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Life Changing: The Experience of Rape-Crisis Work

Wurzweiler School of SocialWork, Yeshiva University, 2495 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10033Clemans{at}yu.edu

Sexual violence has been studied extensively in the social work literature. However,the experiences of social workers in organizations that serve clients who are victimsof sexual violence have been given limited attention. This article presents the findings of a qualitative study that explored the experiences of 21 women employees ofrape-crisis programs. The findings suggest that social work with such clientspresented the workers with a host of emotional and existential challenges, such asincreased feelings of vulnerability as women, diminished trust in others, andquestioning the overall goodness of society.

Key Words: feminist standpoint theory • rape-crisis centers • secondary traumatic stress • vicarious victimization

Affilia, Vol. 19, No. 2, 146-159 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0886109903262758


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