Organizational Readiness and Response During COVID-19: Reflections From a Sexual Assault Agency Serving a Predominately African American Community

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic forced victim service organizations to establish new service provision protocols to include remote/telehealth services. We conductedN= 12 qualitative interviews with sexual assault advocates working in an urban agency in a predominately African American U.S. city to understand how they adapted services to meet the needs of their community. A thematic analysis revealed this organization was under-prepared for prolonged interruption of in-person services. Even though this agency was able to create telehealth options, many clients did not have the financial and technological resources to utilize these services. Advocates reported that survivors expressed a strong preference for in-person services, which afford more privacy and confidentiality. The pervasive digital divide within this urban community limited survivors’ access to comprehensive services and jeopardized their safety.