We Are Humans Too

Abstract

The current manuscript focuses on the experiences of Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) among novice victim advocates. Victim advocates work with survivors of violent crimes and provide emotional and logistical support to their clients, helping clients navigate the criminal justice system. Through individual interviews, the current study explored how advocates managed their exposure to traumatic events and how they believed it impacted them professionally and personally. Nine victim advocates were interviewed, and principles of thematic analysis were used to code the interviews and analyze the data. From the interviews three major themes emerged related to STS: worldview shifts, secondary traumatic stress symptoms, and burnout. Two major themes emerged related to prevention: colleague support and recognizing successes. Conclusions: Advocates are a particularly vulnerable population of helping professions that are at risk for STS. Increased awareness and acknowledgement of their work will be an important component of intervention efforts. Supporting the needs of novice advocates will be necessary to allow people to sustain in their career, and to be better positioned to support survivors of violent crimes.