Interprofessional Collaboration on Sexual Assault Response Teams (SART)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of victim alcohol use and partner—perpetrator on interprofessional collaboration on Sexual Assault Response Teams (SART). Telephone surveys with 78 medical, criminal justice, and victim advocacy professionals were conducted. When asked to identify case factors that pose challenges to interprofessional collaboration, 48.7% mentioned victim characteristics and 28.2% mentioned situation characteristics. Significantly more victim advocates identified aspects of the victim’s behavior before the sexual assault as a challenge to collaboration compared to criminal justice professionals. Using vignette methodology, professionals anticipated more disagreement between SART professionals on the hypothetical case involving victim alcohol use and a partner—perpetrator compared to a hypothetical stranger/no alcohol case, with victim advocates rating agreement significantly lower than other professionals. Finally, professionals who perceived of more disagreement between professionals when discussing the vignettes also perceived of lower interprofessional collaboration on their SART. Implications for practice and research are discussed.