Library and Academic Services: Sexual Violence Awareness -- Education, Prevention and Supports: Understanding Trauma / Trauma-informed Practice

Introduction

Understanding Trauma /
Trauma-informed Practice

The impacts of sexual violence go beyond any physical injuries. There are psychological and emotional impacts, which can be long-lasting.

Sexual assault is very often a traumatic experience, and trauma has a neurobiological impact that affects the human brain and nervous system. The research on trauma and its impacts is growing—as is the research on recovery and healing.

The resources below explore the impacts of trauma, and the provision of trauma-informed care in various settings.

Image source: Pixabay.com

Reports, Papers and Articles

How to Support a Friend or Loved One Who Has Been Sexually Abused (New York Times)
It’s been a particularly difficult few months for sexual abuse survivors. If you know someone who’s been abused, here are some tips to best support them and their recovery.
The Impact of Trauma on Adult Sexual Assault Victims
It is well known that many victims choose not to report the crimes of sexual violence committed
against them. For those who choose to report and go through the trial process, sexual assault
complainants have frequently experienced the criminal justice system as a place that retraumatizes and even harms them.
Interview with Stephen Porges: ‘Survivors are blamed because they don’t fight’ (The Guardian)
Stephen Porges is professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and “Distinguished University Scientist” at Indiana University is best known for developing polyvagal theory, which describes how visceral experiences affect the nervous system and our resulting behaviour. Porges talks about the theory in layperson's terms.
Stephen Porges' home page.
Palmieri, J., & Valentine, J. (2021). Using Trauma-Informed Care to Address Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence in Primary Care. Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 17(1), 44–48.
Interpersonal trauma has long-lasting effects on mental and physical health and is associated with acute and chronic negative health outcomes. Primary care providers can improve health care outcomes by using trauma-informed care to recognize, acknowledge, and respond appropriately to trauma survivors.
Sexual assault : victim service worker handbook (BC)
This handbook is for people who work with women and men who have been sexually assaulted. These survivors may have been sexually assaulted as children or as adults, but are seeking services as adults. While some of the survivors you are assisting may still be legally considered children, the intent of this handbook is to address the needs of survivors of adult sexual assault rather than child sexual abuse.
When someone you know has been Sexually Assaulted (Klinic pamphlet)
An informative pamphlet by Klinic

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Library Resources

Decolonizing Trauma Work: Indigenous stories and strategies by Renee Linklater
Location: RC 451.5 .I5 L56 2014 (Located at NDC)
Publication Date: 2014
In Decolonizing Trauma Work, Renee Linklater explores healing and wellness in Indigenous communities on Turtle Island. Drawing on a decolonizing approach, which puts the "soul wound" of colonialism at the centre, Linklater engages ten Indigenous health care practitioners in a dialogue regarding Indigenous notions of wellness and wholistic health, critiques of psychiatry and psychiatric diagnoses, and Indigenous approaches to helping people through trauma, depression and experiences of parallel and multiple realities. ...
Fast facts about PTSD: a guide for nurses and other health care professionals by Adams, Lisa Y
Location: ebook
Publication Date: 2017
This is a concise, quick-access guide to the full continuum of care for all major health care professionals working with individuals suffering from PTSD. This book presents information about the scope of populations at risk for developing PTSD, from young victims of bullying to rape/sexual assault victims, and why they are at risk. It includes information for intervention with people of all ages and backgrounds, and includes abundant case scenarios depicting real-life situations.
Indigenous Healing Psychology: Honoring the Wisdom of the First Peoples by Richard Katz Ph.D
Publication Date: 2017
Wherever the first inhabitants of the world gathered together, they engaged in the human concerns of community building, interpersonal relations, and spiritual understanding. As such these earliest people became our “first psychologists.” Their wisdom lives on through the teachings of contemporary Indigenous elders and healers, offering unique insights and practices to help us revision the self-limiting approaches of modern psychology and enhance the processes of healing and social justice.
This book is not available through OneSearch, but you can request it through our Inter-Library Loan service.
Intimate Partner Sexual Violence: A Multidisciplinary Guide to Improving Services and Support for Survivors of Rape and Abuse by Jessica E. Draughon; et al (Contribution by)
Location: ebook
Publication Date: 2013
Intimate Partner Sexual Violence (IPSV) is the most common type of sexual violence and a common component of domestic violence, yet most cases go unreported and service responses are often inadequate. This book brings together advice for all those professionals working with individuals who have experienced IPSV and puts forward recommendations to tackle this prevalent form of sexual violence. ...
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma And The Pathway To Mending Our Hearts And Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
Publication Date: 2017
Therapist Resmaa Menakem examines the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of trauma and body-centered psychology. The body is where our instincts reside and where we fight, flee, or freeze, and it endures the trauma inflicted by the ills that plague society. Menakem argues this destruction will continue until Americans learn to heal the generational anguish of white supremacy, which is deeply embedded in all our bodies. Our collective agony doesn't just affect African Americans. White Americans suffer their own secondary trauma as well. So do blue Americans—our police.
This book is not available through OneSearch, but you can request it through our Inter-Library Loan service.
Psychology of Trauma 101 by Lesia Ruglass; Kathleen Kendall-Tackett
Location: ebook
Publication Date: 2014
In Psychology of Trauma 101, Ruglass and Kendall-Tackett fill this void with a highly readable and reliable guide for practitioners and students in promoting posttraumatic growth and resilience. Charles R. Figley, PhD, Tulane University Our knowledge about the psychological effects of traumatic events has grown dramatically over the past three decades. Psychology of Trauma 101 is a concise, current, and accessible overview of this critical issue, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), its causes, and its physical and mental consequences. ...
Putting Trials on Trial by Elaine Craig
Location: ebook
Publication Date: 2018
Less than one percent of the sexual assaults that occur each year in Canada result in legal sanction for those who commit these offences. Survivors often distrust and fear the criminal justice process, and as a result, over ninety percent of sexual assaults go unreported. Unfortunately, their fears are well founded. In this thorough evaluation of the legal culture and courtroom practices prevalent in sexual assault prosecutions ...
Seeking Mino-Pimatisiwin: an aboriginal approach to helping by Michael Hart
Location: E 98 .S46 H37 2002 (Located at NDC)
Publication Date: 2002
Historically, social work and psychology professions have pressured and coerced Aboriginal peoples to follow the euro-centric ways of society. The needs of Aboriginal peoples have not been successfully addressed by helping professioan due to a limited attempt to incorporate Aboriginal perspectives and practices of helping. Michael Hart briefly discusses colonization from an Aboriginal perspective, ontological imperialism, social work's role in colonial oppression, and the dynamic of resistance. ...
Sexual Assault: Prevalence, Health Effects and Coping Strategies by Sheila Miller (Editor)
Location: ebook
Publication Date: 2017
Sexual victimisation is highly prevalent in the United States, with 63% of women and 24% of men reporting experiences of sexual victimisation in their lifetime. Given the wide range of deleterious outcomes associated with sexual victimisation investigations focused on identifying factors associated with negative health outcomes stemming from sexual victimisation have great clinical and public health significance. This book provides new research on the prevalence, health effects and coping strategies of sexual assault.
Sexual Assault Victimization Across the Life Span 2e, Volume 2 by P Speck; A. Giardino; D Faugno; M Spencer; M Weaver
Location: ebook
Publication Date: 2017
This volume focuses on the particular needs of sexual assault survivors in various age groups, including chapters on child sexual abuse and sexual violence against adolescents, adults, and the elderly. Specially tailored instruction on the care and assessment of survivors in all of these age groups, emphasizing the unique needs of each. Social service workers, law enforcement personnel, medical practitioners, and prosecuting ...
The Trauma of Sexual Assault by Jenny Petrak (Editor); Barbara Hedge (Editor)
Location: RC 560 .R36 T73 2003 (Located at NDC)
The psycho-social needs of victims of rape and sexual assault are increasingly recognised and there is a need for a critical synthesis of knowledge and practice to support the development of training and best practice in the mental health and sexual health professions. The Trauma of Sexual Assault provides an understanding of the theoretical underpinning of the wide range of clinical problems that can follow sexual assault....
The Violence of Care: rape victims, forensic nurses, and sexual assault intervention by Sameena Mulla
Location: ebook
Publication Date: 2014
Taking an approach developed at the intersection of medical and legal anthropology, Mulla analyzes the ways in which nurses work to collect and preserve evidence while addressing the needs of sexual assault victims as patients. Mulla illustrates the violence of care with painstaking detail, illuminating why victims continue to experience what many call "secondary rape" during forensic intervention, even as forensic nursing is increasingly professionalized. Revictimization can occur even at the hands of conscientious nurses, simply because they are governed by institutional requirements that shape their practices.
Working with the Trauma of Rape and Sexual Violence by Sue J. Daniels
Location: ebook
Publication Date: 2016
The trauma caused by rape and sexual assault can often be further compounded by unthinking or insensitive comments from people who may judge, disbelieve or disparage the victim. This authoritative resource draws together advice for all people in the helping professions on how to work with victims of rape and sexual violence. The wide-ranging topics cover the effects of rape, male rape, childhood sexual abuse, sex trafficking and prostitution, and sexually transmitted infections, giving best practice advice on how to offer effective and compassionate support to help survivors.

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Recommended Websites

A Guide for Friends, Family and Care Providers of sexual violence survivors who have disabilities (PCAR)
This 26-page guide contains a general overview of sexual violence and how it may affect people who have a disability. It includes some tips on communication, the common questions and concerns, the long-term effects, how significant others can be affected and some common myths and facts.
A Guide for Friends and Family of Sexual Violence Survivors (PCAR)
This book provides great information to help support a friend or family member who has been sexually assaulted
Manitoba Trauma Information Centre
The MTIEC is a program of Klinic Community Health Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The creation of the MTIEC was a community initiative lead by the Manitoba Trauma Collaborative and was a direct result of a provincial forum on trauma that took place in 2007. The goal of the provincial forum was to develop a strategy for enhancing the capacity of organizations and systems to better meet the needs of people who had been affected by trauma.
Resources for Healing & Resilience - Readings (ColumbiaU)
Below are several books that are helpful resources for healing and resilience. Many of them are available in the Columbia libraries, where you can request them as Kindles, hard copies, or read them online.
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Some of these you may find through RRC's OneSearch; if not they can be requested via Inter Library Loan.
Trauma: Where to go when you are looking for help (CAMH)
This 12 page document describes what is trauma and how can we help.

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