This paper reports on a research study that asked women who experienced sexual assault and sexual exploitation what was helpful to their healing; it reports that social support is a tangible way for family and friends to help sexual assault survivors, and many of the strategies identified through this study are commonly used in cognitive behavioral therapeutic interventions.
The primary objective of this study was to identify healing strategies directly from women who experienced sexual assault and sexual exploitation. The second objective was to explore secondary themes related to healing from sexual assault. This study included two quantitative objectives. The first was to examine if the frequency of reported sexual assault experienced predicted greater coping strategies and if rape that occurred in juvenile years and during college uniquely predicted reported use of more coping strategies. Using a mix-method design of college women who endorsed experiencing unwanted sexual contact as part of a survey, 283 provided details about healthy healing strategies. Qualitative responses were transcribed verbatim, and thematic classification followed an iterative process. Linear regressions were used to examine the relationships between sexual assault frequency and use of coping strategies. The most frequently endorsed categories as being helpful to one’s healing were social support, proactive behavioral strategies, forgetting/ignoring/shifting focus, positive cognitive strategies, and counseling. Other themes related to healing included long-term effects, unsuccessful strategies, and posttraumatic growth. Secondary themes include validation, denial of/modified recognition of sexual assault, and specific campus environmental factors. Individuals who reported more sexual assault reported using more healing strategies. This study underscores the benefits of social support and specific strategies. Results suggest a positive relationship between the number of unwanted sexual experiences and coping strategies utilized. (Published Abstract Provided)