Deciding Where to Turn: A Qualitative Investigation of College Students' Helpseeking Decisions After Sexual Assault.

Sexual assault is a widespread problem on college campuses that has been the subject of substantial attention in recent years (Ali, 2011; Krebs, Lindquist, Berzofsky, Shook-Sa, & Peterson, 2016). Resources designed to address the problem exist, but there is evidence that they are underutilized by survivors (Campbell, 2008). The current study used grounded theory to explore how sexual assault survivors make decisions about helpseeking.

The role of socioeconomic status in helpseeking from hotlines, shelters, and police among a national sample of women experiencing intimate partner violence.

The role of socioeconomic status (SES) in the prevalence and course of intimate partner violence (IPV) has been established, but mechanisms of this role are less clear. An untested assumption has been that women of greater resources are better able to seek help. This study used a national sample of 1,077 women who had experienced IPV to explore the role of income and education in helpseeking from hotlines, shelters, and police.

Sexual assault within intimate partner violence: impact on helpseeking in a national sample.

Within intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual assault is often subsumed under the heading of physical abuse, but evidence suggests qualitative differences in outcomes when both types of abuse occur. This study explores the cumulative effect of sexual assault and physical abuse by a current or former intimate partner on helpseeking. Using a dataset of 1,072 IPV victims from 8 states, we found that women who had experienced sexual assault in addition to physical abuse (44%) used more help, but were also more likely to say that they did not seek help when they needed it.