Accessing sexualized violence services and supports: Exploring the perspectives of women living in rural places

Background: Women face significant barriers accessing formal services and informal supports in response to an experience of sexualized violence. These barriers include but are not limited to: victim blaming, stigma, and fear of a re-triggering or traumatic experience. Women living in rural places face unique barriers to accessing services and supports in response to an experience of sexualized violence. Rural areas may lack the services available in urban areas. Services that do exist may be limited in scope and/or difficult to access. The purpose of this study is to explore and understand the experiences of women living in rural Nova Scotia who have attempted to access or accessed formal and informal services and supports after experiencing sexualized violence. Results will identify what services and supports women who have experienced sexualized violence think are needed in rural places. Methods: Qualitative, one-on-one interviews with women who live in a rural place in Nova Scotia and who attempted to access or accessed formal services or informal supports in the past five years after any experiences of sexualized violence. Results and analysis: This research will identify several barriers and facilitators to accessing formal services and informal supports after experienced sexualized violence in a rural place, including travel, lack of trauma informed approaches, relationship between police and other services, a lack of support for survivors of historic trauma and the responsibility of women accessing services to navigate a complicated health service system. Conclusion: Women living in a rural place experience unique barriers and facilitators to accessing services and supports related to sexualized violence. Preliminary results will make recommendations for both polciy and program level changes to the delivery of sexualized violence services in rural areas.