Guidelines for the prevention and management of …

1 Guidelines for the prevention and management of vicarious trauma among researchers of sexual and intimate partner violenceSuggested Citation: Guidelines for the prevention and management of vicarious trauma among researchers of sexual and intimate partner violence. (2015). Sexual Violence Research Initiative. Pretoria: South :This document has been developed by a group of passionate researchers who care greatly about this work, and recognise how important it is to acknowledge the toll this work can take on us. We hope that these Guidelines will help encourage and support others to respond to, and even prevent vicarious trauma in their research on sexual and intimate partner Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) would warmly like to thank the core writing group:Deborah Billings (Advocates for Youth, USA), Rachel Cohen (consulting clinical psychologist, USA), Jan Coles (Monash University, Australia), Manuel Contreras-Urbina (George Washington University, USA), Elizabeth Dartnall (SVRI, South Africa), Abbie Fields (Universidad Centroamericana, Nicaragua), Abigail Hatcher (Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, South Africa), Lizle Loots (SVRI, South Africa), Lusajo Kajula (Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Tanzania), Sathya Manoharan (Monash University, Australia), Annemiek Richters (Leiden University, Netherlands), Yandisa Sikweyiya (Medical Research Council, South Africa), Henny Slegh (Promundo, Great Lakes Region), Kirsten Thomson (Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, South Africa), Marnie Vujovic (Right to Care, South Africa).

2 We would also like to thank colleagues who gave insightful and helpful reviews on the Guidelines , and those who contributed valuable reading materials:Jill Astbury (Victoria University, Australia), Jonathan Brakarsh (consulting clinical psychologist, Zimbabwe), Nwabisa Jama-Shai (Medical Research Council, South Africa), Amelia Kleijn (GBV consultant, researcher and independent social worker, South Africa), Catherine Maternowska (UNICEF, Italy), Sarah Martin (GBV prevention and response advisor, Thailand), Jennifer McCleary-Sills (World Bank, USA); Rachel Jewkes (Medical Research Council, South Africa), Ruchira Tabassum Naved (ICDDR,B, Bangladesh).iContentsIntroduction to the Guidelines 1 Who are the Guidelines for? 1 Development of the Guidelines 2 What do the Guidelines cover? 2 What is vicarious trauma ? 3 Impact of vicarious trauma 4 vicarious trauma and the Socio-Ecological Model 6 Risk and Protective Factors 7 Risk Factors 7 Protective Factors 9 Strategies for Responding to and prevention of vicarious trauma among Researchers 12 Ethics and vicarious trauma 15 Epilogue 17 References 18 Key Terms and Concepts 22 Further Reading and Materials 23ii The term researcher (or)

3 Research team ) is used throughout the document to refer to all members listed in this to the GuidelinesThese Guidelines outline recommendations for the prevention of, and response to, vicarious trauma in researchers working in the field of sexual and intimate partner violence but can also be of use and relevance to those researching other sensitive topics including other forms of gender based violence. The Guidelines serve several important : Provide a framework for understanding vicarious trauma among researchers of sexual and intimate partner violence. Assist and encourage organisations in developing Guidelines for, and committing resources to prevent and respond to vicarious trauma . Highlight the importance of addressing vicarious trauma as an ethical and institutional imperative for teams working in the field. Provide ethics review boards with guidance needed to ensure that research proposals address the issue of vicarious trauma throughout the research process.

4 Who are the Guidelines for?These Guidelines are for everyone seeking a better understanding of sexual and intimate partner violence through research, including: All members of a research team , including, data collectors, capturers and data analysts Independent researchers Research managers Research supervisors and students Field coordinators Research assistants Institutions Donors Ethics review boards Data coders Interpreters, translators and transcribers1 Development of the GuidelinesA number of activities have informed the development of these Guidelines including: a series of workshops on vicarious trauma and research on sexual and intimate partner violence, held at the Medical Research Council South Africa in 2010, workshops at SVRI Forums in 2011 and 2013, a moderated SVRI online discussion forum held in 2009, an online survey conducted in 2011, a number of resultant publications and a set of Guidelines for researchers on the topic.

5 More information on the online discussion and survey can be found at: What do the Guidelines cover?The Guidelines make recommendations for preventing and responding to trauma that impacts researchers and staff conducting research on sexual and intimate partner violence. They describe vicarious trauma in the context of undertaking research on sexual and intimate partner violence; discuss its impact; and consider organisational, project and individual factors that mitigate potential adverse consequences of doing this type of research. They also provide recommendations for ethics boards and researchers for ensuring that researcher well-being is considered and interventions to prevent and address vicarious trauma are incorporated into research Even those who study rape can become emotionally affected by bearing witness to the devastating impact of this crime Campbell and Wasco 2005 Repeated exposure to traumatic interview material is a particular issue for those doing qualitative research.

6 Such researchers have to read and reread interviews many times as they seek to analyse their data and is more emotionally onerous than analysing quantitative data where individual accounts of trauma are not apparent ( data is summed and grouped).What is vicarious trauma ? trauma does not have to occur by abuse (Brown, 2011)Researchers and others involved in the area of sexual and intimate partner violence are often required to listen to, or are exposed to, deeply personal accounts of participants experiences of violence. Working with, and listening to traumatic accounts of sexual violence can carry a significant emotional cost (Figley 1995; Morrison 2007; Theidon 2014). As researchers, we aim to understand the impact of sexual and interpersonal violence on the lives of participants, and we want to know more about participants thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

7 Emotional engagement is a tool we use to gather such information. Listening to explicit accounts of a traumatic event or having explicit knowledge of an event may cause stress, to varying degrees (American Psychiatric Association 2000).Bearing witness to survivors stories, and engaging with their stories emotionally and with empathy - whilst essential skills for researchers - can create similar responses in researchers as have previously been reported by trauma workers such as counsellors, therapists and other caregivers (Coles, Astbury et al. 2014). These responses may place researchers at risk of vicarious trauma . Pearlman and Saakvitne describes vicarious traumatisation (Pearlman and Saakvitne 1995) as, a transformation in the therapist s (or other trauma worker s) inner experience resulting from empathic engagement with the client s trauma material.

8 vicarious trauma is the result of being exposed and empathically listening to stories of trauma , suffering and violence, caused by humans to other humans (Pearlman and Saakvitne 1995). The trauma response may worsen with repeated exposure to traumatic material. Repeated exposure to traumatic interview material is an unavoidable part of the research process, and vicarious trauma is thought to be a normal process resulting from exposure to such traumatic materials (Campbell 2002; Morrison 2007). The concept of vicarious trauma has often been used interchangeably in the literature with secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue and burn-out (Sexton 1999; Hernandez, Gangsei et al. 2007). Although the terms overlap with vicarious trauma , these are viewed as distinct concepts in this document and are not addressed within the scope of these Guidelines (definitions of these different concepts are provided in the section Key Terms and Concepts).

9 3 Impact of vicarious trauma Experiencing some of the worst aspects of human nature on a daily basis and over time can have a variety of effects on a professional, including low self-esteem, emotional numbing, cynicism, and loss of confidence. (NSPCC 2013). vicarious trauma can have a range of effects on professionals, many of which are similar to those experienced by trauma survivors (Morrison, Quadara et al. 2007). Those working closely with survivors of trauma , particularly survivors of human perpetrated trauma , can be affected in significant ways, including (CME 2011): Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms (nightmares, intrusive images and thoughts, emotional numbing) and / or depression (hopelessness, depressed mood, despair); Alterations in views of themselves, their identity, their society, and the larger world; Loss of a sense of personal safety and control; Feelings of fear, anger, and being overwhelmed; Feelings of guilt and/or diminished confidence in capacities and frustration with the limits of what one can do to improve a situation; Increased sensitivity to violence; Altered sensory experiences, such as symptoms of dissociation; Loss of ability to trust other individuals and institutions.

10 Inability to empathise with others; Social withdrawal; Disconnection from loved ones; Inability to be emotionally and / or sexually intimate with others; Lack of time or energy for oneself; Changes in spirituality and belief systems; Cynicism; Loss of self-esteem and sense of independence; and Minimising the experience of vicarious trauma as trivial compared to the problems of Whenever I am writing from that emotional place of horror I do still experience deep-seated coldness and my ears feel congested and I feel flu-like. SVRI Discussion Forum participant, 2009 Positive outcomes may also arise from working with or researching trauma survivors. Concepts such as vicarious resilience and post-traumatic growth have been widely used in clinical work to describe positive transformation and empowerment in clinicians through their empathy for, and interaction with, clients (Hernandez, Gangsei et al.)