx Survivors in Rural Areas

“…Moreover, participants from rural-only DV organizations were more likely than those from other DV organizations to report that services for Latinx survivors were unavailable in their community. This finding aligns with previous research suggesting that rural communities may have limited resources and supports necessary for addressing the needs of IPV survivors (Gillespie et al, 2019;Yun et al, 2009). Given that Latinx survivors may often have multiple needs related to education, employment, immigration, and transportation (Bosch & Schumm, 2004;Eisenman et al, 2009;Grossman et al, 2005;Sabri et al, 2018), the lack of available community servicesparticularly in rural areas-may, in turn, limit DV organizations' ability to connect clients to essential services for enhancing safety and empowerment.…”

Native Missing Persons Cases Will Not be Solved by Police Alone: The Case for “Missing Persons Advocates”

“…In addition, services are provided at "no cost" to victims. However, even with the free services for victims, many programs were designed for White heterosexual victims (Kulkarni et al, 2023) and thus may not meet the needs of victims across different racial/ethnic backgrounds, genders, and/or sexual orientations (see Gillespie et al, 2021).…”

“…For example, rural victims report limited services, difficulty obtaining appointments, lack of qualified providers, and little access to confidential services among victim agencies (Logan et al, 2004). In addition, rural service providers indicate having fewer training opportunities, fewer resources, and a larger geographic catchment area, making it harder to meet the needs of victims (Gillespie et al, 2021; Yun et al, 2009). Rural providers also have concerns about their ability to provide culturally centered services, including hiring appropriate providers to serve specific communities, such as Native American communities (Gillespie et al, 2021).…”

Improving Justice for American Indian and Rural Victims of Crime Through Community-Engaged Research

“…Practitioners and researchers classify as underserved the rural population, including American Indians living on and off tribal lands, because victim services to these communities are lacking or at some time/distance away (Gillespie et al, 2019). Research details the severity of victimization experiences in rural parts of the United States and the need for accessible services to aid and support victims (Gillespie et al, 2019;Logan et al, 2004Logan et al, , 2005.…”

“…Practitioners and researchers classify as underserved the rural population, including American Indians living on and off tribal lands, because victim services to these communities are lacking or at some time/distance away (Gillespie et al, 2019). Research details the severity of victimization experiences in rural parts of the United States and the need for accessible services to aid and support victims (Gillespie et al, 2019;Logan et al, 2004Logan et al, , 2005. According to the 2017 Uniform Crime Report data, violent crime in nonmetropolitan counties was lower than that of metropolitan counties (206.7 per 100,000 people compared with 262.9 per 100,000 people); when disaggregated by crime type, rape rates per 100,000 people were higher in rural areas (39.2) than urban areas (32.5;Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2017).…”