The mental health of staff at violence against women organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from a mixed-methods study of service providers in Canada’s largest city

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Staff at violence against women (VAW) organizations provide essential services for survivors of violence. The increase in VAW during the COVID-19 pandemic placed additional pressures on VAW staff. We investigated the impacts of the pandemic on the mental health of VAW staff in the Greater Toronto Area to inform recommendations for policy and practice. Methods We conducted a community-based, mixed-methods study on the processes, experiences, and outcomes of adapting VAW programming during the pandemic using a sequential explanatory approach. Throughout 2021, we conducted a survey of direct support and leadership staff who worked on VAW services (“VAW staff”) followed by semi-structured interviews with VAW staff purposively sampled from the survey. We descriptively analyzed quantitative survey data on the mental health of 127 VAW staff. We then applied thematic analysis to qualitative data from 18 interviews with VAW staff. We used the qualitative data to support interpretation and enrich the quantitative findings regarding staff mental health. Results In the survey, 81% of leadership and 61% of direct support staff indicated that their work was more distressing during the pandemic. Participants reported moderate symptoms of vicarious trauma and mild symptoms of anxiety and depression. We generated three themes from the qualitative data to help explain these findings: (1) challenges related to changing work environments; (2) distress over not meeting client needs; and (3) difficulties in adapting self-care strategies in response to pandemic stressors. Conclusion VAW organizations require increased resources and flexible funding to hire and retain more staff to respond to higher and more complex caseloads during public health emergencies. With more structural supports in place, VAW organizations could create more time and space to develop their trauma-informed organizational practices: for example, establishing a culture of connection and learning among staff virtually and in-person and facilitating a range of self-care opportunities.