Managing Vicarious Trauma: Comparisons between Survivor Professionals and Non-Survivor Professionals in a Domestic Abuse Context

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I propose to study how coping strategies and dealings with vicarious trauma in the violenceagainst women, domestic abuse and sexual violence (VAWDASV) field vary between survivorand non-survivor professionals, and whether there are differences in the strategies andtactics used by survivors. This thesis would focus on the workers rather than managerial andorganisational support, such as clinical supervision. This is because if workers are in the sameorganisation, they should in theory receive the same support; therefore, varied responsesbetween survivor professionals and non-abused staff may be what affects differencesbetween their vicarious trauma levels. As stated in my cover letter, vicarious trauma isprevalent in the VAWDASV field, as professionals are constantly exposed to upsetting,disturbing and potentially life-threatening events on a regular basis. This thesis could explainand promote effective resilience tactics which could drastically reduce the practical problemssurrounding vicarious trauma in the VAWDASV field, whilst proving new insights foracademics.Research Questions: How do survivor professionals manage the vicarious trauma which isgained from working in the VAWDASV sector? Are there tactics which are used by all survivorprofessionals? Does this differ to how non-survivor professionals manage trauma?This thesis would fill a noticeable academic gap where there is a lack of understanding ofexperiences of vicarious trauma for staff who are supporting the victims of crime, specificallythe differences between survivor and non-survivor professionals.Developing this understanding and linked recommendations to build resilience and improveprofessional experiences and practice could be of direct relevance to those working with andfor victims of violence against women. For example, this research could contribute to WelshAssembly government policy and actions, particularly strategies linked to the introduction ofRhiannon Maniatt BScEcon (Hons) MSc - Research Proposal for ESRC Funding PhDthe VAWDASV (Wales) Act 2015. Increasing the resilience in VAWDASV professionals fits withthe national objectives set out in the VAWDASV (Wales) Act 2015, through ensuring that staffare well trained and capable of providing 'high quality' support to survivors of abuse(Objectives 5 and 6 of the VAWDASV (Wales) Act). Therefore, the findings from this thesiscould contribute to actions which the Welsh Government could propose for services.As well as academic and policy ramifications, there are practical contributions which wouldstem from this research. Findings from this research could show more effective ways thatVAWDASV workers could deal with their vicarious trauma, applying resilience tactics whichare used by survivor professionals to all VAWDASV workers for their everyday practice. Byimproving their resilience to vicarious trauma, there would be fewer hours of work lost dueto poor mental health, and it would follow that there would be fewer resignations due tovicarious trauma. The practical contributions would also expand further than the VAWDASVsector, as if there are collective responses across survivor professionals which reducevicarious trauma, these could also be applied to other high impact careers, including policeofficers, social service support workers, and even paramedics and emergency firstresponders.